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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.
This study was undertaken for the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), undertaken by The University of Northampton in collaboration with the Australian Special Education Principals Association (ASEPA) and the University of Adelaide, Australia. It comprised a review of literature and current policy and practice in curriculum, assessment and reporting (CAR) for students with disabilities (SWD). It has informed ACARA's development work for the Australian Curriculum, which will see the full implementation of the first nationally consistent approach to curriculum in all states and territories by 2014. Focus on CAR for SWD highlighted underfunding for this group of students in all government initiative focusing on rolling out the implementation of the Australian Curriculum. $A200m was announced in 2011/12 Federal budget with an additional $A100m in 2013/14. This $A300m is to support many of the themes articulated in the research. The impact on SWD is to ensure comprehensive access to school curriculum, assessment and reporting thus contributing to their more widespread inclusion within schools and society at large
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.
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).
As a direct result of research carried out at King's, formative assessment, or assessment for learning, has become a central feature of how UK teachers interact with learners in the classroom in order to support their progression. The findings of six research and development studies have led to guidance aimed directly at, and used by, teachers. They have fed directly into national policies (including Making Good Progress and Assessing Pupil Progress) and informed guidance circulated to all schools in England. Similar initiatives informed by the research have been implemented in Wales, Scotland and overseas. Recommendations from the studies have also informed initial teacher training standards in the UK and the policy of professional teaching bodies. The research is widely used in teacher training.
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 mode and structure of initial teacher education (ITE) is an instrumental factor in the quality of pupil learning and educational attainment. University of Glasgow research had a direct role in re-shaping ITE by substantially influencing Teaching Scotland's Future: Report of a review of teacher education in Scotland, the government's most comprehensive and radical review of teacher education and professional learning for the last 20 years. The final government report specifically called for a `hub model' of teaching schools, similar to a model being piloted at Glasgow, to be introduced across Scotland, effecting a transformation in the way that Scotland's 49,000 teachers are initially taught and trained.
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.
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.
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).