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The IOE researchers featured in this case study have had a major and sustained impact on education in the Indian sub-continent. Geeta Kingdon has shaped UK government policy on educational aid to India. She has also helped to ensure that millions of poor children in Uttar Pradesh — India's most populous state — qualify for free places in private schools. Angela Little's work in Sri Lanka has raised the profile of primary education, which has been hampered by low status and inadequate funding. She has also done much to improve the life chances of the country's disadvantaged children — particularly those growing up on tea plantations.
The Research Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty (RECOUP) examined the effects of education on the lives and livelihoods of people in four developing countries - India, Pakistan, Kenya and Ghana. It also investigated how best to improve education and poverty-reduction strategies in and for developing countries. Its research outcomes influenced the volume of UK aid to education between 2008-13. It helped to improve the allocation of UK aid, resulting in greater emphasis being placed on the most needy countries. It brought particular benefits for the aid process in the case of India. It also helped refine international approaches to the education of the disabled.
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.
Professor Stephen Ball has produced a series of highly provocative analyses of English education policy and the neo-liberal education concepts and practices that have taken root in an increasing number of countries. He has also raised awareness of the growing significance of international edu-businesses and philanthropists. His work has proved valuable not only to national and global teachers' organisations but to pressure groups and think tanks seeking to protect the state education system. Teachers have also derived comfort and insight from Ball's research as it allows them to gain a better understanding of the mundane but powerful managerial and market forces that influence how they work and relate to themselves.
Jessica Ringrose's research on young people, social media and sexuality has helped raise awareness nationally and internationally about the implications of new media for young people's relationships, self-image and physical and emotional well-being and safety. Studying digital-age phenomena such as `sexting' and `slut-shaming', Ringrose has attracted substantial but overwhelmingly sensitive press coverage and sparked serious public discussion on difficult issues. She has influenced national and third sector guidelines on sex and relationship education and on internet controls and her work has underpinned resources for schools. She has advised on a series of government reports and inspired a very influential speech by Diane Abbott MP on the sexualisation of society.
This case study focuses on two related areas: the issue of violence against female students and how this is framed by `lad culture' in higher education (HE). It documents five areas where Alison Phipps' research has either directly led or indirectly contributed to change:
Centre for the History of Women's Education's research, exemplified by Goodman, had cultural and educational impact in girls' schools and supported heritage preservation. Girls' schools came to value their archives from research illustrating they contained unique evidence of teachers' work and women's lives. Goodman supported successful Heritage Lottery Funding (HlF) bids for two Centres for the History of Girls' Education, which delivered consultancy to other schools, impacting on curriculum development, and providing cultural impact beyond their schools. Research highlighting the importance of the British Federation of University Women impacted the preservation of their Library and supported relocation of their archive.
A sustained and substantial research programme on teacher's lives and careers has influenced policy development, informed communities of practice and shaped leadership training materials and programmes. The work provides new insights into the complexity of teacher development which has been taken up widely around the world and used extensively by government policy makers and school leaders in the assessment of professional competencies and targeting of support to improve performance and enhance retention in the profession.
The research of the Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) has reshaped the discourse on access to education in low-income countries. It has influenced directly the education programmes of DFID, AusAid, the World Bank, the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNICEF, UNESCO, and Education International. The research was key to securing £80 million from DFID for the flagship RMSA programme of the Government of India, to contributing to the design of the £250 million DFID programme in Ethiopia, to writing the Commonwealth Ministers' Post-2015 Framework for Development, and to theorising the UNICEF 25-country studies on Out-of-School Children.
The recommendations from this EOC funded research have had a demonstrable impact upon policy. Government responded by implementing a national agenda to challenge gender stereotypes and extend choices for young people which included a review of work experience placements. Best Practice Guides produced by EOC and distributed to key stakeholders foreground the study's recommendations. At the local level, EBPs, LSC and schools have reformed practice and piloted a range of initiatives. In response to the recommendations made through this research, the construction of the London 2012 Olympic Games site met targets for greater gender equality — specifically non-traditional placements for women.