Evaluation of the Childcare Taster Pilot and Extended Schools Childcare Pilot programmes: final repo
This is a report of research commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Work and Pensions to critically assess the impact and outcomes of the implementation of Extended Schools Childcare Pilots (ESCP) and Childcare Taster Pilots (CTPs). The qualitative research took place in a total of 11 Local authorities in England and Wales in 6 phases from June 2004 until June 2006. The overall evaluation ran from April 2004-March 2007.
When You Are Born Matters: The Impact of Date of Birth on Child
This is a report of research published by the Institute of Fiscal Studies designed to investigate two key issues:
• What are the factors behind the comparatively poor academic achievement in cognitive tests of the youngest children in each school year cohort?
• Should something be done about this disparity and if so what?
Researching young researchers in primary schools: responding to children’s evaluations of a partic
The Children’s Research Centre of the Open University supports children being active researchers in their schools. This paper presents the views of 10 and 11 year-old researchers about an evaluation of their involvement in research projects. The children valued their unique perspective as well as group perspectives of the process. The paper considers the implications of a participatory technique as a way of representing their views. The author shows the value of listening carefully to children
Creating Accurate Science Benchmark Assessments to Inform Instruction
This is a report on American research carried out by The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing at the University of California. The aim was to write, pilot test and evaluate benchmark assessments in the form of multiple-choice and open-ended questions in four areas of science taught to Grade 5 pupils (equivalent to Year 6 pupils in the UK). It was carried out using practicing teachers and researchers who were experts on science pedagogy and content.
The impact of 14-16 year olds on further education colleges
This report examined colleges’ practical strategies and issues for integrating 14–16 year-old learners into the more traditional profile of FE. It is based on case studies of five colleges. The aim of this research was to explore the impact that 14–16 year olds have on FE colleges, their staff and older learners, to examine the strategies that FE colleges and their staff used to integrate 14–16 year olds successfully into their institutions and to identify the issues that remained to be
Innovative and inclusive physical education
The nature of the resource is essentially two-fold; the first aspect of the resource is the research findings from the study into SDM. The second aspect of the study is a discussion of the methods which raises some interesting questions for educational researchers.
Words Matter – Thinking and Talking About Writing in the Classroom
This is a reflection on a classroom-based investigation undertaken in one school as part of the Effective Learning Project, a collaborative research initiative with researchers from Homerton College, Cambridge. The investigation posed the question: “What excites primary pupils about writing in school and what switches them off?”
The Quality of Learning: Assessment Alternatives for Primary Education
This is a report that is part of a series of thirty research surveys being produced for the Primary Review. The report looks at why and how teachers assess children’s progress. The report then moves on to consider the assessment systems used in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as New Zealand, Sweden and France. The systems in these countries are summarised and compared for their relative strengths. The report then evaluates the systems in respect of validity, reliabili
DEEP IMPACT: an investigation of the use of information and communication technologies for teacher e
This resource from the Digital Education Enhancement Project is an extensive description (over 200 pages) of UK-based research of the affordances of ICT in teacher education in Egypt and South Africa conducted from 2001 up to 2004. There is a focus on literacy, numeracy and science through ICT. There is a good description of the research methods and well illustrated case studies.
Students' experiences of ‘researching’ in different subjects
This resource appeared in November 2006 in Practical Research for Education, the NFER publication for teachers. It is a reprint of a 2005 article from a new Zealand Journal Research Information for Teachers. This study was carried out in New Zealand with Year 11, 12 and 13 students. The aim was to collect student views of their experiences of research (identifying, interpreting and analysing information on their own or in a group) in different subjects and different types of courses.
Learning and Teaching in Primary Schools: Processes and Contexts
May 16th saw the final three research surveys by the Cambridge-based Primary Review published. These three interim reports form part of thirty research surveys, commissioned by the Review team to be used as evidence for the final report. The Primary Review "reserves its own judgement" on any conclusions reached by the reports "pending its assessment of the full range of evidence".
Evaluation of a Voices Foundation Primer in Primary Schools
A DfES research report published in 2005 evaluating the impact of a one year Voices Foundation project to develop teachers’ expertise and use of singing, in primary schools across England.
School effectiveness and equity: making connections
This report is a literature review by CFBT of published studies on school effectiveness research (SER) and school improvement research that have ‘contributed to our understanding of school performance and the main implications for school improvement’ (p.6)
Aims for Primary Education: the changing national context
The resource is a survey of research conducted into the changing national context of primary education in England. As one of thirty specially-commissioned surveys of existing research undertaken by 70 academic consultants, it examines major economic and social trends in Britain and how these relate to education. It is part of a two-year project, called The Primary Review, which began in 2006.
Engaging parents in their children’s learning
This document reports the findings of a small-scale research study commissioned by the General Teaching Council (GTC) about parental experiences and views in relation to involvement and engagement with their children’s learning.
Understanding Alzheimer's Disease
Provides a clear demonstration of how the advent of new technologies has aided research into the etiology of disease.
Evidence: What counts as evidence in Education?
This glossary article by Professor Richard Andrews explores what counts as evidence in Education and in the research field of Educational Studies.
Making a Difference with Research - Practical Research for Education Conference 2008
The Practical Research for Education (PRE) Conference entitled 'Making a Difference with Research', took place on 9th July. This was also a celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the journal.
Primary Teachers: initial teacher education, continuing professional development and school leadersh
The resource is one of a series of 32 interim reports from the Primary Review which will publish its final report in late 2008. This report forms part of the Review's research survey strand.
Providing learning opportunities for trainees
The resource is an informative and activities based workbook, to support school-based trainers in providing appropriate learning opportunities for trainees. This is a collation of materials used at training managers’ workshops to aid their understanding of how to improve initial teacher training (ITT) provision, which has been developed from the outcomes of a range of evidence, including small scale research conducted by the University of Birmingham for the TDA.
