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Pedagogical practices, actions and interactions in early years educational settings are of considerable significance for children's subsequent lives. Stephen's research has influenced provision and practice in Ireland, Australia and the USA, as well as in the countries of the UK. Her work on early years Gaelic provision has shaped national policy in Scotland.
The case study outlined here is concerned with how human behaviour and social practices can be shaped and guided by applying education for sustainability. Outreach for this work influences both policy and practice through advisory roles with international curriculum reforms (Australia-ACARA), national training and development consultancy in high-impact organisations (World Bank, Liverpool FC and Burnley FC, Mott MacDonald, Business In The Community), and practical applications including setting up for the DfE the first School of Sustainability / high school as an academy in Burnley, Lancashire and establishing other sites in urban and rural settings in various locations of the Pop-Up-Foundation project across the world.
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.
Researchers from Oxford Brookes University have significantly contributed towards driving improvements to teaching and learning through an evidence-based approach. They have influenced practice and policies, whilst challenging public perceptions about the impact of education. Through their partnership with the University of Westminster, the Westminster Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training has improved teaching and learning in the Learning and Skills Sector, engaged with the design and delivery of enterprise education programmes for Further Education leaders and championed the status of vocational education. They have actively contributed to public debates and their research continues to be disseminated and used in training throughout the UK.
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.
The capability development model for Government Departments and civil service communicators, designed by Anne Gregory for the UK Cabinet Office, was adopted across Whitehall. This work includes continuing input into the development of communication capability in Government. It has also underpinned best-practice policy development in the Department of Health, and is currently being applied across the NHS as well as being used in local government and in the private sector. Overseas governments, NGOs and private organisations as well as the Global Alliance (the international confederation of PR and communication management associations) have all adopted Gregory's approaches and recommendations on capability development.
Professor Lorna Unwin has helped to produce a remarkably valuable framework for thinking about apprenticeships and workplace learning that has influenced governments, employers and training providers — not only in the UK but around the world. Her research has encouraged closer consideration by both government officials and training providers of the process of developing expertise in work-related education and training and in designing more effective workplace learning environments. Her appointment as a Select Committee specialist adviser led to the first public admission that `conversions' — where existing employees are given apprentice status partly to ratchet up stocks of qualifications in the workforce — comprised 70% of all UK apprenticeships.
Research by Professor Richard Thorpe from 2003 to 2010 at Leeds University Business School (LUBS) on management learning and leadership in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has impacted three groups: (i) business education providers (universities, colleges and training organisations), who have used the research to improve the training and education they provide for SMEs; (ii) SME owner-mangers, who have been exposed to the research when attending business programmes, which has enabled them to build on their entrepreneurial behaviour and improve their strategic planning; (iii) government, regional and sector policymakers, who have used the research in policies designed to generate growth in SMEs.
Some research achieves apparent impact because it travels in the same direction as the prevailing political wind. The researchers featured here have often headed into that wind by arguing that England should close the academic-vocational divide and establish a unified and inclusive 14-19 education and training system that meets the needs of all learners. They have consequently made an important contribution to critical public debate on education policy and have helped to shape the thinking of teaching unions, government commissions, awarding bodies and local authorities. Their ideas have proved influential not only in England and Wales but also overseas.
Impact is demonstrated through the ways in which research findings have been utilised by schools and Alternative Provision (AP) providers, to evaluate and remodel educational policies and practices. Evidence is presented to support the assertion that by seeking out the perspectives of children and young people, schools can become more critically aware of the complex educational, social, cultural and economic factors that serve to increase pupil exclusion, vulnerability and exposure to risk. An increase in professional understanding and awareness is demonstrated with reference to examples of personalised pastoral interventions, which respond directly to the needs of alienated and disaffected pupils.