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Impacts highlighted in this case study derive from research into the leadership of collaboration in, between and among educational organisations. This has resulted in a range of outputs and processes which have had an impact on how leaders and practitioners work in partnership; design joint professional development programmes; and evaluate and sustain collaborative working. The research has also influenced the development of collaborative improvement programmes in local authorities and national government agencies. This had led to impacts on the leaders of collaborative improvement initiatives, including the development of school-to-school networks, with a specific focus on evaluating the impact of their work.
This case study describes the significant impact of the research discussed on the debate about the design and delivery of leadership development programmes both nationally and internationally. In particular the work described has informed the rethinking of the nature of the content of leadership programmes and has contributed towards the emergence of an alternative consensus about the nature of the development of school leaders. Although hard to measure, the subsequent impact on attitudes and behaviours of school leaders can be traced back to the research. Increased international debate about effective leadership can be demonstrated through the demand for translations of the research into other languages.
Inter-professional collaboration to prevent social exclusion of children and young people is an emergent work practice, reflecting major changes in welfare policy in the UK and beyond. Research conducted at Oxford since 2005 on these systemic changes, and the new demands they have made on practitioners and services, has contributed to the reconfiguration of children's services locally and nationally, and to the analysis and planning of services beyond the UK. Knowledge exchange is built into the studies to produce immediate and long-term impact on practices and policies, and findings have been integrated into commissioned reports, teaching materials for service leaders, and practitioner and policy summaries.
The impact of Professor Garvey's work in coaching and mentoring is extensive and far reaching nationally and internationally in terms of influencing practice across many sectors of society. It has impacted on, for example, the NHS, education in schools, professional bodies, and private and public sector organisations. In particular, his research and publications have influenced the ways in which coaching and mentoring are defined and the content of coach/mentor education and training in a range of educational settings.
The Urban Scholars Programme (USP) entails an innovative and sustained intervention study, which was launched by Professor Valsa Koshy in response to requests from local authorities (LAs) to address the `wastage of talent' among inner-city teenagers and to support schools with the implementation of the UK's Widening Participation Policy (2000), aimed at encouraging students from poorer backgrounds to study at university. The impact of the USP research has been evident at different levels. The direct beneficiaries are the students (aged 12 to 16 years) attending the programme, their families and teachers from 33 London schools in areas of high social deprivation. Through dissemination activities and the significant interest from educationalists, government policy makers, Local Authorities, Widening Participation (WP) officers in universities and academics, the project's research outcomes have had significant impact, both nationally and internationally. Through a range of additional knowledge transfer activities, the programme model and a toolkit of support materials continue to be made available to universities and schools.
Research conducted at UCL by Professor Orazio Attanasio and his direct engagement with policymakers has been instrumental in the implementation, design and evaluation of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes to stimulate the accumulation of human capital in Mexico and Colombia. The research underpinned the design of an innovative pilot, which he also evaluated, in two major cities, Puebla and Ecatepec, with a combined population of around 4 million. In Colombia, an evaluation led by Professor Attanasio led to improvements in and expansions of the CCT programme, with ongoing benefits to 3 million households. The research team also contributed to a child development programme that launched in Peru in March 2013.
Educational effectiveness and improvement research by the University of Southampton School of Education has contributed significantly to the design and implementation of educational policy and practice at both national and international levels. Impact has been predominantly in the area of policy, but the School's ground-breaking research has also shown the effects of (and practice within) `good' schools and has pioneered novel approaches to school improvement, school organisation and the use of data in schools. The Educational Effectiveness and Improvement Group has helped establish the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) and given it a global reach; its research has directly informed policy implementation through academy chains, schools and local authorities in the UK generally and in Wales in particular, and internationally in the US, China, Sweden, Cyprus and Chile. The School's worldwide reach is among the most widespread in Education.
The large-scale, longitudinal research on early years education, in particular the Effective Provision of Pre-School Education study, led from Oxford by Sylva and Sammons, has shaped the design, funding and implementation of policy at local, national, and international levels, and has contributed to major shifts in public discourse, and changes in early years practice over the past 15 years. The wide-ranging policy changes shaped by this research have transformed the landscape of early years education, and include: 15 hours/week of free early years education for 3-4 year olds; free early years places for disadvantaged 2 year olds (Two Year Old Offer); the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum; and major funding (the Graduate Leader Fund) to upgrade the qualifications of preschool staff.
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.
CRL works on dispositional teaching (DT) in schools and colleges: that is, teaching methods that impact on the development of learners' dispositions towards, and beliefs about, learning itself. Generic dispositions such as perseverance in the face of difficulty, reflective checking of assumptions, or willingness to seek and act on feedback, are crucial mediators of students' success as learners. CRL contributes to research on DT, and derives tools that enable teachers in a range of settings to correct dysfunctional beliefs, inculcate effective learning habits, and cultivate a positive mind-set towards the challenges of learning. Our research is of two kinds: literature- based theory-development; and empirical assessment of the efficacy of derived tools and pedagogical processes.
It focuses on the development of positive learning dispositions (PLDs) in three main `contexts':