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The large-scale, longitudinal research on early years education, in particular the Effective Provision of Pre-School Education study, led from Oxford by Sylva and Sammons, has shaped the design, funding and implementation of policy at local, national, and international levels, and has contributed to major shifts in public discourse, and changes in early years practice over the past 15 years. The wide-ranging policy changes shaped by this research have transformed the landscape of early years education, and include: 15 hours/week of free early years education for 3-4 year olds; free early years places for disadvantaged 2 year olds (Two Year Old Offer); the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum; and major funding (the Graduate Leader Fund) to upgrade the qualifications of preschool staff.
EPPSE is a Government-funded, high profile, longitudinal study with a multi-disciplinary design and numerous outputs, almost unprecedented in the UK in terms of its scale and scope. It has become a seminal study of the influence of early education on children's later development. Findings have been used in the UK and internationally for:
The two Principal Investigators at the IOE have taken lead roles in all of the above.
The research of the Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) has reshaped the discourse on access to education in low-income countries. It has influenced directly the education programmes of DFID, AusAid, the World Bank, the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNICEF, UNESCO, and Education International. The research was key to securing £80 million from DFID for the flagship RMSA programme of the Government of India, to contributing to the design of the £250 million DFID programme in Ethiopia, to writing the Commonwealth Ministers' Post-2015 Framework for Development, and to theorising the UNICEF 25-country studies on Out-of-School Children.
This case study represents the work of the Pyramid research team within the INSTIL Education Research Group (INSTIL ERG). Research at the University of West London is characterised by an ambition to promote `useful knowledge' and this case study, with its focus on providing evidence to inform and direct practice, fits within this approach. The case study describes the first rigorous evaluation of the impact of Pyramid after-school clubs that aim to improve the socio-emotional wellbeing of vulnerable children. The work of the Pyramid research team provides an empirical evidence base to support the work of a range of stakeholders including: practitioners; policy makers and researchers in the field of children's socio-emotional well-being, and the children and their families. Drawing on the evidence base, these impacts include the securing of funding for the continuation of Pyramid clubs in schools and informing future development and extension of the Pyramid club intervention for delivery to other age groups.
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.
Young Lives is identifying major influences on children's development, from infancy to adulthood, by carrying out a pioneering longitudinal study across four developing countries over 15 years. Young Lives gathers and analyses data on how childhood is changing in diverse communities, especially through the impact of economic, cultural and policy shifts, by studying two age cohorts in each country. UNICEF, the World Bank, Plan International, and Save the Children International, among others, are using Young Lives research to design childhood poverty-reduction policies in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The research also underpins the re-visioning of global child protection work by UNICEF, Save the Children Canada, and World Vision UK.
The impact of this case study is that every preschool child in Northern Ireland has followed an educational programme, developed at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) from 2003 onwards, on respect for ethnic diversity. It has been adopted and embedded within practice by more than 1,200 preschool settings with more than 40,000 children in Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland. In Northern Ireland children as young as three years old have been shown to hold sectarian and racist attitudes. As a result of the work there were major changes on the attitudes of preschool children in terms of respect for ethnic diversity in Northern Ireland. A partnership with US-based Sesame Workshop and the BBC produced a children's television series. Every preschool child in Northern Ireland has seen the series. This has also resulted in less racist and sectarian behaviours amongst the pre-school population. There are early childhood programmes, based upon this work, to promote respect for ethnic diversity being developed in Indonesia, Kenya and Colombia.
Looked after children (children in public care) generally have poorer outcomes in educational achievement and mental health than the wider population. The `Letterbox Club' improves the educational attainment and well-being of looked after children in the UK, and now involves nearly 6,000 children and 130 supporting organisations each year. Each child is sent a parcel of books, number games and stationery once a month for six months, addressed to them at their home. Evaluation consistently demonstrates above-predicted average gains in reading and number skills, high levels of enjoyment, and improvements in educational support provided by foster carers. The scheme has led to changes in policy and practice at local and national levels.
Since 2007, a team of researchers at Northumbria led by Professor Margaret (Greta) Defeyter (employed at Northumbria since Sept 2003) have been investigating the effects of breakfast on children's cognitive performance and social behaviours. The research findings have been translated into an online training programme that has up-skilled the workforce (e.g. teachers, governors, NHS Public Health Advisors and parent volunteers) from across the UK. This training provision has resulted in the start-up of 212 school breakfast clubs across the UK. School staff and public health advisors have reported a significant impact on their knowledge and skills, as well as the training programme having influenced practice and shared learning between colleagues. Following the implementation of school breakfast clubs, teachers have reported gains in terms of school attendance, punctuality and motivation (increased attainment) and quality of life (social deprivation, behaviour and nutrition) of many children involved in the UK.
Professor Dieter Wolke has led several research programmes that delineate the long-term health effects of prenatal exposure to stress and moderate/late preterm, very preterm, and extremely preterm birth. His research has had a direct impact on international medical guidelines and educational recommendations for babies born preterm. The research has also informed European political debate (via a White Paper for the European parliament) on healthcare policy related to after care for preterm or sick children; has influenced UK policy regarding the education of children born preterm; and has contributed to public and practitioner understanding through media items issued, for example, by the NHS and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.