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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.
Lack of physical activity can lead to obesity and a number of chronic conditions such as cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes, which reduce quality of life, put individuals' lives at risk and are a burden on health budgets and the economy. The importance of embedding physical activity in education is widely recognised by governments and other organisations with a health agenda. A body of research surveying the provision of physical education (PE) in schools across the globe and assessing the quality of training for those delivering PE has stimulated policy debate and development within the European Union, shaped policy within UNESCO and fed into the International Olympic Committee's recommendations for improving the health and fitness of young people through physical activity and sport.
University of Glasgow-led research on assessment and learning directly shaped assessment policy and practice in Scotland, the UK and Norway. This included the development and implementation of the Assessment is for Learning Programme (AifL) and the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) as well as changes to testing and monitoring under the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN). The University of Glasgow's contribution to the internationally renowned Assessment Reform Group prompted further curricular and assessment changes both within and beyond the UK. Most recently the impact of the Glasgow research has extended to Norway where it influenced the Norwegian Directorate of Education's changes to assessment policy.
Identifying and promoting best practice in the education of young children, this case study focuses on local, national and international policy and practice in two linked areas: children's learning and staff professional development. It underpins national strategy for England, Northern Ireland and Wales and informs international curriculum developments. We have made a significant impact on children's lives through:
Research conducted at Queen's has shaped significant changes to the revised Northern Ireland Curriculum which became statutory in 2007. There are two main research areas that led to these changes: teaching children to think across the curriculum, which has affected, and will continue to affect, the experiences of all children between 4-14 years in Northern Ireland schools (estimated 230,000 children annually); and a play-based early years curriculum, which affects all children between 4-6 years (estimated 48,000 children annually). The research on teaching thinking continues to influence curriculum developments elsewhere in the UK, specifically Wales and Scotland, as well as internationally, including the Republic of Ireland and Thailand. The research has even wider reach through current advisory work with the International Baccalaureate Organisation. The play-based learning research has specifically influenced policy and the professional development of teachers in the Republic of Ireland.
Research conducted by Stranmillis University College (SUC) and Queen's University Belfast (QUB) has made significant changes to the Foundation Stage (FS) of the revised Northern Ireland Curriculum which is now statutory for all children aged 4-6 in the first two years of primary school, embodied in the Education Order (2007). This play-based curriculum will continue to change the experiences of approximately 50,000 children per year for the next 10-15 years. The research created frameworks, pedagogical strategies and assessment instruments which have impacted on policy and practice both in the contexts of primary and pre-schools in Northern Ireland (NI) and in the Republic of Ireland (RoI).
The IOE has had a major impact on the field of geography education, under the leadership of David Lambert. His ideas on the subject's structure, content and significance, developed in part with John Morgan, have been put into practice, most powerfully through the £4m government-funded Action Plan for Geography 2006-11 (APG), which boosted teacher knowledge and raised geography's profile. As a result of the APG, and his influence on the Geography Association's 2009 `manifesto', Lambert's work has benefited more than two-thirds of English secondary schools. His ideas have influenced national curriculum developments, GCSE course revisions, the thinking of Ofsted and have been carried around the world.
The Cambridge Primary Review (CPR) produced the most comprehensive and authoritative review of English primary education since the 1960s. Combining educational research with a commission of enquiry, this major initiative produced a series of reviews and reports which received extensive coverage in the UK media, generating sustained, informed public debate about primary education with considerable impact on the thinking and activities of practitioners and policy-makers. Subsequently a national network of regional CPR centres has become a standard source for serving and trainee teachers and CPR's website has been accessed in 75% of the world's countries.
Research conducted by Stranmillis University College (SUC) has significantly contributed to the effective teaching of literacy skills to children aged 4-6 in the first two years of primary school in Northern Ireland (NI) [1]. Informed by the evaluation, the Linguistic Phonics Approach (LPA) is currently employed by 461 schools in NI affecting some 25,000 children per year. The research provided a cost-benefit analysis, created innovative assessment instruments to assess children's written skills and evidence of the positive impact of LPA on children's literacy development [2]. SUC is the only institution in Ireland to deliver certified LPA training to 90 BEd and 15 PGCE students per annum.
Engineering is central to ensuring economic growth in the UK and making sure the country remains competitive in the global economy, yet there is a persistent lack of engagement with the subject in schools. Addressing this challenge, researchers at the University of Glasgow led a collaborative project to achieve sustainable educational change. Working with engineers at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde — as well as with industrialists, teachers and policy-makers — they raised the profile of engineering within the Scottish school curriculum and embedded engineering in teaching and examination.