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Hewstone's theory and research on intergroup contact has made two major contributions to UK policy on social integration: (1) Promoting community cohesion between different ethnic groups; for example, by providing a guiding principle for policy documents and survey items for the Citizenship Survey prepared by Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG). (2) Providing the theoretical base and rigorous evidence for the Sharing Education Programme (SEP) in Northern Ireland (NI), which links schools across the denominational divide, and provides opportunities for sustained contact for pupils who typically have no such cross-group exchanges. SEP is already having impact in changing attitudes in NI and elsewhere.
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.
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.
This innovative research has had an enduring influence on shared education policy debates in Northern Ireland. It directly affected the understanding and attitudes of the most important education policy actors, including the Department for Education Northern Ireland and the Good Relations Forum. It has been significant in two ways. First, it has been widely acknowledged as providing especially robust and reliable evidence of public support for greater sharing in education (e.g. through shared campuses for Protestant and Catholic schools). Secondly, it has been recognised as a model of best practice for consulting the two main communities, unionist and nationalist, about reforms to education provision.
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.
Research investigating the long-term impact of child contact arrangements in the context of parental separation under the existing law has rapidly and demonstrably impacted upon Parliamentary discussion, policy setting and recommendations by the Children's Commissioner, upon the strategies of cross-disciplinary groups of family justice practitioners who deal with children's issues, and in judicial practice, such that prior presumptions in relation to child contact have altered. Prof. Jane Fortin of the University of Sussex carried out a Nuffield-funded empirical research project between 2010 and 2012, the report of the project, describing the research and providing detailed recommendations, was subsequently published as a book and later dealt with in journal publications.
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.
The research impacted on the Coalition Government's decisions to (a) discontinue the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) national strategy (2011), and (b) roll out the Achievement for All (AfA) pilot programme at a national level (2011). Both of these major decisions on public policy and professional practice were underpinned by the findings of large-scale national evaluation projects.
The Urban Scholars Programme (USP) entails an innovative and sustained intervention study, which was launched by Professor Valsa Koshy in response to requests from local authorities (LAs) to address the `wastage of talent' among inner-city teenagers and to support schools with the implementation of the UK's Widening Participation Policy (2000), aimed at encouraging students from poorer backgrounds to study at university. The impact of the USP research has been evident at different levels. The direct beneficiaries are the students (aged 12 to 16 years) attending the programme, their families and teachers from 33 London schools in areas of high social deprivation. Through dissemination activities and the significant interest from educationalists, government policy makers, Local Authorities, Widening Participation (WP) officers in universities and academics, the project's research outcomes have had significant impact, both nationally and internationally. Through a range of additional knowledge transfer activities, the programme model and a toolkit of support materials continue to be made available to universities and schools.
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.