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Professor Claire Callender's timely research has informed the policy debate about financial support for part-time undergraduates in England. Her research significantly raised awareness and understanding within government, and more widely, about the case for reform by highlighting the deleterious effects of the pre-2012/13 funding system on the supply of, and demand for, part-time study. It influenced major changes in student funding arrangements for part-time undergraduates introduced in 2012/13, and modified their on-going development. Policymakers have benefitted from her research, alongside higher education (HE) institutions, HE stakeholders and practitioners, and part-time students eligible for the new loans.
Comprehensive recommendations from research into barriers to participation in golf were adopted by a National Governing Body (NGB) of sport, England Golf, to inform their Whole Sport Plan (2013-17). In particular, the research focused on England Golf's GolfMark scheme: the national initiative used to widen participation. Substantial changes to the GolfMark scheme were made based upon the findings of the research. For example, the awareness that the barriers to engaging in GolfMark included a club's perceived inability to change and individuals' lack of knowledge, led to the development of an online signposting and resource system to guide and support clubs in achieving GolfMark status. The intended consequent outcome of increasing and widening participation in golf also contributes to many of the objectives of Sport England, the government body providing funding underpinning the existence of England Golf.
Research by the University of Edinburgh (1997 to 2006, but part of a continuing programme of work) on socio-economic inequalities in education and the impact of educational reform has had an impact on public policy debates, mainly in Scotland. The significance of the impact is seen in the raised profile of socio-economic inequalities in policy agendas and the extent to which it has informed the design of policy responses and influenced policy debates. It has played an important role in holding the public policy process to account, by providing the main independent evidence base on the actual and potential contribution of policy. Its reach has extended to include policy-makers and participants in public debates about education and, indirectly, pupils and students.
Social Inclusion in Education has been the focus of research for a number of years at the Institute for Education Policy Research (IEPR). This case study draws on research projects on supporting non-traditional learners in education, and offering advice for informed decision-making in education. This has involved externally funded research projects, and outputs in refereed academic journals which have been much cited by policy-makers as well as the academic and practitioner community. The main impact of our research has been on education policy-makers, and those individuals whose lives have been affected by the work of policy-makers.
Educational performance tables — some comparing countries as well as schools — have come to assume great importance. They now influence not only parents' school choices but some national education policies. Tables can, however, mislead as well as enlighten. The three studies featured here demonstrate this and help to ensure that the public will be better informed in future. Two played a key role in convincing the government that it should revise England's school performance tables. The third gave civil servants and politicians good reason to be more circumspect about how they publicly interpret international pupil performance data.
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 British Household Panel Study (BHPS) is a longitudinal survey that has followed a representative sample of individuals since the early 1990s. The resource is used routinely by government departments (e.g. DWP, HMRC, Cabinet Office) and third-sector bodies (e.g. Children's Society) for their research and for monitoring progress towards policy targets. The data's longitudinal character has helped to transform government departments' understanding of the goals of social policies, and allowed them to redefine targets in ways not possible without the BHPS. Examples include DWP's monitoring of persistent poverty, which uses BHPS data to estimate the probability of an individual living in poverty for several successive years.
Jim Gallacher and Robert Ingram's research on the role of short cycle higher education (SCHE) has now had a significant impact on the development of policy in Scotland, within the European Union and beyond. This has led to initiatives in Scotland to enhance the role of Higher National Certificates and Diplomas (HNC/Ds), and strengthen articulation pathways between colleges and universities. This work has also been recognised at an international level in shaping policy within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and CEDEFOP (European Centre for Development of Vocational Training) on the 'permeability' between vocational and academic qualifications.
Research at LSE led by Nicholas Barr made documented contributions to higher education finance in England, Hungary and across the EU. Final impacts of the English reforms between 2008 and 2012 included (a) more resources for universities and student support, (b) more students, and (c) wider participation. The reforms, which affected financial support for over 1 million English-domiciled students in 2011/12, were designed to support economic growth by ensuring a continuing supply of higher level skills and to improve social mobility.
Growing out of earlier UK work, an LSE-led team designed a student loan scheme for Hungary which (a) provided financial support for large numbers of students, (b) involved no additional public spending, and (c) proved robust in the face of the economic crisis.
As a direct result of the success of that scheme, an LSE-led team was invited to produce a feasibility study for an EU-wide student loan facility. The resulting institution, the Erasmus + Loan Guarantee Facility, is intended to foster international student mobility.
The research outlined below was instrumental in the development of a new classification of graduate occupations, beyond a dichotomous graduate/non-graduate distinction, which has become a standard typology for analysing the graduate labour market. Policymakers and research bodies, such as HECSU and Universities UK, have used it to better understand the impact of higher education, labour market and wider social policy reform, such as migration policy. Most UK HEIs have used this typology to compare employment outcomes for their graduates and it has also proved to be an important point of reference for careers advisors and students to aid educational and career decision-making.