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1. Measuring educational R&D
Definitions of educational R&D
Educational R&D cannot be classified as a discipline or a subject field, sin-
ce this research is conducted in several disciplines and by different profes-
sions. In the mapping of educational R&D undertaken by NIFU, only edu-
cational R&D that is compatible with the definition of R&D in the Frascati
manual is included. The definition of educational R&D used in the survey
was developed by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research:
“Educational R&D is an interdisciplinary research field related to stu-
dying the aspects of education; teaching, learning, leadership and
management of all levels and in all education systems, including te-
aching materials and technical aids in the studies. Educational R&D
can be targeted at different purposes, such as social conditions, labor,
government administration/public management and the general scien-
tific development, in addition to educational conditions.”
The ad hoc survey proposed by the OECD has a somewhat broader definiti-
on of educational R&D than the Norwegian survey:
“Educational R&D consists of a broad range of activities, including
but not limited to research and development on: educational policies;
management, organisations and leadership; curriculum studies; lear-
ning; instructional methods; teaching, teacher profession and teacher
education; assessment and evaluation; education statistics; and edu-
cational technology. To demark R&D from other related activities, we
recommend using the principle that R&D enhances the stock of pu-
blicly-available knowledge on education and education policy.”
Main findings
In 2013, 1,1 billion. NOK (approx. 136.000.000 EUR) was spent on educati-
onal R&D in Norway. This implies a significant growth in the expenditure on
educational R&D, from 548 million. NOK (approx. 66.000.000 EUR) in 2007,
when resources for educational R&D was mapped for the first time.
Where is educational R&D in Norway performed?
195 units at higher education institutions and research institutes reported
that they had educational R&D in 2013. This encompasses all the 8 Nor-
wegian universities, who all together conducted 48 percent of the educatio-
nal R&D in Norway. All the 20 state university colleges were included in the
sample, accounted for 27 per cent. Six specialized university institutions, six
private colleges and two other HEIs accounted for 15 percent of educational
R&D, while 10 percent was conducted in the institute sector.
Who funds Norwegian educational R&D?
More than 90 per cent of the educational R&D was funded by the govern-
ment in 2013, while four per cent was funded by other national sources, bu-
siness enterprises, the EU commission or from abroad. General university
funds were the main source of funds.
Distribution of educational R&D
Of the educational R&D performed in Norway in 2013, 28 per cent was expe-
rimental development, 42 per cent applied research and 28 per cent basic
research. Half the educational R&D was performed at units within pedago-
gics and teacher education, and Education and Didactics were the two lar-
gest disciplines. One quarter of the R&D was related to tertiary education,
19 per cent to upper secondary education and 21 per cent to lower secon-
dary education, which were the three largest areas in Norwegian educational
R&D in 2013.
Substantial growth in the number of educational researchers
2.780 reseachers participated in educational R&D in Norway in 2013. In
2009, there were 2.074 researchers in the field. The population of resear-
chers within educational R&D is characterized by a high share of women,
few full professors, high average age and a relatively low proportion of rese-
archers with a doctorate. There has been a significant raise in competence,
i.e. a higher share of the researchers held a doctorate and there were more
professors in 2009 than in 2013.
Results of educational R&D
The number of scientific publications in educational R&D had a steady
growth between 2005 and 2013. The universities accounted for about half
the publication points and university colleges for approx. a third. Private uni-
versity colleges and research institutes accounted for three to five per cent
respectively. More than half of the publications (58 per cent) were book
chapters or articles in an anthology series. Journal articles amounted to 38
percent, while only five per cent were written as monographs. The majority of
the book chapters and monographs were written in Norwegian, and as much
as 40 percent of journal articles were written in Norwegian.
Barriers to educational R&D
Inadequate access to funding, insufficient time, and the fact that other topics
are more prestigious, are seen as the three most important barriers to edu-
cational research. Of the units performing experimental development within
educational R&D, inadequate access to funding, insufficient time or legal,
regulatory and administrative barriers were seen as most important. Units at
university colleges were more likely to experience legal, regulatory and admi-
nistrative barriers than units at universities.
NIFU is an independent social science research institute,
­organized as a non-profit foundation.
NIFU aims to be a leading European research organization for
­studies of innovation, research and education at all ­levels.
We collect, analyse and disseminate national statistics and
­indicators for R&D and innovation, and are active participants in
statistical cooperation at the European and international levels.
Our research and statistics offer a solid base from which policy-
­makers can develop integrated knowledge policies.
NIFU’s research is funded through research contracts for public
and private clients, allocations from national and ­international
research programs and a basic grant from the Norwegian
­Research Council.
Our main research areas are:
• Primary and secondary education,
• Higher education,
• Research and innovation, ­
• Statistics and indicators
Hebe Gunnes (hebe.gunnes@nifu.no), NIFU – Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education, Oslo, Norway
Barriers to educational R&D in Norway: 2013.
Per cent.
Research Development
Source: NIFU
80 per cent of the units in the study experienced barriers to educational re-
search, while 75 per cent experienced barriers to educational development.
Access to funding and insufficient time was seen as the two most important
barriers to educational R&D in Norway in 2013. There were minor differen-
ces in types of barriers reported by the three types of institutions included in
the study.
Introduction
Norway has since 2007 been mapping resources and results of educational
R&D. Educational R&D is partly mapped through the “thematic priorities”
module in the R&D questionnaire for Norway, partly by a special survey co-
vering the units performing educational R&D. We have data for 2007, 2009,
2011 and 2013. Among the topics that have been mapped are types of insti-
tutions with educational R&D, the proportion of educational R&D related to
total R&D expenditure, distribution by source of fund, type of R&D, level of
education and area of research, as well as sub-fields of educational R&D.
A set of indicators related to educational R&D has been developed through
the surveys.
A special module in the survey maps researchers participating in educati-
onal R&D. By using NIFU’s Register of research personnel, we have been
able to examine specific characteristics of the population of researchers wit-
hin educational R&D.
An initiative has been taken by OECD/CERI to develop an international ad
hoc study of public educational R&D. A questionnaire targeting both per-
forming and funding units has been developed, and Norway was one of six
countries performing a mapping of units participating in public educational
R&D in 2013. The newly developed OECD questionnaire for mapping edu-
cational R&D was included in the Norwegian survey for 2013, as a pilot.
This questionnaire also includes questions on outputs of educational R&D
and barriers to educational R&D. In 2014, the Netherlands and Belgium-
Flanders conducted the survey on public educational R&D, and Sweden is
currently preparing the survey for 2017.
Norway will repeat the survey for 2015, and the questionnaire will be sent
out in September/October 2016. A report with the data is due in May 2017.
Methods and classifications
The mapping of educational R&D is linked to the national R&D survey. R&D
statistics in Norway are compilled by a combination of survey (GOV, HES,
BES) and administrative data (GOV and HES). Respondents at department
level are asked to report R&D activities by priority areas of national interest,
where Education is one of eight thematic priorities. More details about the
methods and the Norwegian context are described in the accompanying
short paper.
Classification of R&D expenditure within educational R&D
In the mapping, R&D expenditure on educational R&D is classified by source
of funds, research areas and research activities according to the lists below.
Source of funds
The respondents were asked to distribute full-time-equivalents (FTE) by
main source of funding: Basic funding (i.e. General university funds at HEIs),
Industry, Ministries and government agencies, Counties and municipalities
(in Norway they have the responsibility for preschool and basic education
up until Upper secondary school), the Research council of Norway, Abroad
(including the EU commission) and Other national sources.
Research areas and research activity
The respondents were also asked to classify the educational R&D activities
by seven research areas and five research activities in a matrix. The purpo-
se of this exercise is to identify research areas and research activities with
substantial activity, as well as "white spots on the map" where it should be
considered to increase the effort.
The research areas in the study were: Preschool/kindergarten (Early child-
hood education, ISCED level 0), Basic school (1-10 year, ISCED level
1 and 2), Secondary education (ISCED level 3), Vocational education
(ISCED level 4-5), Higher education (ISCED level 5-7), Researcher trai-
ning (PhD students, ISCED level 8), Adult education and lifelong learning
and Not applicable.
Research activity was classified within these categories: Policy and manage-
ment systems, Administration: Finance, organization and management, Edu-
cation: Teaching, learning and development and Relationship between edu-
cational system, work life and society, as well as Not applicable.
In order to calculate R&D efforts in each area of research and each research
activity, FTEs are converted to a percentage and linked to the total amount
of expenditure on educational R&D at the unit. We can thus calculate a value
for each field in the matrix, but also for each research area or research acti-
vity.
R&D expenditure on educational R&D in Norway by type
of performing institution; 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013 (mil-
lion EUR). Fixed 2010-prices.
Source: NIFU
In 2007, 103 units with educational research responded to the survey. Two
years later, the number of units had increased to 145. In 2011, no special
survey on educational research was conducted, but 171 units reported that
they had educational research through the R&D statistics’ questionnaire. In
2013, 195 units reported that they had R&D activities within Education, and
146 units participated in the survey.
Educational R&D in Norway by level of educati-
on: 2013
Source: NIFU
The highest share of educational R&D in Norway in 2013 was spent on hig-
her education (23 per cent), followed by Lower secondary school (21 per
cent) and upper Secondary school (19 per cent). The smallest areas within
educational R&D were vocational education (less than 1 per cent) and rese-
arch education (2 per cent). This corresponds well to the number of pupils
enrolled on the different levels of the Norwegian education system.
0%
7%
14%
21%
0
50
100
150
2007 2009 2011 2013
Per centMill. EUR Research
institutes
University
colleges
Universities
Edu R&D as
total R&D:
Universities
Edu R&D as
total R&D:
University
colleges
Edu R&D as
total R&D:
Research
institutes
Kindergarten
(ISCED 0)
13 %
Basic school
(ISCED 1)
16 %
Lower
secondary
school
(ISCED 2)
21 %
Upper secondary
school
(ISCED 3)
19 %
Vocational
education
(ISCED 4-5)
0 %
Tertiary
education
(ISCED 5-7)
23 %
Research
education
(ISCED 8)
2 %
Adult learning
6 %
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
No barriers
Lack of policy/
community interest
Lack of commercial
potential
Not acknowledged
in career prospects
Lack of incentive
due to ownership
of results
Too difficult or
demanding
Lack of expertise/
access to expertise
Other topics are
more prestigious
Legal, regulatory
and administrative
barriers
Insufficient time
Access to funding
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
No barriers
Lack of policy/
community interest
Difficulty in
getting published
Legal, regulatory
and administrative
barriers
Lack of expertise
Too difficult or
demanding
Not acknowledged
in career
prospects
Other topics
more prestigious
Insufficient time
Access to funding