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Children’s physical activity: stimulating policy debate and health improvements

Summary of the impact

Research led by Professor Roger Mackett of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at UCL on children's physical activity has been used by central and local government, other public bodies and various advocacy groups to encourage children to be more active. It has been used to support policy documents and proposals aimed at improving children's health and wellbeing. It has led to improvements in the health, welfare and quality of life of many UK communities through, for example, their greater use of walking buses, which also contributes to reduced CO2 emissions.

Submitting Institution

University College London

Unit of Assessment

Civil and Construction Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Improving Awareness and Understanding of the Government's Obligation to Involve Children in Decision-Making

Summary of the impact

This case study reports the impact on awareness and understanding of children's rights by policy makers, practitioners and children. This was achieved through the development of a legally sound and research-based but user-friendly model for understanding and implementing Article 12 of the UNCRC. This model has been used by the Northern Ireland and Irish Children's Commissioner, Non-governmental organisations, other Higher Education Institutions, government departments and teachers to inform policy makers, practitioners and children and young people about the obligation to give children's views due weight in decision-making. The research model and the practical impact it has had has extended understanding beyond the traditionally used concept of the "voice of the child" or "pupil voice" by emphasizing the legal obligation to ensure that children's views have an influence on decision-making, with direct effects on policy and practice and also enabling government to fulfil its additional obligation under Article 42 of the UNCRC to ensure that the rights in the UNCRC are widely known among adults and children alike.

Submitting Institution

Queen's University Belfast

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Social Work

Empowering children and young people

Summary of the impact

Our work on children's agency in research has had three impacts:

  • the Children's Research Centre (CRC) created new opportunities for children and young people to engage in their own research and publish their reports online
  • their findings have impacted on policy and practice, for example on support for children with Graves' disease
  • participating in the research process has positively changed the way children and young people view themselves.

This approach has been replicated in Australia, Turkey, New Zealand, Norway and Qatar. The CRC website hosts 150 successful projects by children and young people, and through the Diana Award more than 1500 children were supported in their research on cyberbullying.

Submitting Institution

Open University

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Pioneering longitudinal research leads to greater understanding of childhood poverty among policy-makers

Summary of the impact

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.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

Anthropology and Development Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Economics: Applied Economics
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Children's participation in decision-making in primary classrooms

Summary of the impact

The case study addresses the impact of the project `Children Decide: power, participation and purpose in the primary classroom' (2004-6) regarding its two aims: developing collaborative approaches to decision-making in schools, and advancing methodological understanding of children as action researchers. The project made a subsequent methodological contribution (children as researchers) to educational evaluation and policy in two international organisations. Since 2008, the project has had a direct and significant impact on children's participation in decision-making in Norfolk schools, as reported by the teachers and those who attended dissemination conferences and professional development initiatives, and nationally by educators who used the published report.

Submitting Institution

University of East Anglia

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education

The influence of colour in the appraisal of visual information by professionals and others

Summary of the impact

Public understanding and debate at the national level have been impacted upon by the research work of psychologists at the University. Furthermore, through bespoke knowledge exchange workshops understanding, intentions and practices of education and care professionals have changed. The impact draws on the work of Burkitt and Greenlees, both chartered psychologists and Readers at the University undertaking applied psychological research in the area of colour. Burkitt has published on the use and meaning of colour in children's drawings and Greenlees on its effect on sporting performance particularly in football.

Submitting Institution

University of Chichester

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Neurosciences, Public Health and Health Services
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

The Emotional Dimensions of Nursery Life and Learning

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by Peter Elfer has shown the significance of attention to babies and under threes' emotional well-being in nursery if early learning is to be effective. Children who are continually anxious or distressed do not learn well. A sensitive, responsive and consistent relationship with mainly one or two members of nursery staff (now known as the child's `key-person') has been shown to promote in young children feelings of safety and security. The research has underpinned the development of the key-person role in nurseries, as the means for enabling individual attention to children. This research has had a significant impact in the following areas:

1) UK Government curriculum guidance and requirements

2) Training of the early years workforce and continuing professional development

3) The evolution of UK Coalition Government policy and public discourse

The reach of the research is extensive, providing the underpinning for attachment practice in English nurseries. The above developments have strengthened the expectation in national standards of greater attention to the emotions of babies and young children in nursery and have provided the detailed guidance on how this can be achieved in practice.

Submitting Institution

Roehampton University

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Research on Enid Blyton

Summary of the impact

Since his initial publications on the work of Enid Blyton in 1995, David Rudd has been instrumental in changing the public's perception of one of the most popular children's writers of all time. He has appeared on TV and Radio, both in this country and abroad, been quoted extensively in the media and in newspaper articles, besides giving talks and publishing articles, both locally and internationally. He has also been sought out by publishers, newspapers and programme makers for consultancy work.

Submitting Institution

University of Bolton

Unit of Assessment

English Language and Literature

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

The Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE) project: A better start for children

Summary of the impact

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:

  • national policy and spending — the expansion of pre-school provision and supporting families, especially the disadvantaged;
  • curriculum design — National Curriculum and early childhood education guidelines;
  • service delivery — audits of the quality of pre-school;
  • professional practice — enhancing practitioners' understanding of `effective' pedagogy;
  • social equity — national and international programmes concerning social justice.

The two Principal Investigators at the IOE have taken lead roles in all of the above.

Submitting Institution

University College London

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Education: Specialist Studies In Education

The Blue Dog Project: Preventing Dog Bites in Children

Summary of the impact

We have carried out research into children's perception and behaviour around dogs, which has led to the development of an effective safety training programme, as well as improving public understanding of child-dog interactions and risk contexts for dog bite injury in children. The `Blue Dog' (BD — www.thebluedog.org) project has led to changed educational and veterinary practice, public policy change and animal welfare benefits internationally. A key part of the project was the development and validation of an interactive DVD, with training tools that teach children how to be safe around dogs. The results of the research were integrated into the injury prevention messages disseminated by the BD project. The research programme has received publicity worldwide, and over 80,000 copies of the BD DVD have been distributed to 21 different countries, with the accompanying BD booklet translated into 17 different languages. The research was carried out from 2005 onwards, with the impact of the research accruing from 2008 to date.

Submitting Institution

University of Lincoln

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

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