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Professor Sue Roulstone's research has contributed significantly and widely to a growing political appreciation of the crucial role that language plays in children's development, socially, emotionally and educationally. The research has contributed evidence to underpin policy initiatives to monitor language as an indicator of successful child development, to support the importance of children's early language development and to ensure services for those with impairments are evidence-based. These initiatives have in turn impacted upon the development of services and the use of parent and child perspectives in service design and development.
Research has produced an Interim impact on Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) and Specialist Teachers who work with Children with Language difficulties. I-CAN, a major children's communication charity, embraced the research findings and associated resources to support their involvement in a nationwide study on pupils at risk of fixed-term or permanent exclusion.
Key findings from the study revealed that 90% of SLTs would change the way they would work; over 80% of pupils improved their confidence, behaviour and communication skills; 95% of parents reported an improvement in attendance; and fixed-term exclusions decreased by 21%.
Children from areas of socio-economic disadvantage are at risk of underachievement at school because of impoverished language and literacy development. Teaching staff do not feel equipped to deal with the needs of these children, who may also have English as an additional language.
Our research findings have heightened awareness of the relationship between social disadvantage, language and literacy. They have led directly to the development and delivery of programmes which can train teaching staff to enhance the spoken and written language skills of their pupils. These programmes also enable teaching staff to identify pupils who are in need of additional support thus increasing access to the curriculum and subsequent life choices.
Research at Newcastle on speech language and communication needs (SLCN) has significantly extended the range and quality of evidence in this field. The research is significantly informing high level policy makers, and has been used to set up an accessible database which is having impact on the practice of a range of different professionals. It has contributed to a new programme of work which has produced positive outcomes for schools, children and young people and has been used as an evidence base to secure charity funding for a third sector organisation.
Language impairment is common in children and, without effective early intervention, presents a risk for educational, social and emotional disturbance. The team used their considerable experience in child language research to produce a novel assessment of child language development — The Reynell Developmental Language Scales 3 (RDLS3) — the first test of child language development to be standardised in the U.K. to assess both understanding and production of language in young children. Use of the test has improved language assessment and diagnosis for children with language impairments and, as such, has enabled health and education professionals to target therapy and monitor the effectiveness of interventions to improve child language development. The test has been widely used in the U.K. and is now also being used widely internationally. Recent research by the team has informed a revised version of the test — The New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS). Sales figures of the RDLS3 and the commissioning of the NRDLS are testament to its outstanding reputation and enduring legacy worldwide.
University of Reading research on precocious (young early) readers identified phonemic awareness (the ability to hear, identify and manipulate small units of sound) as being important for success in learning to read words. These findings have impacted on national recommendations about the teaching of phonics in the early years; influenced the development of a series of television programmes for pre-school children; influenced the teaching of reading in English in Malaysia; and led to involvement in the development of a phonics screener for Year 1 children. The work has also had an impact on classroom assessments and the training of teachers.
Language and communication disorders affect about 7% of children in countries where assessments are undertaken such as the UK and USA. Difficulties with language and communication severely limit children's social participation, school attainment and life chances, with repercussions for their families and wider society. Research at City University London has had major impacts on clinical and educational policy and practice and the support available to children of all ages with language and communication needs. For example:
It has led to a validated tool for school-based professionals working with deaf children to identify, monitor and evaluate the needs of those with poor language skills.
This is a case study of the impact of theoretically-motivated research in psychology on children's reading development. In 1990 an educational psychologist found that reading standards in England were in decline, which was thought to be due to the lack of phonics teaching. The underpinning research showed that synthetic phonics teaching was very much more effective at developing reading and spelling skills than the analytic phonics approach adopted in England in 1999. The Education Select Committee took evidence on this research from Johnston, and synthetic phonics became the recommended method in England. The Key Stage 1 national reading assessment carried out in 2012 showed that 2% more children (estimated to be around 7,500) reached the expected level in reading in 2012 than the previous year, and in 2013 it went up a further 2%. In 2012, 58% of children in Year 1 passed the new Phonics Check, and in 2013 69% passed.
The University of Southampton's research into the teaching of modern foreign languages (MFLs) in UK schools has helped shape government education policy and contributed to an improvement in the way children acquire knowledge of other languages and cultures. By studying teaching methods in the classroom and devising tests to measure how effective they are in giving children the ability to communicate in another language, the researchers contributed to the current widespread acceptance of the importance of introducing language learning at primary level. They have also built a comprehensive set of resources which are being used by teachers and other education practitioners to improve the teaching of foreign languages.
Wood and Plester conducted the first empirical research into the impact of text messaging on children's literacy abilities, the results of which have impacted on: