Research impact and public engagement

IOE Research: impact and public engagement

Apprenticeship: a tool for analysing quality

Project leads: Lorna Unwin & Alison Fuller

Funders include: ESRC, Learning & Skills Council, Nuffield Foundation, National Apprenticeship Service

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IOE researchers developed a framework for

thinking about apprenticeships and workplace

learning that has influenced governments,

employers and training providers.

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The research found…

• an “expansive” approach to work-related learning is a structured and holistic model of skill and knowledge development

• a “restrictive” approach to work-related learning is limited to training for narrowly conceived work tasks

The “Expansive-Restrictive” model identifies key characteristics of different approaches to apprenticeship.

The Expansive-Restrictive model “has caught the imagination of those shaping opinion in the sector… It is so successful because it is based in reality, it is simple, and it is clear as to how colleges and organisations can become better learning environments”.

Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Project impact…

• apprentices and trainees have benefited from better learning experiences

• it has shaped thinking in training organisations, businesses, unions, hospitals, colleges and charities

• it has influenced ministers and select committees in the UK and organisations internationally

• it prompted the first public admission that “conversions” made up 70% of apprenticeships in the UK – an issue the Government is addressing

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Engagement with the public…

the researchers advise public bodies and charities Fuller & Unwin served as specialist advisers to the Commons Select

Committee for Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills during its scrutiny of the Apprenticeship Bill

Fuller & Unwin have advised ministers during spending reviews Fuller & Unwin’s articles have appeared in The TES, The Guardian

and The House magazine


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Neonatal blood spot screening: improving communication and informationProject leads: Sandy Oliver, Katrina Hargreaves & Ruth Stewart

Funder: Department of Health in England, on behalf of all four UK countries

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IOE research investigated communication between healthcare professionals and parents, and available information on neonatal blood spot screening.

High standards in communication and information are vital to preventing disability or death in newborns.

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The research found… limited information for parents about blood spot tests

parents rarely refused testing but faced limited choice and a lack of uniform consent procedures

poor communication resulted in needless parental anxiety

health professionals lacked experience or confidence in communicating possible problems

information (e.g. leaflets) presented testing as positive while failing to address the difficulties (e.g. negative outcomes) of testing

“Children are receiving prompt and appropriate early care … [the parent information documents] were developed in collaboration with the IOE and provide parents with clear information on very difficult concepts. It is a credit to the UKNSPC that these freely available leaflets have been used as a resource by many programmes around the world.”

Dr Kevin Southern, chair of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society neonatal screening working group

Project impact…

• number of screenings increased to 99% each year in UK • improved communication between healthcare workers and parents in

UK and worldwide • parents able to make more informed decisions • training materials used across the UK to support the training of

healthcare professionals and to improve communication with parents


• healthcare practitioners and parents developed information leaflets, training materials and other activities

• as parent support research director of the United Kingdom Newborn Screening Programme Centre (UKNSPC), Oliver directly influenced the implementation of national policy

• healthcare practitioners and parents co-authored articles for voluntary sector publications and practitioner journals

• they also developed guidelines on communicating with parents about newborn screening










EPPSE: a better start for childrenProject leads: Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart , Kathy Sylva, Pam Sammons & Edward Melhuish

Funders: Mainly Department for Education (DfE) & its predecessors

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Researchers at the IOE, Oxford and Birkbeck, developed the Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education project to explore what influences children’s academic and social development.

More than 3,000 children from age 3 to post-16 were monitored in this large-scale, mixed-method research programme (1997 to 2014).

It was the first UK robust evidence of the positive and enduring benefits of high-quality pre-school education, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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The research findings …

• identified the characteristics of high-quality pre-school provision

• identified the distinct importance of the home learning environment as well as the influence of other family factors, such as parents’ education

• pinpointed why some children “succeed against the odds”





“The quality of the work is outstanding, and really interesting and useful for teachers. There’s something completely compelling about the mix of types of data, the rigour in the analysis, the commitment to researching over the long haul and the clarity of focus on the young people’s learning and development and the work of those who support them.”

Philippa Cordingley, Chief Executive of the Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE)

Project impact…

• development of Sure Start initiative to give children the best possible start in life

• free nursery education for all 3 & 4-year-olds • informed every spending review since 2000• project’s Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-E)

used across the UK to monitor and plan pre-school practice• “sustained shared thinking” between practitioner and child is

now part of the every-day language of Early Years (EY) practice• underpins EY curricula in Australia and Brazil as well as UK

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• raised public awareness of the importance of pre-school education through extensive media coverage and appearances

• worked closely with DfE on research questions and applications of findings

• worked closely with practitioners and local authorities• advised ministers and practitioners in Australia, Brazil,

China, Eire, South Korea and UK










Making games: empowering pupils to become digital games designersProject leads: David Buckingham, Andrew Burn & Caroline Pelletier

Funders: ESRC, Immersive Education & Department of Trade & Industry

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In collaboration with Immersive Education Ltd, IOE researchers developed a child-friendly 3D computer tool – Mission Maker – for children and young people to make sophisticated puzzle and adventure games without previous programming experience.

The researchers saw a need for the game, as nothing at the time (2003) was available on the market for children.





Mission Maker allows pupils “to learn about the literacy of games design (e.g. narrative structure, rules systems, designing for audience) whilst developing their problem-solving, value judgment, negotiating and decision-making skills”.

Becta (former IT quango)

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Project impact…• endorsed by examination boards and used in hundreds of educational establishments –

UK and internationally • enhanced children’s digital literacy • simplified the design of complex adventure games • pioneered a collaborative model of industrial design• changed thinking in the games industry on the gender divide• Becta revised its policy for ICT in schools –allowed purchase of higher-specification

PCs that can handle the demands of gaming environments• now owned by the IOE under the name MAGiCAL Projects –allowing for further

research and development (R&D), impact and public engagement

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• software developed as a partnership between the software publisher and academics, with students and teachers serving as co-designers

• teachers and students worked with the tool’s developers to refine the product before it went to market

• Becta was closely involved with Making Games, playing a role on its advisory committee

• the researchers liaised with communications regulator Ofcom• IOE’s London Knowledge Lab is making a version with extended

programming functions in collaboration with ICT teachers, to address requirements of the computing curriculum










Musical Futures: boosting achievement, enthusiasm and participationProject lead: Lucy GreenProject evaluators: Sue Hallam & Andrea Creech

Funders: Paul Hamlyn Foundation & the DCSF (now the Department for Education)

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IOE researchers developed radical new teaching and learning strategies in music for 11-14 year-olds, based on the informal learning practices of popular musicians.

The project – Informal Learning in the Music Classroom – formed part of the successful Musical Futures Initiative.

Project impact…

• more than a third of secondary schools in UK incorporate the model

• prompted sharp rise in GCSE music enrolment – with above average results, improved behaviour, raised self-esteem

• used in teacher training and continuous professional development (CPD) courses

• adopted in curriculum, schools, and teacher education around the world – Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Singapore, US

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“(The method) is regarded as one of the major advances in music-teaching pedagogy in this country since the turn of the century.”

Classroom Music magazine

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• teachers involved in the implementation and evaluation of the approach in their schools

• a network of “champion schools” launched to develop the initiative; now devising and delivering free training for music teachers

• method used to engage young teenagers, particularly those described as 'disaffected'










The 'Transforming Education for Girls Project' is run by Community Action for Popular Participation in Nigeria, supported by ActionAid and funded by Comic Relief and the Tubney Charitable Trust.

Africa’s girls: promoting equality and empowermentSVAGS – Project lead: Jenny Parkes; Funder: ActionAid

TEGINT – Project leads: Elaine Unterhalter & Jo Heslop; Funder: ActionAid

GEGPRI – Project lead: Elaine Unterhalter; Funder: ESRC

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Three IOE research projects have helped to improve the lives and prospects of girls in six African countries:

Stop Violence Against Girls In School (SVAGS) – addresses, violence against girls in Kenya, Ghana and Mozambique.

Transforming Education for Girls in Nigeria and Tanzania (TEGINT) – looks at the obstacles that hamper girls’ education and increase their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Gender, Education and Global Poverty Reduction Initiatives (GEGPRI) – examines how global policies on gender equality, education and poverty reduction were understood and implemented in Kenya and South Africa.

Key impact across projects includes…• Kenya – awareness raising among the workforce on sexual violence

issues; tougher approach adopted towards teachers who sexually abuse pupils

• Ghana – improved child protection systems: police work more closely with schools to respond to sexual violence and to encourage girls to report crimes

• Tanzania, Mozambique and Nigeria – creation of children’s clubs to raise awareness to gender, sexual violence and HIV/AIDS issues

• Nigeria – reduced absenteeism; families allowed girls to return to school





The 'Transforming Education for Girls Project' is run by Maarifa ni Ufunguo in Tanzania, supported by ActionAid and funded by Comic Relief and the Tubney Charitable Trust

The research (GEGPRI) has encouraged the department “to engage much more deeply with the complexity of inequality, the multiple causes of teenage pregnancy, the need to eradicate a ‘blaming girls’ culture, (and) how practically to bring girls back into schools”.

Senior government official – South African Education Department

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• IOE researchers worked with in-country colleagues to design the research and develop tools such as monitoring and evaluation systems

• girls in the project schools – across countries – were active in monitoring exercises and contributed at high level meetings

• the projects built on community level initiatives and research findings were shared and promoted by local groups










Young people from care backgrounds: support that puts university within reachProject lead: Sonia JacksonFunder: Buttle UK

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Each year, some 6-8,000 British 19-year-olds who have been in care set out into the world. Those who go on to higher education number in the hundreds.

Due to their small numbers these students have not been recognised as a distinct group.

By Degrees sought to produce evidence that would ultimately increase the numbers of such young people staying on in education.

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The project found…• care-leavers’ potential was being systematically

underestimated• care-leavers faced barriers to university attendance that

other school-leavers did not • these included lack of information, finding holiday-time

accommodation and working long hours to pay higher student debt

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The Buttle Quality Mark is “one of the key success stories for children leaving care”.

KPMG evaluation

Project impact…• the study triggered legislation in England and Wales for a one-off

£2000 bursary for care-leavers going to university• the 2008 Children and Young Person’s Act said Local Authorities had

to provide care leavers with support from a personal adviser until age 25

• the study sparked the Buttle Quality Mark, now held by 56% of higher education institutions (HEIs), who provide extra financial or practical support for care-leavers

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Engagement with the public…• researchers worked closely with Buttle UK and other charities to

campaign and secure changes and to implement the findings

• the research influenced parliament, government bodies and local authorities

• researchers also worked with young people to make their voices heard










“Sexting” and the school curriculum: research for gender equality in the digital worldProject lead: Jessica Ringrose

Funder: NSPCC

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Teenagers, especially girls, face contradictory expectations in our increasingly sexualised society.

Digital technology has added to the complexity of the routes they have to negotiate in order to stay both “cool” and “safe”.

Ringrose studies the way young people manage these pressures.

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• schoolgirls are facing increasing pressure to provide sexually explicit pictures of themselves via phone or internet

• some are developing sophisticated techniques to deal with these pressures but others are left struggling

• girls and boys felt there was silence and secrecy around “sexting” and asked for more support at school

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“Jessica Ringrose’s research helped shape both governmental attitudes to sexualisation and the way they reacted to it through new policy initiatives.”

Linda Papadopoulos, author of the Home Office report, The Sexualisation of Young People (2010)

Project impact…

• the research has raised awareness among policy-makers, educators and the public of a problem that had been little understood

• it underpins teaching resources and informational materials for pupils and parents

• Ringrose’s work on sexting and “post-feminist education” influenced important Home Office and Scottish Parliamentary reports on teenagers and sexualisation

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• Ringrose appears regularly in national print and broadcast media, such as Newsnight

• she worked closely with Diane Abbott on the MP’s influential 2013 “pornification” speech

• she advises government departments and charities• the “Sexting” report is referenced on countless websites and has

been downloaded more than 2,000 times from the NSPCC’s website alone










A Future Made Together: shaping autism research in the UKProject leads: Liz Pellicano & Tony Charman

Funder: Research Autism

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Autism affects the lives of many people in the UK.

In response, there has been a swathe of policy, public service initiatives and research to enhance the life-chances of autistic people.

IOE researchers examined how much was spent on UK autism research, which areas were being addressed and the priorities of the autism community.

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• UK autism research (journal publications) had doubled between 2001 and 2011

• funding had also risen – almost £21 million spread over 106 research projects between 2007 and 2011

• UK research lags behind other countries – amount spent in US in 2010 alone is 89 times that spent in the UK

• over half of UK research focuses on “basic science” • UK autism community want to see more research of direct, practical

concern – on public services and intervention

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“I fill in all these questionnaires and do everything I can to help … but when it comes down to it, it’s not real life. It’s always missing the next step. It’s great you’ve done this research… but now do something with it.”

Parent of a child with autism

Project impact…Findings have provoked widespread debate among:

• funders of research – the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council (MRC), Research Autism, and Autistica

• parent and advocacy groups – the National Autistic Society and Ambitious about Autism

• policymakers – the Autism All Party Parliamentary Group

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• over 1,700 autistic people, their families, practitioners and researchers were consulted

• the report was launched in Parliament – the House of Lords – in July 2013

• Pellicano discussed the report’s implications on a BBC documentary and on 12 local BBC radio stations





For further information on today’s event and the research presented, contact:

Professor Sandy [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]