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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.
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.
Butler's work has three strands, each of which has made a substantial impact on readerships and audiences beyond the academy. She has actively promoted children's literature pedagogy through her publications and her activities in promoting teaching aids arising from her research in the Learning and Teaching of Children's Literature. Her work on place, history and landscape in children's literature has been hailed as a practical benefit to working writers, and her research-as-practice has resulted in six novels for children and teenagers, as well as works commissioned and written in order to encourage reluctant teenaged readers, She has actively promoted children's literature in schools, online and in society generally.
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.
Cardiff University has established the world's largest single cohort of children and young adults with Down's syndrome in which visual deficits have been characterised. Cardiff research studies over 20 years have informed evidence-based guidelines published by the Department of Health and national practitioner bodies for the recognition and practical management of common visual problems in children with Down's syndrome. Consequently, eye care specialists now recommend bifocals for these children. The Cardiff research has also supported changes to teaching methods and resources for children with Down's syndrome. Collectively these children are now benefiting from better eye care and improved learning and educational opportunities.
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.
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.
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.
Dr Brocklehurst's research has provided a challenge to conventional wisdom on the school age teaching of global politics through critiques of approaches that under-estimate children as political bodies. Her research has subsequently influenced a global provider of education, the International Baccaleurate organisation, in the planning of a service, namely a new Global Politics curriculum. Her research has also stimulated practitioner debate among stakeholders in the publication and provision of global politics texts for children to review them for risks posed by bias, inaccuracies, insensitivity and militarism. Her research has provided resources to enhance professional practice among stakeholders to help them to interpret problems in existing texts, and her research has led to her delivering training for stakeholders and teachers. Her research has also changed practice among stakeholders towards the adoption of a review culture to identify problems and improve children's literature in these sensitive subject areas.
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.