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This case study outlines the impact of research investigating the character of a legitimate contribution to schools by religious believers. The impact is twofold. Firstly, it has stimulated considerable public debate by offering an influential alternative to those who object to religious contributions in schools. Secondly, it has influenced the classroom work of teachers in church schools by offering a positive rationale and practical model for developing a distinctively Christian approach to pedagogy. The main beneficiaries are Anglican and Roman Catholic dioceses, their schools and teachers.
Educational effectiveness and improvement research by the University of Southampton School of Education has contributed significantly to the design and implementation of educational policy and practice at both national and international levels. Impact has been predominantly in the area of policy, but the School's ground-breaking research has also shown the effects of (and practice within) `good' schools and has pioneered novel approaches to school improvement, school organisation and the use of data in schools. The Educational Effectiveness and Improvement Group has helped establish the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) and given it a global reach; its research has directly informed policy implementation through academy chains, schools and local authorities in the UK generally and in Wales in particular, and internationally in the US, China, Sweden, Cyprus and Chile. The School's worldwide reach is among the most widespread in Education.
IOE researcher Marie Lall has set up the first joint discussions between representatives of Myanmar's ethnic armed group education departments and a Ministry of Education team that is leading the country's education reform process. This breakthrough is believed to have assisted not only the rebuilding of the Myanmar (formerly Burma) education system but also the national peace process. Lall's research has played a key role in persuading UNICEF, AusAID1 and other international organisations, such as the European Union, to make further investments in the reconstruction of the country's education services. She has also helped to highlight the importance of mother-tongue teaching — an issue that must be resolved if Myanmar's Burmese-speaking majority are to reach a lasting settlement with other ethnic communities.
The IOE researchers featured in this case study have had a major and sustained impact on education in the Indian sub-continent. Geeta Kingdon has shaped UK government policy on educational aid to India. She has also helped to ensure that millions of poor children in Uttar Pradesh — India's most populous state — qualify for free places in private schools. Angela Little's work in Sri Lanka has raised the profile of primary education, which has been hampered by low status and inadequate funding. She has also done much to improve the life chances of the country's disadvantaged children — particularly those growing up on tea plantations.
The researcher's work on Roman Catholic attitudes to other religions, socially and theologically, has impacted civic life, influencing associations between religious people and groups to illuminate and challenge cultural values and social assumptions. This impact has been mediated locally (Clifton diocese web media), nationally (through the Catholic Bishops' Conference and their officers, and through the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations Board curriculum), and internationally (through Georgetown University web resources for Christian-Muslim relations). Stakeholders in these three zones report cultural and social impact throughout the period of assessment through the researcher's work on non-HEI groups and individuals.
A sustained and substantial research programme on teacher's lives and careers has influenced policy development, informed communities of practice and shaped leadership training materials and programmes. The work provides new insights into the complexity of teacher development which has been taken up widely around the world and used extensively by government policy makers and school leaders in the assessment of professional competencies and targeting of support to improve performance and enhance retention in the profession.
Enshrining 24 moral and spiritual dispositions, the 2007 Birmingham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, the outcome of years of Marius Felderhof's research into educational principles, marks a dramatic departure from previous RE syllabuses. It has been officially adopted by Birmingham City Council, welcomed by civic leaders, endorsed by Birmingham faith leaders, and implemented in nearly 400 Birmingham schools. In addition, it has stimulated debate on RE provision nationally and internationally, and has been the subject of studies and conference debates in the UK and elsewhere. Shifting the focus of RE teaching from imparting information to moral and spiritual formation, it is acknowledged as introducing the most radical changes to RE in decades.
University of Glasgow research into Religious Education (RE) in the UK significantly informed public and political debate on the place of RE in UK Schools. The findings received widespread coverage in radio, print and digital media outlets. The research provided an evidence base for the Religious Education Council's Review of RE in 2012 and was used in the development of a myriad of national CPD events for teachers and education policy-makers and professionals.
This case study is based on research into the Dissolving Boundaries (DB) Programme which uses ICT and face to face contact to address post-conflict mistrust between young people in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). With funding from the Departments of Education in Belfast and Dublin, the programme has been operating in 300 schools since 1999. Research led by Austin (2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013) has had an impact in four broad ways; first, on teacher professional development by refining practice of collaborative learning using ICT; second, on the quality of pupil learning, including perceptions of cultural difference; third, on government policy in the way ICT is assessed by requiring schools to use "exchange" as a new requirement and, fourth, internationally, through supporting the `north-south' strand of the Belfast Agreement 1998, and shaping similar work in England and the Middle East.
Impacts highlighted in this case study derive from research into the leadership of collaboration in, between and among educational organisations. This has resulted in a range of outputs and processes which have had an impact on how leaders and practitioners work in partnership; design joint professional development programmes; and evaluate and sustain collaborative working. The research has also influenced the development of collaborative improvement programmes in local authorities and national government agencies. This had led to impacts on the leaders of collaborative improvement initiatives, including the development of school-to-school networks, with a specific focus on evaluating the impact of their work.