The Educational Attainment of Looked After Children – Local Authority Pilot Projects: Final Resear
This resource is a full research report that was commissioned on behalf of the Care and Justice Division by the Education Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. The research which was conducted between September 2006 and June 2008,was commissioned due to the “significant degree of concern” in Scotland about the low achievement in education of Looked After Children and young people and the subsequent lack of engagement in education, employment and training by the age of 21.
New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) national surveys
This report looks at the findings the latest cycle of New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) which periodically surveys primary and secondary schools in order to assess the impact of recent educational reforms.
Harnessing Technology Review 2007: Progress and impact of technology in education
This Becta review examines what research and evidence indicate about the current state of technology in schools and FE colleges. It identifies some positive evidence for the impact of ICT, but also demonstrates the increasing complexity and sophistication of ways in which technology use now needs to be considered. It draws heavily on its companion research summary (Kitchen et al.), but also on a wide range of other research and inspection sources
Use of Alcohol among Children and Young People: Final Report
The resource is a report of research findings into the influences and motivations for drinking or non-drinking behaviour, aimed at informing the design of interventions for parents and young people (aged 10-18). The research was commissioned by the DCSF and carried out by a private research company. The research seeks to understand the views of young people and their parents in a three month period in 2008 across the UK, and does so through qualitative research using mixed methods
Aspirations: The views of foster children and their carers
This resource is a full research report detailing the findings of the first stage of an ongoing study of a cohort of children and their foster carers working with the charity TACT (The Adolescent and Children's Trust) in 2007. The core services of TACT are fostering and adoption, although they also offer a range of services to empower and support young people and their families. This is intended to be an initial report for a longitudinal study of the 2007 cohort of children and foster carers to
Technology and school improvement: reducing social inequity with technology?
This resource is a 124-page description of a survey of schools to investigate the degree to which technology enhances social equality and school improvement. The schools selected are those being removed from special measures or are under notice to improve (following Ofsted inspection). The Becta funded project was conducted by the Institute for Policy Studies in Education (IPSE) at London Metropolitan University. The conclusions are clearly stated over three pages. The research “found no direc
Professionalism, research-informed practice and pedagogy - GTCE Event
The General Teaching Council for England held an event entitled "Professionalism, research-informed practice and pedagogy" on 23rd November 2009 in London.
Initial Teacher Education Research Reports 2004 - 2006
This website presents a series of four research reports from the New Zealand Teachers Council and the Ministry of Education. These reports provide an evidence base for policy development in initial teacher education in New Zealand. Two of the reports can be accessed directly from the site, together with a summary of findings providing an analysis of these four research reports. The two other working papers are available on request from the Ministry of Education or the Teachers Council.
Botanic Gardens as Environments for Learning
This is a report for teachers from a project looking at the educational opportunities offered by Botanic gardens. The work at King’s College London was funded by the National Science Foundation. The report provides background knowledge on why plants matter, on science concepts, on the roles of botanic gardens, on research on teaching about plants, and on types of visits and possible outcomes. Case studies show the variety of learning that pupils might gain from visits. The report ends with sug
Promoting Creativity in Initial Teacher Education; a study by tutors and students at Canterbury Chri
The resource is a research paper that forms part of a much wider initiative, the Higher Education Arts and Schools (HEARTS) project, and specifically discusses the development of a collaborative project between the education faculty at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) and local schools. Entitled ‘Strangely Familiar’, the researchers aimed to demonstrate the impact of involvement in the Arts on creative teaching and thinking.
Communities in recession: the impact on deprived neighbourhoods
This ‘Round-up’ reviews the evidence from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s body of research and neighbourhood level unemployment data 1985-2009, comparing the social and economic consequences on specific deprived areas of the UK. Comparisons are made with two former recessions (of the early 1980s and 1990s) with the recession of 2008-9. It reports on the extent to which these identified communities shared in, or were excluded from, the benefits of the economic growth of the intervening yea
Governing by Numbers? Shaping Education through Data
This resource is a CES (Centre for Educational Sociology) briefing paper sketching an analysis of the effects of European Union-sponsored collection of data on the education systems of the member states. The analysis is part of a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), "Governing by Numbers", itself part of a larger study funded by the European Science Foundation (ESF), Fabricating Quality in European Education Systems (FabQ).
citizED: Citizenship and Multiculturalism: A Critical Assessment
A research report of a project which investigated the views of young members of BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) communities and highlighted subsequent implications for professional development.
A test of the factorial validity of the Teacher Efficacy Scale
This journal article, from Research in Education, reports on the findings of research carried out to gauge the validity of the Teacher Efficacy Scale, the purpose of which is to measure teachers' attitude towards working with students. There are two versions of the scale – the long form (Gibson and Dembo, 1984) and the short form (Hoy and Woolfolk, 1993). These are designed to take a sample from four broad areas that are said to play important roles in teacher effectiveness: alignment, inclusi
Mapping Education Research in the United Kingdom/The Social Organisation of Education Research in En
These two articles are from a European peer-reviewed education journal, European Educational Research Journal (2007). This particular issue maps education research in the UK. The first, Mapping Education Research in the United Kingdom, provides an introduction to the issue, relating the educational research in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The second, The Social Organisation of Educational Research in England, considers the “structural, historical and educational factors” wh
The DCSF Research Conference 2010
The DCSF Research Conference 2010, The Use of Evidence in Policy Development and Delivery, took place at the QEII Conference Centre in London on 9 February. The day consisted of a series of addresses, followed by two workshop sessions, and a panel discussion in the afternoon. Carole Willis, Director of Research and Analysis at the DCSF, welcomed delegates, and spoke of the need to make decisions to use money for the best impact in terms of delivering better outcomes, based on evidence. A central
Methods: Observation
Professor Jerry Wellington provides a commentary on a sample chapter on observation from 'Research Methods in Early Childhood Education' by Mukherji and Albon. This chapter provides a helpful introduction to the use of observation, its historical background, different types of observation and some of the problematic issues involved in doing it - such as recording, reporting and the avoidance of bias.
Gathering data
Professor Jerry Wellington provides a commentary on a sample chapter on data gathering from 'Action Research for Improving Educational Practice' by Valsa Koshy. When it comes to data, should we talk about gathering, collecting, creating, acquiring, harvesting or nurturing? Koshy uses the term ‘gathering' data is if it were unproblematic. This is one of the weaknesses of this chapter, but it has many strengths and will be valuable for anyone embarking on a research project in their own setting,
Whose data are they? Ethics in case study research
Professor Jerry Wellington provides a commentary on a sample chapter on ethical issues from 'Case Study Research In Practice' by Helen Simons. Most people undertaking research in their own school or college will be involved in some form of ‘case study research', for example by investigating their own classroom practice or teaching methods. Few will have the time or resources to conduct a large scale, ‘randomised' investigation - hence this chapter on the ethics of conducting case study work
Mixed Methods Research
Professor Jerry Wellington provides a commentary on a sample chapter on mixed methods research from 'Introduction to Research Methods in Education' by Keith Punch. Most research projects into an aspect of teaching and learning (i.e. educational research) will quite rightly employ a mixture of methods. Indeed, the very nature of most important research questions in education (usually what, how or why questions when it comes down to it) actually demands that a range of methodologies and methods wi
