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Research on impairments in phonological skills underlying developmental dyslexia was instrumental in producing a major change in assessment practice for children with dyslexia, in particular for bilingual children who were previously significantly under-diagnosed. The assessment instrument developed, the Phonological Assessment Battery (PhAB), was the first such measure available to educational practitioners in the UK. Widely recommended in professional guidance, it remains the most commonly used phonological instrument by educational psychologists and teachers nationally. It has been used with nearly 38,000 children around the world in the period 2008-13 and a second edition is currently in preparation.
The Centre for Research into Inclusion and Vulnerable Learners' research on dyslexia and multilingualism in schools (Tilly Mortimore, Mim Hutchings and Anny Northcote) has influenced the public policy of several Local Authorities in England and of the South African Association of Learning Differences (SAALED), through which it has also impacted upon the practice of teachers, psychologists and facilitators in both countries. Mortimore's research on dyslexia and learning style in higher education is part of her wider body of research in this field which has influenced the curriculum and policies of several UK universities, and has also made an impact upon the policy and training offered by professional associations such as the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) and Professional Association of Teachers with SpLD (PATOSS).
Research in dyslexia carried out within the Unit has had impacts on practitioners and services in education, health and welfare. Pioneering research by Dr Bahman Baluch and Dr Maryam Danaye-Tousi (University of Guilan, Iran) on Farsi, and the relationship between orthography and the process of learning to read, has made a significant contribution to the ways in which reading is taught in Iran throughout the curriculum. Research on a common underlying deficit in dyslexia by Dr Nicola Brunswick, which lead to her appointment as Trustee of the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), has helped improve services for people with dyslexia in the UK.
Professor Usha Goswami's research on reading development and dyslexia and in the relatively new field of educational neuroscience has gained her international renown as an expert in this field that brings together research in neurobiology and education. Her literacy research, which she and her group have undertaken in the Departments of Education and Psychology in the University of Cambridge, has focused on cross-linguistic factors underpinning reading development and developmental dyslexia, producing innovative data. She has also been an influential critic of the Government's focus on `synthetic phonics'. During this REF impact period, Professor Goswami's work has had significant impact on UK Government educational and other public policy, on public debate and understanding about reading and dyslexia, and on practitioners and services concerned with written material in every language.
Research led by Professor Bob Burden at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Exeter has demonstrated the value of infusing thinking skills into the curriculum of schools across the age range. A criterion-referenced approach to the evaluation of this `whole thinking school' approach has been developed and applied. Particular attention has been devoted to the standardisation and use of the Myself-As-a-Learner-Scale (MALS) which has been used in schools across the UK and abroad to increase achievement and improve the formative evaluation of students and teaching. An additional benefit of the MALS has been its wider use in examining the learning self-concepts of dyslexic students, thereby contributing to informed education policy change through the influential Rose Report on early identification and teaching of dyslexic children, which led the Labour government to invest £10 million embarking on a national programme to provide 4000 specialist dyslexia teachers. Specifically, Burden's research has had impact through:
Research examining the best ways of identifying and diagnosing motor impairment in children has established a universal standard of assessment: the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Co-authored by Sugden (University of Leeds), a complete new edition was developed in 2007. The second edition contains a new standardised test of motor impairment, a new criterion referenced checklist and a new intervention manual based on participation and learning, all informed by the authors' theoretical, empirical and professional research. The MABC is used in educational, health, and psychological services globally to provide detailed and accurate profiling of children 3 - 16 years, and through assessing children's motor skills and providing guidelines for intervention, it is used to determine strategies across the world to improve participation in activities in daily living for children with movement difficulties.
The Movement ABC-2 Test is internationally recognised as `the gold standard' for identifying children with motor difficulties. Prof Anna Barnett's revision and development has provided health and education professionals with a reliable assessment tool, improving the support for children and their families. This test is recommended in the latest European guidelines on Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) — a condition recognised as having a major impact on the lives of children — and has also been translated into several languages for global use. The parallel development of specific tests for handwriting (DASH and DASH17+) for children and adults has provided clinicians and teachers with the tools to help support students with their class work and written examinations.
Academic English language skills are essential if overseas students are to perform effectively in university/college contexts and to engage in study with relative independence and adequate comprehension. The Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA) has developed a theoretically sound and practically efficient methodology for the construction and validation of tertiary-level Academic English tests used in the selection of millions of students by universities worldwide. Greater precision in language tests enables academic institutions to target their resources in ways that bring maximum benefit to students, both pre- and post-entry. CRELLA's research into how English is employed in academic contexts has led to significant improvements in test design and practice, and added to the commercial impact of both the existing tests to which they have contributed and the new tests they have created. Over £1.6 million was generated by our development of the Password test alone — see Section 4 below.
Border agencies, employers and universities use language tests to make decisions about immigration requests, job applications and university admissions. The two largest tests in the world have 4.5 million test takers per year. Good test design is crucial in determining the fairness, relevance and accuracy of the results. Our research has enabled us to create new tools that have been used to enhance quality control and develop assessment skills. We have created new scoring methods to make performance assessment more reliable, and developed theoretical frameworks to improve test development. Our research has impacted upon professional practice and training within examination boards.
Meaningful and useable definitions of language proficiency levels are essential for effective English curriculum design, language learning, teaching, and assessment. Since 2008 the socio-cognitive framework developed by the Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA) has had a major impact on international test providers, enabling them to clarify the proficiency levels underpinning their English language tests, particularly the criterial features distinguishing one proficiency level from another. It has enabled them to develop more valid, dependable and fair measurement tools and to increase numbers of candidates taking their tests. For millions of successful candidates these enhanced English tests improve job prospects, increase transnational mobility and open doors to educational and training opportunities. Accurate proficiency tests lead to better informed and more equitable decision-making processes in society.