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Successive research studies carried out by Professor Brahm Norwich in the Graduate School of Education have addressed the development of policy for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), shaped professional understanding of how best to teach pupils with SEN, and generated a resource to support teacher-educators and teacher trainees in meeting the needs of pupils with SEN. The research has driven a fundamental re-appraisal of how children with SEN should be taught, showing that many children with SEN do not require specialist teaching, but rather an intensification of the same general teaching methods used for non-SEN pupils. The research has resulted in the creation of a practical training tool for SEN teaching and a teacher-training tool designed on this basis has been disseminated nationally to teacher training providers. Testimonials indicate that the tool has contributed directly to improving the quality of teaching for pupils with SEN.
Creativity research of the Centre for Research in Education (CRE) has impacted upon practice in teaching and learning throughout the UK, and a number of other countries. It has helped inform policy decisions, in terms of assessment at Key Stage 3 (KS3). It has had impact upon teaching and assessment practices around the world, with specific examples being cited from the USA, New Zealand, and Chile. In the UK it has been used by commercial organisations (The ABRSM), arts organisations (Sound and Music, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group), charities (Esmée Fairbairn), and Local Authorities (Birmingham City Council Music Service).
In 2008, Professor Frank Hardman led a baseline study of pedagogic practices in Tanzanian primary schools to inform the design of a national school-based in-service education and training (INSET) programme. In February 2011, a pilot of the programme was launched and in August 2012 Hardman was commissioned to lead on an evaluation of the pilot, building on the 2008 baseline. Based on the findings of the 2012 evaluation, the Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) and Prime Ministers' Office-Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG) are currently planning a national scale-up of the INSET programme.
Our research on curriculum and teacher agency has shaped curriculum policy and teacher development in two Scottish local authorities and a third had embarked on this route at the end of the period. Secondly, the research is informing the national curriculum review being undertaken by Education Scotland. Consequently, it is being used in teacher development programmes that are promoting improvements in the classroom. It has also informed scrutiny of policy among a wider professional audience and raised awareness of complex processes of curriculum reform within the broader public discussion in Scotland.
From 2000 to 2003 Professor Jean Rudduck led a largely Cambridge-based research team that investigated the potential of `student voice' to engage learners. The `Consulting Pupils about Teaching and Learning' research Network, funded by the ESRC's Teaching and Learning Research Programme, trialled and evaluated strategies with teachers in a wide range of schools. Take-up in the UK and abroad was extensive. This case study focuses on the impact in Ontario, Canada; where the Ministry of Education explicitly used the findings of Rudduck's research to mount an ambitious Student Voice initiative (2008-); the success of this has led to date to the Ministry providing some 6,000 grants to 800 schools to help build stronger approaches to `student voice' into the infra-structure of its school system.
Research by Smyth and colleagues into diversification of the teaching profession resulted in the formation of Refugees Into Teaching in Scotland (RITeS) funded initially by the European Refugee Fund and then the Scottish Government. RITeS has enabled professionals who were teachers in their country of origin and arrived in the UK seeking asylum to maintain their professional identity and revitalise their professional skills in a new education system, leading to employment opportunities through identification as teachers rather than refugees. The project provided information on the specific needs of 387 refugee teachers to the General Teaching Council for Scotland and to employing local authorities. RITeS has been used as a model for similar projects with teachers in England and other refugee professionals in Scotland.
The landmark research project described in this case study has caused national policy-makers, education bodies, inspectors, local authorities and schools to reconsider the once-routine practice of assigning teaching assistants (TAs) to work with lower-attaining pupils and those with special educational needs (SEN). It has led to:
The study's findings are also influencing education policy thinking in other countries.
During the past twenty years, mentoring and coaching has increasingly been employed as a key strategy in the initial training and continuing professional development of teachers in England and other European countries with the aim of improving teaching and learning. This research has resulted in regional and international impact on education practitioners' continuing professional development and practice. These include:
(1) Primary and secondary teachers from the Merseyside region, who participated in the LJMU Mentoring and Coaching programme to enhance the effectiveness of their professional practice as individuals and to facilitate professional learning and development within their schools.
(2) Education practitioners from teaching, nursing and social work across Europe, who participated in the TISSNTE Intensive Course and attended dissemination events and workshops in England (2012), Finland (2010), Hungary (2008, 2011) and Norway (2009).
The Haydn Scale is an instrument for considering the working atmosphere in classrooms and is used for teacher development by schools and Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers within and beyond the UK. Within the UK, it is the most widely used instrument for reflecting on and helping to understand deficits in classroom climate, and over the REF period, there is evidence to demonstrate that the scale is used worldwide. Large numbers of teacher educators, heads, teachers and student teachers have found it to be a useful resource in developing understanding of the factors influencing classroom climate and pupil behaviour.
With computing science in schools and universities suffering from an international education crisis, University of Glasgow research has driven the development of new school curriculum across the UK. The learning and teaching materials developed at Glasgow rethink the way computing science is taught, with over 10,000 pupils taking part in workshops in Scotland and 1,600 teachers in 20 countries using the materials. In the US, this research has attracted 20 high schools and 2,000 university students into programmes demonstrating new methods in teaching computational thinking. Dr Quintin Cutts has also contributed to the Scottish Qualifications Authority's assessments for the new Scottish curriculum, consulting on assessment techniques and nationwide Computing Science exam papers.