Evaluation of the Training and Development Agency for Schools’ funding for ICT in ITT Projects
The key component of this resource is a 60 page report outlining the impact on Initial Teacher Training (ITT) of targeted funding to support developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In addition, an executive summary is available separately, and there is also a short video overview, six video case studies with notes, a video summary of the case studies and two further documents for ITT providers aimed at supporting their planning and evaluation of TDA-funded projects. The r
Fade or flourish: how primary schools can build on children’s early progress
The resource is a report which is the final stage of an ongoing project at the Social Market Foundation (supported by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and the Sutton Trust). It explores the contribution of good quality pre-school experience to improving the life chances of disadvantaged children and their families. The paper sets out a review of the evidence and best-practice in primary schools with a particular emphasis on the needs of those children who are most vulnerable to falling behind thei
Meeting their potential: the role of technology in overcoming disadvantage and disaffection in young
This review of evidence on how disadvantage and disaffection has impacted on young people's lives has been commissioned by Becta – a Government agency which has a remit to promote the effective and innovative use of information and communication technologies in teaching and learning. To this end, the review also considers what role ICT can play in raising young people’s aspirations and educational attainment. One of the Government's key aims is to narrow and close the gap in educational ach
ESOL in the post-compulsory learning and skills sector: an evaluation
This Ofsted survey evaluates the quality of provision of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) offered in the post-compulsory learning and skills sector and reports on the programmes available to learners. It is the outcome of visits between September 2007 and March 2008 to 14 further education (FE) colleges, eight adult and community learning providers, five independent work-based learning providers, and one learndirect provider. In addition, the survey draws on the results of a survey
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
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.
Improving primary teachers' subject knowledge across the curriculum
This report summarises the evidence from inspectors of Ofsted’s subject survey programme during 2007/8 on the quality of teaching across the primary curriculum in all subjects. It excludes English and mathematics, but includes religious education, PSHE and citizenship. It focuses on aspects of good practice in teaching these non-core subjects and identifies good subject knowledge as a key factor in securing effective teaching and learning.
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
Lessons From The Front 2009
Lessons From The Front is a policy-focused report based on the views and recommendations of 500 Teach First teachers reflecting on their experiences in urban complex schools in the UK in a national survey, focus groups and discussions. The principle findings of the report are addressed in two chapters: the first focuses on developing teachers and teaching though improved CPD, promoting both teacher inquisitiveness and professional collaboration; the second focuses on some wider issues facing sch
Boys who dare don't care: unwanted men, the performing arts and perplexing disruptions to the male t
This paper, presented at BERA 2009, focuses upon boys’ perceptions of male teachers as role models to encourage greater participation in the arts. It is highlighted from the evidence, however, that male role models are not required and that “the wrong kind of man will not do”. What is underlined is a set of key characteristics for the teacher who is ‘better than good’.
UK Child Poverty
Save the Children reports that the number of children living in severe poverty in the UK has increased to 1.7 million, which is an increase of 260,000 since 2004. One fifth of these children live in London. This claim is based on a policy briefing, "Measuring severe child poverty in the UK", commissioned by them from the New Policy Institute. According to Save the Children, 4 million children live in poverty in the UK. They claim that 55% of families earning less than £12,000 or less a year wil
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
Masters in Teaching and Learning
This Teachers TV resource is part of the Need to Know series; 'the essential guide to current hot education topics'. The 'hot topic' in question here is the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL), a new government-funded Masters level qualification which aims to present a classroom-based programme designed specifically for practising teachers.
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
What role for the three Rs? Progress and attainment during primary school
The resource looks at patterns of attainment of primary school pupils in England in Key Stage 1 and 2 assessments. The researchers monitored a group of children from birth onwards and went on to analyse the pupils’ National Curriculum Standard Attainment Test scores. They looked for evidence of fluctuations and stability in progress across the Key Stages. Amongst their recommendations is that there needs to be a more holistic approach to assessment, one that will include outcomes such as motiv
International perspectives on quality in initial teacher education: An exploratory review of selecte
The resource is an information document, written by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre), part of the Social Science Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London. The document presents an international overview of existing literature on the regulation and provision of initial teacher education (deriving mostly from three countries: the UK, USA and Australia), and detailing a comparative assessment of different approaches in
Peer- and Parent-Assisted Learning: in Reading, Writing, Spelling and Thinking Skills & in Maths, Sc
These articles were originally published as part of the Spotlights series of publications for practitioners by the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE). They are provided as free downloads, by Practical Research for Education (PRE), the practitioner journal of the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The articles offer an overview of evidence on the effectiveness of parent- or peer-assisted learning (PAL), focusing on the areas of literacy and related thinking skills
Performance Management - In-School CPD - Secondary
This is a video produced by Teachers TV which focuses on continuing professional development activities within Blackwell School in Bristol. The video is based upon the use of a regular in-house newsletter employed by the school’s head of CPD to publicise opportunities to colleagues. Three examples of development activities resulting from the circulation of the newsletter are shown. First, a science teacher visits an interactive science museum to gain new ideas and resources for teaching at key
Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy
JRSE, published by the American Institute of Physics, is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal covering all areas of renewable and sustainable energy-related fields that apply to the physical science and engineering communities. Content is published online daily, collected into bimonthly issues (6 times a year). As an electronic-only, web-based journal with rapid publication time, JRSE is responsive to the many new developments expected in this field.
The Sound of Jelly Wobbling
The sound of a jelly wobbling has been recorded for the first time ever in a soundproof chamber at UCL.
The recording is being turned into a soundtrack for an architectural jelly banquet to be hosted at UCL at 8pm on 4 July 2008. The event, run by Bompas and Parr as part of the London Festival of Architecture, will see a troupe of dancers deliver a spoon-based performance to the soundtrack sampled from wobbling jellies and a delicious aroma of strawberries, and will feature jelly wrestling and
