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Projects
These research projects have been undertaken at the School of Education. The full project archive is available here.
Measuring teacher trust in AI
1 January 2023 - 31 December 2023
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Judith Kleine-Staarman, Dr Georgina (George) Tarling
Research partners: KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel), Cornell University (USA), University College London (UK), University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Universidad de Valladolid (Spain), Osaka University (Japan), University of Bergen (Norway)
About the research
This survey study is part of a large international research collaboration, investigating secondary school teachers' trust in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in education. The term "Artificial Intelligence" refers to software that can make decisions based on large amounts of data (e.g., to provide automated feedback or screen the learners’ reading ability), and automatically improve its performance. Although using AI-based educational tools can assist teachers in their work and improve teaching and learning, there are also potential challenges to adopting AI technology in schools.
Since work in other domains (e.g. medicine) has shown cultural values may influence individuals’ attitudes towards adopting AI-based systems, this study aims to understand whether teachers’ cultural values may affect their trust in using AI in education. The study will compare secondary school teachers’ cultural values and aims to correlate this to their perceived trust in AI in education. Data collection is taking place in Norway, Sweden, Israel, Japan, Spain, the USA, Denmark and the UK. The team from Exeter University is leading the UK strand of the project and secondary school teachers in the UK can use the below link to participate in the survey.
Roadmap STEAMer: developing a steam roadmap for science education in Horizon Europe
1 October 2022 - 31 October 2023
PI/s in Exeter: Associate Professor Kerry Chappell
Research partners: The Lisbon Council (Belgium), Ellinogermaniki Agogi (Greece), ECSITE (Belgium), TRACES (France), University of Malta, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (Greece), Politecnico di Milano (Italy), ScienceView (Greece), Centre for Social Innovation (Austria), Engineering Ingegneria s.p.a (Italy), European School Heads Association (Netherlands)
Funding awarded: (total funding of £109146)
Sponsor(s): UKRI and Horizon 2020
Project webpage(s)
Roadmap STEAMer: developing a steam roadmap for science education in Horizon Europe
About the research
The overall aim of the project is to develop a STEAM roadmap for science education in Horizon Europe, i.e., a plan of action that will provide guidance to EU's key funding programme for research and innovation on how to encourage more interest in STEM through the use of artistic approaches, involving creative thinking and applied arts (the “A” in ‘STEAM’).
The consortium aims to provide Europe with this roadmap, through:
- Collaboration and co-creation with the stakeholder communities of science education, research, innovation, and creativity, through intensive exchange, dialogue and mutual learning among them which will produce better knowledge and shared understandings of the relevant opportunities, challenges and needs.
- A bottom-up approach emphasizing educational practice and practitioners’ agency rather than high-level conceptualizations of STEAM and generic top-down plans (in reality often just vague statements of intention) for its adoption in science education.
- A specific focus on ways to leverage the power of STEAM approaches, as manifested through exemplary cases and best practices, to enable a bridging of open science and open schooling which can catalyse an increased impact for science education as a crucial tool for addressing Europe’s current scientific and societal challenges.
The UoE team consists of Kerry Chappell, Lindsay Hetherington, and Harriet White, and Lucy Yeomans who bring expertise in arts, science education, outdoor learning and equity and participation, respectively. The team’s contribution to Roadmap STEAMer involves bringing these expertise to developing a conceptual framework for STEAM, designing a research methodology and supporting consortium partners with co-creation workshops.
The consortium of Roadmap STEAMer also includes partners from The Lisbon Council (Belgium), Ellinogermaniki Agogi (Greece), ECSITE (Belgium), TRACES (France), University of Malta, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (Greece), Politecnico di Milano (Italy), ScienceView (Greece), Centre for Social Innovation (Austria), Engineering Ingegneria s.p.a (Italy), European School Heads Association (Netherlands).
University of Exeter are supported in Project STEAMer by UKRI grant number 10040523 and Horizon 2020.
Supporting the wellbeing of young people in curriculum-focused environmental education
1 October 2022 - 31 October 2023
PI/s in Exeter: Rachel Manning
Research partners: Field Studies Council
Sponsor(s): ESRC
About the research
Many students in the UK benefit from curriculum-based environmental education (EE) (A-level and GCSE biology and geography fieldwork) which is provided by organisations such as the Field Studies Council (FSC). However, this provision is too focused on a narrow, reductionist curriculum and neglects a key component of health and wellbeing (Alsop & Dillon, 2018).
A large body of literature exists supporting the notion that young people derive both physical and psychological benefits from spending time in natural environments and developing a connection to nature (Mayer et al., 2009). As such, the concept of connection to nature has been a prominent feature in educational theory, and environmental education is commonly attributed as one of the main strategies for facilitating a connection to nature (Fletcher, 2017). However, details of the relationship between curriculum-based EE and wellbeing remain unclear. There has been little insight into the impact of curriculum-based EE on the wellbeing of young people and reveals little of the everyday emotions experienced within pedagogically based experiences of the natural environment.
This project seeks to enhance the understanding of young people’s wellbeing in curriculum-based EE, and in broader settings of education. This project will encourage stakeholders across education settings to think about the wellbeing aspects of educational initiatives and the importance of seeking views from young people about wellbeing in education. It will also allow researchers and stakeholders to share the best practice and enhance knowledge exchange.
Research that will be carried out within this project will capture practitioners’ understanding of supporting young people’s wellbeing in curriculum-based EE, and the perceived opportunities and challenges that exist. As practitioners are tasked with delivering curricula and interacting with young people, it is vital that their experiences are understood, and findings will be used to further support the wellbeing needs of young people. The research will be used to identify professional development and resource needs across outdoor education providers, practitioners, health professionals and schools to ensure programs are designed in an inclusive and impactful manner that focuses on the wellbeing of young people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
The main aims of the project are to:
- Contribute to the fields of education and wellbeing by disseminating research to a broad audience; to academics through published journals and conferences, and to practitioners and policymakers through a series of targeted online resources.
- Bring together researchers, EE practitioners and providers, teachers, and school staff to create an interdisciplinary research agenda regarding wellbeing in curriculum-based EE by hosting a series of roundtables drawn from multiple disciplines.
- Further understanding of how wellbeing can be supported in curriculum-based EE, by exploring practitioners’ perspectives. Whilst there has been attention to young people’s experiences of EE, little attention is given to practitioners’ perspectives on Supporting the wellbeing of young people wellbeing. This project will carry out research with practitioners to draw from their perspectives of facilitating wellbeing to explore barriers and enablers. This research could be used to identify key skills training and resource needs for current practitioners and health providers to effectively support the wellbeing of young people in EE.
Teaching narrative writing with digital resources and apps
1 August 2022 - 1 July 2024
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Clare Dowdall
CI/s in Exeter: Dr Judith Kleine-Staarman
Research partners: Assan Ali
Funding awarded: £ 8,497
Sponsor(s): British Academy/ Leverhulme Small Research Grant
About the research
This British Academy-funded research project has investigated the potential for digital resources and apps to promote children’s engagement and enjoyment in school-based narrative writing, within a targeted unit of work, where the outcome is a written narrative that aligns with National Curriculum expectations for competence in transcription and composition.
Current national school data indicates that there are significant gaps between girls’ and boys’ attainment in writing, and marked under-attainment for those labelled ‘disadvantaged’. Recent National Literacy Trust Surveys record the lowest ever levels of writing enjoyment amongst all learners, but particularly amongst boys with low socio-economic status.
Using three research approaches: a teacher survey, a participatory teacher workshop, and the construction of two ‘telling case’ studies, involving a Year 3 class and a Year 5-6 class setting, this research has specifically investigated how digital resources and apps can support the narrative writing process, and promote enjoyment and engagement amongst pupils in Key Stage Two.
Based on the research, recommendations for the development of a set of principles to guide writing pedagogy involving digital resources and apps have been made.
Creativity Collaboratives: Penryn Partnership
24 January 2022 - 1 December 2024
PI/s in Exeter: Associate Professor Kerry Chappell
Research partners: Penryn College
Funding awarded: (total funding of £ 31,000)
Sponsor(s): Arts Council England
About the research
The Penryn Partnership is one of a national cohort of Creativity Collaboratives, a programme commissioned by Arts Council England. The Creativity Collaboratives are networks of schools that have been established to test innovative practices in teaching for creativity, and to share learning to facilitate system-wide change.
The Penryn Partnership is exploring how teaching for creativity across the curriculum prepares young people for their future in a changing workforce, working in partnership to establish a creative strategy and pedagogy to ensure students are best prepared for the modern workforce. The Partnership is based around Penryn College and includes a network of local primary schools and local industry partners as well as the University of Exeter. Together we will be researching, developing and testing a range of teaching and learning strategies leading to systemic changes in practice in teaching for creativity.
The UoE team is Kerry Chappell, Alex Thornton and Ursula Crickmay and we are working together with Sarah Childs, Creativity Collaboratives Penryn Partnership Lead, and with colleagues in schools including Penryn College and neighbouring primary schools.
Year 2 report and details of Creativity Collaboratives here.
Care-experienced academics working in higher education
1 January 2022 - 31 December 2023
PI/s in Exeter: Associate Professor Neil Harrison
Funding awarded: £ 9,935
Sponsor(s): British Academy
About the research
People who experienced the care system as children generally have less positive life outcomes than their peers. The reasons are complex, but include social and educational disruption, mental and physical health issues, stigmatisation and economic deprivation. Despite this overarching picture, many make very successful transitions into adulthood, including rising numbers of care-experienced people who participate in higher education.
This small-scale study will engage with those now pursuing an academic career, having thrived within the education system despite profound challenges in their early lives. They will have important insights into the risk and protective factors that shape educational success, with the added perspective of reflecting on their own experiences through the lens of the educator they have become. Their stories will also illuminate the challenges of entry into a competitive career, including negotiations of professional and personal identity.
Research questions
The aim of the study will be to understand the narratives of a newly-emerging and, to date, unresearched group of highly-successful professionals who spent time in the care system as children. These narratives are valuable for the insight that they provide both into thriving in education and access to high-prestige careers more generally. It seeks to answer four research questions:
- RQ1: What insights do the lived lives of the participants offer into successful pathways into and through higher education for academics with experience of children’s social care?
- RQ2: Why did the participants choose a career in academia, what challenges have they had to address to establish their careers and how have they overcome these?
- RQ3: What mechanisms, if any, exist within universities to support the professional development of care-experienced academics (e.g. mentoring or funding streams)?
- RQ4: How have the participants navigated issues of identity formation/renegotiation and communities of practice in academia?
Improving the effectiveness of virtual schools
1 October 2021 - 31 December 2023
PI/s in Exeter: Professor Neil Harrison
Research partners: National Association of Virtual School Heads
Funding awarded: (total funding of £58103)
Sponsor(s): KPMG Foundation
About the research
Following the Children and Families Act 2014, every local authority in England has a statutory responsibility to operate a ‘virtual school’ for children in care. The principal purpose of each virtual school is to improve educational outcomes for this vulnerable group whose attainment is significantly lower than the general population at every Key Stage. It primarily achieves this by (a) advocating on behalf of children with physical schools, local authority departments and other agencies engaged in their welfare, (b) administering the Pupil Premium Plus funding, and (c) delivering educational enhancement services directly to children. Each virtual school is led by a ‘virtual head’ who is typically – but not always – an experienced headteacher.
Despite the importance of virtual schools to government policy objectives around children in care, little research has yet been undertaken into the principles that underpin effective practice for virtual schools. Indeed, the educational outcomes for children in care are known to vary widely between local authorities in ways that are not readily explained, suggesting a very strong role for local practice – effective or ineffective. For example, children in care in the local authority with the strongest GCSE outcomes attain an average of roughly two grades higher in each GCSE taken compared to the local authority with the weakest outcomes.
The overarching aim is to improve the collective effectiveness of virtual schools and thereby improve the educational outcomes for children in care. Raising the GCSE attainment of children in care nationally to the level of the currently highest-performing virtual school would represent a major step change; it is also likely that already-effective virtual schools have scope for further improvement. Specifically, the project will answer the following research questions:
1. How do virtual schools understand effectiveness within their work, including markers of success at the organisational and individual child level?
2. What elements of effective practice in virtual schools can be identified?
3. How does the apparent effectiveness of virtual schools with respect to educational outcomes for children in care vary between local authorities?
4. What relationships exist between the environmental and organisational contexts of a virtual school and its apparent effectiveness?
(N.B. This study was originally hosted at the Rees Centre at the University of Oxford.)
Final report - effectiveness virtual schools
A matter of wording: Building a transversal skills taxonomy
1 July 2021 - 30 September 2021
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Georgina (George) Tarling
Research partners: Co-investigator: Dr Ana Melro, Instituto Universitário da Maia, Portugal.
Research Partners: Dominic Murphy and Brian Conway (Geek Talent)
Funding awarded: £ 5,000
Sponsor(s): ESCR-NPIF-Accelerating Business Collaboration
About the research
Taxonomies are widely used to predict emerging skills that will be needed in the rapidly changing jobs market. In the past such taxonomies were developed by panels of experts. Increasingly now they are created using machine learning techniques applied to large datasets. This has implications for education, as tools based on these taxonomies are increasingly used by policymakers and education providers to guide decision-making about vocational education and student employability. The processes used to identify and classify skills therefore warrant critical attention.
This project is a collaboration between the University of Exeter and Geek Talent, an analytics company in the North West, which uses natural language processing (a type of machine learning) to provide users (including students, job-seekers and education providers) with timely and detailed information to help them see which skills are needed in particular occupations, sectors and regions. The aim of the project is to help Geek Talent improve the quality of their Skills DNA tool, by comparing their data insights with the well-established and large scale ESCO (European Skills, Competences and Occupations) framework. From a business perspective, this will help give more detailed, meaningful and robust information to users. From an academic perspective it offers a way of critically interrogating two different platforms which both seek to shape education provision.
The outputs of the project include an updated taxonomy of transversal (including transversal digital) skills and a report describing in detail our methodology, a version of which can be uploaded to the Geek Talent platform to increase transparency and accountability. These outputs will provide a basis for funding applications to conduct ongoing research to improve the quality of machine learning generated taxonomies of emerging digital, data and other advanced technical skills. This will be of value particularly for the UK’s Institutes of Technology, who have responsibility for developing new FE and HE courses to meet the needs of regional employers with emerging technical roles.
Born to Fail? Improving the literacy and numeracy skills of education’s Left Behind
1 June 2021 - 1 June 2024
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Lee Elliot Major
Research partners: Dr Sam Parsons, Centre for Longitudinal Studies, UCL
Sponsor(s): The Monday Charitable Trust
About the research
The aim of this work is to help improve the outcomes for the third of pupils who leave compulsory schooling every year lacking the basic English and maths skills. This is a three-year research project funded by the Monday Charitable Trust that will produce a series of reports to engage policy makers on this national challenge. For this project the Left Behind are defined as those teenagers in England who failed to secure a grade 4 or above in both their English Language and Maths GCSEs (with equivalent benchmarks for those in the rest of the UK). The study will use the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) that tracks c18,000 children born in 2000/2 who took public examinations at age 16 in 2016/17. It will assess the backgrounds of children who failed to gain good grades in English language and Maths GCSEs and consider their later life outcomes in education and employment. It will also examine how the pandemic has differentially impacted on the Left Behind. It will also use the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) and the 1989/90 Next Steps survey to consider previous generations of children who failed to gain English and maths qualifications. Using cognitive assessment data collected during childhood and adolescence the research will track the literacy and numeracy trajectories of children from different income backgrounds. It will document the family and individual characteristics associated with children who ‘buck the trend’ and achieve well despite their backgrounds. These are the so-called ‘protective characteristics’, and may include parents reading regularly to children, the home-learning environment, regular bedtime, parents interest/involvement with their child’ education or types of schooling or other factors. These could point to possible policy lessons for children more widely. It will also document the particular risk factors associated with becoming the Left behind at earlier age-points. The project will consider for several important policy areas, and recommend evidence-informed reforms, citing good policy practice in other countries where appropriate.
Developing digital literacies for second/foreign language teachers
1 June 2021 - 31 October 2022
PI/s in Exeter: Professor Li Li
Research partners: Haojan Chen
Funding awarded: £ 30,597
Sponsor(s): ESRC
About the research
This project aims to bring together researchers and research users who are interested in promoting the digital literacies of second language teachers in secondary schools to explore and propose research ideas or ways forward. We will also expand the existing work, gather evidence of digital literacies in second/foreign language teacher education and develop and consolidate plans for extensive intervention and evaluation projects. The project will also allow researchers to share the best practice and enhance knowledge exchange across cultures, and raise awareness of language teachers in developing both digital literacies. Wider issues such as equal access, ethics and wellbeing around digital literacies will be explored too.
We believe literacy as a social practice, so this networking opportunity will explore how digital literacies can be contextualized and practised in different social-cultural contexts and what common issues can be identified to enable language teachers to develop such literacies and integrate technology appropriately in their classrooms. We will address these issues by building a research team with expertise in second language teacher education, technology-enhanced language learning and effective pedagogies. We will develop four inter-related areas of work to address those issues, namely, a preliminary profiling project with a literature review and a survey with stakeholders, a seminar series consisting of four international seminars, two research visits and two focused 3-day workshops. Users will be fully involved in the networking project.
An important feature of this networking project is to include teachers and policymakers from the very start of the project so that they will contribute to both the formulation of the research strategy and the research itself. They will also be involved in research seminars and workshops. A practical follow-up workshop will also be designed for them.
INtegrating Special-needs Individuals into Digi-holistic Education
1 January 2021 - 1 January 2022
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Christopher Boyle
CI/s in Exeter: Dr George Koutsouris
Sponsor(s): Project (INSIDE), ERASMUS+
About the research
The "INSIDE" is an innovative project which focuses on social inclusion of Special Education Needs (SEN) students, strengthening the profile of the teaching profession and innovative practices for the target group of SEN teachers, parents and students in a digital era.
The project is coordinated by Antalya Provincial Directory of National Education (AMONE) within the partnership of Akdeniz University (AU), The University of Exeter (UNEXE), The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), The University College Dublin and AIJU Research Institute.
Our main objectives are:
- to strengthen the strategic and structured cooperation between higher education institutions, *to enable SEN teachers to embrace an innovative Digi-holistic teaching Module in classes,
- to develop high-quality early childhood education systems (in line with the ECEC Council Recommendation) with regards to teaching-learning materials,
- to enable SEN students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities(MID) to acquire 'Social adaptation skills' through innovative digital content,
- to create free digital-educational resources with a creative commons license,
- to adapt to digital changes in education at the organizational level,
- to increase SEN teachers' and SEN parents' pro-European minded digital literacy skills and increase awareness for digital inclusion of the disabled in the society,
- to support the development of recommendation policy on digital inclusion in SEN.
Understanding the structures and processes that influence research activities in the UK
1 January 2021 - 1 January 2022
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Christopher Boyle
CI/s in Exeter: Dr George Koutsouris
Funding awarded: £ 26,000
Sponsor(s): British Educational Research Association (BERA
About the research
A literature review to understand the structures and processes that influence research activities in the UK.
Evaluating the Silver Stories programme: a pilot study
1 January 2021 - 1 January 2022
PI/s in Exeter: Dr George Koutsouris
CI/s in Exeter: Tricia Nash Professor Brahm Norwich
Sponsor(s): ESRC IAA Project
About the research
The project is the pilot trial of the Silver Stories programme that involves school age children reading to older people and is seen as a way of tackling both social isolation/ wellbeing issues and reading difficulties.
Programme activities take place exclusively at a distance (on the phone) using a particular protocol and strict privacy and safeguarding procedures; and are thus highly relevant to the Covid period as well as cost-effective. Children are been referred to the programme by their teachers for reading or social and emotional difficulties, and whole schools can join the programme.
In collaboration with the Silver Stories charity, we are conducting a 12-month pilot evaluation project to understand how the programme works and its potential outcomes for social wellbeing and literacy.
Integrated Group Reading project
1 January 2021 - 31 December 2022
PI/s in Exeter: Dr George Koutsouris, Professor Brahm Norwich
Sponsor(s): Nuffield foundation
Project webpage(s)
Integrated Group Reading project
About the research
The aim of this project was to evaluate systematically on a national scale the Integrated Group Reading (IGR) programme. The evaluation began in September 2015 and ran until August 2017.
The programme is designed as an early intervention taught by class teachers for groups of 4 children in Years 2 and 3 who are delayed in reading. IGR integrates diverse current professional knowledge about literacy teaching using specially developed high quality materials (reading books and story-specific games). It is taught during the existing small group organisation of lessons as part of a class-wide model, with all pupils being in groups receiving teacher attention over a period of a week, supported by a teaching assistant.
Social mobility in the South West
1 January 2021 - 1 January 2022
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Lee Elliot Major
Research partners: Will Harvey, Professor at the Exeter Business School, and Anne-Marie Sim, Postdoctoral Research Associate.
Sponsor(s): The Cobalt Trust.
About the research
This project aims to address the barriers to social mobility facing disadvantaged young people in the South West. On many social mobility measures the South West performs worse than any other region in the country. Yet the extent of social mobility problems in the South West has been hugely overlooked. The region’s affluence and picture postcard landscapes conceal the fact that, despite lower than average rates of deprivation, disadvantaged young people growing up locally can expect extremely poor outcomes. For example:
- On upward occupational mobility, the South West ranks third worst of 19 regions. · 60% of disadvantaged pupils in the South West (the highest in England) did not obtain a pass in GCSE Maths and English in 2019 – a crucial qualification for accessing most jobs. This compares with 41% in Inner London.
- At the end of primary school, disadvantaged pupils nationally are on average 9.3 months behind their non-disadvantaged peers, but in Somerset they are 12.5 months behind. And the gap is widening.
- At 16-19, 4 out of the 10 local authorities with the largest attainment gaps in the country are in the South West.
- Only 18% of disadvantaged young people in the region progress to higher education – the lowest proportion of any English region.
- Meanwhile, Devon has 4 of the top-25 below-Living-Wage local authorities (with between 33% and 41% of jobs paying below the Living Wage).
In other words, disadvantaged young people in the region face a double bind of poor mobility prospects and a poor earnings outlook. This project will look to tackle these issues by identifying the region’s challenges and suggesting strategies and initiatives to address the challenges. Focus will be on those aged under 25 across the South West Peninsular, and three case studies will examine West Somerset, Plymouth, and Redruth and Camborne in more depth. We will propose a regional (or local) strategy to effectively address the specific challenges a region or area might be facing. And we aim to make sure the South West is a key part of national agendas and a frontrunner in trialling this regional approach.
The project is based at the University of Exeter’s Graduate School of Education which hosts the University’s Centre for Social Mobility. Initial funding is being generously provided by the Cobalt Trust. The project team comprises Lee Elliot-Major, Professor of Social Mobility; Will Harvey, Professor at the Exeter Business School, and Anne-Marie Sim, Postdoctoral Research Associate. They will be supported by an advisory board comprising Sir Steve Smith (Chair), former Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter; Stephen Dawson, Chair of the Cobalt Trust, Founder and former Chair of Impetus; Mary Curnock Cook, former Chief Executive of UCAS; and Dame Suzi Leather, former Chair of the Charity Commission and Chair of the Integrated Care System for Devon.
The team hope that the research will attract the funding and piloting of initiatives to improve social mobility in the South West. They also aim to carry out further phases of work to develop and assess regional and local strategies and initiatives.
Decolonising Exeter – Teaching Toolkit
1 January 2020 - 1 December 2021
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Caitlin Kight, Tina Verhaeghe
Sponsor(s): Small Grants Scheme
About the research
This transdisciplinary, collaborative project aims to create a resource for all University of Exeter educators who are working to decolonise their teaching practice. It will respond to the frequent call for accessible, practical support that explains decolonisation and walks educators through the process of decolonising themselves, their content, and their methods of teaching and supporting learning. As noted frequently in the decolonisation literature, each locale has its own unique concerns and challenges, and external resources must be evaluated within the local context and adapted to ensure they are appropriate for local conditions – i.e., the University of Exeter’s particular blend of students, staff, learning environments, disciplines, and institutional cultural history. To achieve this, we will work with a student fellow to conduct a literature review and document analysis of guidance from across the sector, then engage with internal stakeholders to create a catalogue of good practice and existing initiatives from across the institution, current barriers to success, and priorities for further work. The outcomes of these explorations will be used to generate an interactive, multimedia toolkit containing guidance, case studies, checklists, recommended reading, and links to an online support community. All resources will be informed by Exeter-specific policies and contain clear explanations of how to pursue decolonisation work in line with our quality assurance procedures and in support of the needs of our unique learning community
Working towards de/colonising educational relationships
1 January 2020 - 1 December 2021
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Fran Martin, Dr Fatima Pirbhai-Illich
Sponsor(s): Small Grants Scheme
About the research
What is the project?
In this project we will run a seminar series within the auspices of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee of the Graduate School of Education. A series of ten seminars, one per month from October 2020 – July 2021, will focus on the whiteness/coloniality of education and teacher identities and how to decentre these in educational relationships. We see this as a crucial starting point in working towards de/colonial ways of relating in educational settings and a necessary precursor to decolonising the curriculum. We believe that de/colonising educational relations, decentring the ways of being and knowing of coloniality, will address the root cause of inequities in academic success. - Who is it targeted towards? The seminars are open to academic and professional services staff across the university, as well as doctoral students.
What do you hope to achieve?
The seminar series is a trial programme developed specifically for the University of Exeter and the UK context. It is our hope that participants in the programme will: · have greater critical awareness and understanding of their relation to whiteness/coloniality and how this influences their educational relations · have greater understanding of the centrality of identities to educational relationships · are able to articulate what de/colonising educational relationships means to them and what changes they anticipate making to their teaching and assessment as a result
What is the primary research method you are using?
A participatory action research model (Kemmis, McTaggart & Nixon, 2014) will engage all involved in an iterative process of understanding the learning that emerges for individuals and their communities, with a view to identifying how outcomes that show potential to address inequalities might be scaled-up to help achieve university-wide change.
Metatalk for Writing
1 January 2020 - 31 December 2022
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Ruth Newman
Research partners: Jan Lane - Graduate Research Assistant
Funding awarded: £ 304,778
Sponsor(s): Economic and Social Research Council
Project webpage(s)
About the research
This 3 year study will investigate the impact of high quality classroom talk on children’s writing. A particularly demanding activity, writing involves making deliberate choices according to audience, purpose, and rhetorical effect. Although research suggests that metalinguistic understanding (knowledge about language) underlies writing competency, because it helps writers to control and craft their writing, very little is known about how it is developed. This study will build on research (Myhill and Newman 2016) which suggests that metatalk (talk about writing) may be important for the development of metalinguistic understanding. While there is extensive evidence that high quality classroom talk supports learning, very little research has examined the impact of talk on writing specifically. In an educational context of persistent underachievement in writing (NCW, 2003; Dugdale & Clark, 2008; BIS, 2016), this study aims to make an important theoretical contribution which impacts teacher practice and educational outcomes, specifically student attainment in writing.
Children and Nature: rapid synthesis of evidence
10 June 2019 - 19 July 2019
PI/s in Exeter: Professor Justin Dillon
Funding awarded: (total funding of £ 5,000)
Sponsor(s): Natural England/The Wildlife Trusts
About the research
Natural England are proposing to commission a rapid evidence synthesis to identify which factors appear to be common across a range of successful school-based learning experiences in natural environments (including residential stays). The review should draw on the academic and grey literature, published in English, since (and including) 2000 including any reviews of the literature covering studies carried out before 2000. The report should identify commonly reported factors and comment, as necessary on the robustness of the evidence as well as identifying gaps and weaknesses in the research evidence.
Writing the Future
1 June 2019 - 1 June 2022
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Esmaeel Abdollahzadeh, Professor Debra Myhill
Research partners: Co-Investigator: Dr Abdelhamid Ahmed , University of Qatar, Qatar
Funding awarded: £ 128,790
Sponsor(s): Qatar National Research Fund
About the research
This three-year project is a cross-linguistic and a cross-gender comparison of metadiscourse and voice employed by Qatari L1 Arabic university students writing argumentative texts in English and Arabic in a university in Qatar. Metadiscourse and voice, as rhetorical devices, refer to how the writers express themselves and their voice in their written arguments to signal their stance and orientation to the content of writing and engage with their readers.
Summary of key findings
This study is unique in bringing together a corpus study of written argument texts with interviews with the student writers of those texts to explore their metalinguistic understanding of the writing choices they make. In terms of the research questions, the corpus analysis has highlighted strong significant differences in the use of metadiscourse by these writers in their Arabic and English arguments. In particular, they use more metadiscourse in English and make more use of interactive, rather than interactional metadiscourse. There is also a significant relationship between judgments of voice strength and the use of metadiscourse. At the same time, there are no meaningful differences in the use of metadiscourse by gender; and no clear correlational relationship between metadiscourse use and writing quality.
The interviews reveal that students are not familiar with the concept of metadiscourse or its terminology, and, in general, when they discuss the use of metadiscourse features in their own texts they do not see the metadiscoursal function, but link it to other aspects of argument, such as objectivity and formality. There was, however, some sense of metalinguistic understanding that reader pronouns were inclusive of the reader. It is important to note that these students did not lack metalinguistic understanding per se: they did demonstrate high levels of metalinguistic understanding of the expectations of the argument genre in their educational context.
Metadiscourse, in drawing on Halliday’s theorisations of metafunctions, is by its very nature focused on the function of the metadiscourse. The description of the identification of metadiscourse for the corpus study brings this into sharp relief, explicitly having to determine whether the presence of a particular form is performing a metadiscoursal function, or whether it is propositional. The students’ metalinguistic understanding of written argument was often very form-focused - referring to what should or should not be in an argument text, and particularly the ways these texts should be structured. It may be that the insights on actual usage of metadiscourse from the corpus analysis and the writers’ metalinguistic understanding elicited in the interviews point to the potentiality of embedding metadiscourse more meaningfully within the teaching of argument writing. This might support writers in better understanding how to build an effective reader-writer relationship, and to be more metalinguistically aware of the precise ways in which interactive and interactional metadiscourse serves to engage and interact with the reader, and to show writer positionality.
Where do inequalities in young people’s decisions to study at university come from?
1 March 2019 - 1 August 2019
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Katherin Barg
CI/s in Exeter: Dr Anna Mountford-Zimdars
Research partners: Kirsty Janes (Co-I), Sam Dyer (Co-I). Advisory group: Nicola Sinclair, Melissa Ruddock
Sponsor(s): tbc
About the research
This project aims to improve knowledge around the formation of young people’s Higher Education decisions with a particular focus on young people of most disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. To produce findings that are informed by academic research but also aims, needs and experiences of Widening Participation (WP) services in the Higher Education sector, the academic and professional members of the Centre for Social Mobility work closely together on this project. In a number of workshops, they jointly develop research questions and research designs, evaluate empirical results and formulate practical recommendations for WP interventions. Outcomes of the project will include a literature review and findings obtained from qualitative interviews with Exeter undergraduate students of different socioeconomic backgrounds. The outcomes will provide a basis for funding applications to conduct a wider project involving large-scale (secondary) survey data.
To find out more about this project, contact: k.barg@exeter.ac.uk. And watch this space to learn about our first results.
Care leavers’ transition into the labour market in England
Neil Harrison
Nuffield Foundation
2019-2023
Care leavers’ transition into the labour market in England
1 March 2019 - 31 July 2023
PI/s in Exeter: Professor Neil Harrison
Research partners: University of Oxford; University of York
Funding awarded: (total funding of £159714)
Sponsor(s): Nuffield Foundation
About the research
This mixed methods study investigates the predictors of educational and employment outcomes at age 21 for care leavers and other care-experienced young people and explores their perspectives on the barriers and facilitators to participating in education, employment and training. The research questions underpinning this study are:
1. What are the key individual, care, and educational predictors of care leavers’ participation in education, employment and training?
2. What are the perceptions of key stakeholders with regards to the barriers and facilitators for care leavers’ participation in education, employment and training, and to the role played by children’s social care services in these processes?
There are two strands to the study:
1. We undertook a novel linking of national adminstrative datasets to explore the cohort of 530,440 young people born in 1995/96 through to their 21st year. This includes data from their schooling, further education, employment and receipt of benefits which we used to build a detailed picture of their lives and how their social and educational backgrounds influenced their pathways into adulthood. Our cohort included 7,300 young people who had experience of the care system and we used various forms of statistical analysis to compare this group to their peers who had not.
2. In addition, we also gathered the perspectives of care leavers and key people in their lives, including foster carers and a range of professionals from local authorities, education and employment. In total, we collected rich qualitative data through interviews and focus groups with 69 young people, carers and professionals across five contrasting local authority areas.
The findings will assist policymakers and service providers to better support care-experienced young people into employment and mitigate the risks of their becoming NEET. The study also aims to highlight policy changes and practices that could increase the percentage of care leavers in employment, training or further study, while also informing recommendations for further research on post-16 trajectories of care leavers and other disadvantaged groups.
The final report of this study was published in January 2023 and can be accessed via the Rees Centre at the University of Oxford, which hosted the study.
Dance, Health and Wellbeing: Debating and Moving Forward Methodologies
1 January 2019 - 1 June 2021
PI/s in Exeter: Professor Kerry Chappell
Research partners: Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and Dance in Devon.
Funding awarded: £ 19,000
Sponsor(s): Wellcome Centre Cultures and Environments of Health
Project webpage(s)
Dance, Health and Wellbeing: Debating and Moving Forward Methodologies
About the research
Evidence of the positive benefits of dance on developing physical aspects of health and fitness is now widely recognised. Building on this, this research sought to develop understanding of the under-researched aesthetic, artistic and creative contributions that Dance makes to Health and Wellbeing across the life course. In particular, it focused on what kinds of methodologies are appropriate for investigating these contributions, and how these methodologies can generate findings which extend how we understand the impact of the arts on health and wellbeing.
The research took a transdisciplinary approach, bringing together arts education and community research and practice, together with dance science and dance health practice. This was represented in the research team which included Kerry Chappell and Ursula Crickmay at UoE, working together with colleagues at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and Dance in Devon.
The research included a literature review of recent peer-reviewed research, practice-based literature and evaluations and also a series of focus group discussions with dance/health practitioners and participants in dance/health projects. Findings were shared through publication and a symposium at The Wellcome Collection London.
You can read the Systematic Literature Review here.
You can read the Focus Group Findings and Project Report hereFocus Group Findings and Project Report here.
You can find out more about the symposium here.
Sci-Arts Creative Teaching Resource
1 January 2019 - 1 December 2020
PI/s in Exeter: Professor Kerry Chappell
CI/s in Exeter: Professor Lindsay Hetherington
Research partners: University of Birmingham, the Science and Technology Facilities Council and the Institute of Physics.
Funding awarded: £ 7,500
Sponsor(s): University of Exeter ESRC Impact Acceleration Account
Project webpage(s)
Sci-Arts Creative Teaching Resource
About the research
The Sci-Arts Creative Teaching Resource is a set of teaching guides and planning tools which support transdisciplinary science and arts teaching, engage learners with science and helps them to develop their own scientific creativity.
The resource has grown from the EU-funded project CREATIONS (Grant Agreement No.66517; www.creations-project.eu) which developed arts-based creative approaches to science education across 11 countries. Project materials were created by researchers, teachers and other educators across the EU, based on a series of eight pedagogic features of creative science education which were identified by the CREATIONS team. During the current project the materials are being developed further for use in UK classrooms.
The UoE team is Kerry Chappell, Lindsay Hetherington and Ursula Crickmay, and we are working together with colleagues at the University of Birmingham, the Science and Technology Facilities Council and the Institute of Physics. During the project, we have worked with teachers in London and the South West to trial and further develop the resource, and it will be available online for schools from June 2020.
Project updates on twitter @sciartsedu.
SPISEY - Supporting Practices for Inclusive Schooling & Education for Youth
31 December 2018 - 31 December 2021
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Christopher Boyle
CI/s in Exeter: Dr Alison Black Dr George Koutsouris
Funding awarded: 83100 Euros
Sponsor(s): Erasmus+ project led by University College Syddanmark, Denmark
About the research
The main purpose of the SPISEY project is to contribute to the implementation of the European strategy about early school leaving, the Inclusion and Diversity Strategy and the Pillar of Social Rights, especially focusing on school opportunities to a) offer high quality and inclusive education for all from early age, b) improve the transition process between lower and upper secondary / qualifying youth education, especially for those young students with learning difficulties and / or risk of social exclusion and c) improve employment prospects for young citizens with learning difficulties. Special attention will be given to youngsters in the transition between lower and upper secondary education / qualifying youth education, as many youngsters with learning difficulties and a higher risk of social exclusion drop out of school system at that moment in life.
SciCulture
1 November 2018 - 31 October 2021
PI/s in Exeter: Associate Professor Kerry Chappell
CI/s in Exeter: Associate Professor Lindsay Hetherington
Sponsor: European Commission
Project webpage
About the research
SciCulture is a Europe-wide project which brings together social enterprise, scientific research, and the arts with the aim of enhancing participants’ collaborative learning and experiences.
The UoE team is Kerry Chappell and Lindsay Hetherington, and we bring expertise in arts and science education respectively. We are contributing this into the SciCulture short intensive courses which bring these disciplines together through a design research student-centred approach. We are also leading on evaluating the project and developing a toolkit of best practice.
The intensive courses aim to address pressing questions pertinent to participants and the communities they are working in, using transdisciplinary cooperation, coupled with social enterprise. Our SciCulture participants (undergraduates, postgraduates, researchers, educators and entrepreneurs) will take part in short courses and become part of an alumni network of best practice in this field. The network will go on to organise events and activities to engage a variety of public groups with the approach.
Within SciCulture, we are working alongside partners from University of Malta, Science View (Greece), University of Bergen (Norway) and Delft University of Technology (Netherlands).
With the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
OCEANS Connections
1 November 2018 - 31 October 2021
PI/s in Exeter: Professor Lindsay Hetherington
CI/s in Exeter: Professor Kerry Chappell Professor Justin Dillon
Funding awarded: £ 70,000
About the research
OCEANS Connections is a Europe-wide project which is developing innovative digital tools that employ creative pedagogies to develop pupils' 'Ocean Literacy'. This is an aspect of scientific literacy which specifically addresses issues of climate change and the marine environment. It will use Augmented/Virtual Reality experiences developed with aquaria alongside innovative, creative approaches to teaching and learning developed with schools to help pupils gain skills in understanding the climate change and human impact on the environment in the context of the Ocean. In terms of impacts, pupils will gain both scientific understanding in terms of key content, and understanding of scientific processes and methods, as well as acquiring digital skills and 'soft' skills and competencies with respect to intercultural understanding and global citizenship. The UoE team is Lindsay Hetherington, Kerry Chappell, Justin Dillon and Andrew Dean.
Review of evidence on behaviour
17 September 2018 - 2 February 2019
PI/s in Exeter: Darren Moore
Research partners: Professor Tamsin Ford (University of Exeter Medical School) (PI), Professor Chris Boyle (Graduate School of Education), Dr Rachel Hayes (University of Exeter Medical School), Morwenna Rogers (University of Exeter Medical School), Ralphy Kenchington – Graduate Research Assistant, Simon Benham-Clarke – Graduate Research Assistant
Sponsor: Education Endowment Foundation
About the research
This evidence review synthesised the best available international evidence regarding approaches to behaviour in schools to. It produced a framework that synthesised theory about school behaviour and factors that influence behaviour. Primarily it reviewed the effectiveness of classroom-based and whole school approaches to behaviour, including assessing components of these strategies.
The completed Evidence Review informed an EEF Guidance Report.
We are currently writing up journal articles.
Digital innovation in project-based learning: toward a model for praxis
1 September 2018 - 1 September 2019
PI/s in Exeter: Associate Professor Kerry Chappell
CI/s in Exeter: Dr Katie Natanel
Funding awarded: (total funding of £ 10,000)
Sponsor(s): Exeter Education Incubator grant
About the research
Dr Kerry Chappell from the Graduate School of Education has been awarded a £10,000 University of Exeter Education Incubator grant, along with project partner Dr Katie Natanel from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies.
The project is called "Digital innovation in project-based learning: toward a model for praxis".
This project explores how ‘project-based learning’ (PBL) can be enhanced through digital technologies and creative pedagogies in HE classrooms, which work through face-to-face interaction and virtual learning environments (VLEs). The primary aim is to understand and share how digital technologies can be creatively integrated into project-based learning in a way that compliments, and ideally strengthens, their capacity for deep, creative knowledge production. The project will produce – and relies upon – a cross-departmental/college network of scholars who engage in PBL with some digital tools integration. This network will develop a model of PBL that integrates VLE platforms in a way that maximises their potential to support deep learning, creative knowledge production and ethical communities. This model will be piloted in Dr. Natanel's course 'Gender, Sexuality and Violence in Palestine/Israel', and findings will be shared at an interdisciplinary workshop in summer 2019.
The project will run for 12 months from September 2018.
Details of the Education Incubator here
Developing group thinking measure test with mobile technology
1 September 2017 - 31 August 2018
PI/s in Exeter: Associate Professor Taro Fujita
CI/s in Exeter: Dr Judith Kleine-Staarman
Research partners: Prof Mikio Miyazaki and Mr Koki Yui (Shinshu University)
Funding awarded: £ 7,000
Sponsor(s): Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
About the research
The focus of this project is on understanding and assessing quality in collaborative group thinking in Japan and the UK. We intend to develop and trial an app-based test which can measure group thinking. Group thinking is a real and important phenomenon but, while there are many tests of individual thinking there are none for group thinking. Since 2014 we have been working towards developing a group thinking test. Our studies have involved more than 300 students in the UK and about 90 students in Japan. This work has provided insights into effective collaborative group work (e.g. Wegerif,et al. in press,L&I). This was an important step forwards in educational research since this is the first time a simple and easy to use test has been developed for classroom use to rigorously measure group thinking. The current online test requires tick boxes. This project will explore the hypothesis that adding interactivity, so that potential answers can be manipulated by students using their fingers, will help the group thinking process. This project will enable us to investigate the potential difference and added value of converting our test into something that can be done interactively by students on iPads/tablets of the kind that are increasingly available in schools. One of the most interesting findings of our research up to now is that Japanese students do significantly better in our tests of group thinking than the UK students. We want to investigate this finding further by exploring different test question options.
In this one year project we will engage the following four main activities:
- Development of a new test on iPad/mobile tablets based on the existing group thinking test.The test will be developed by our partner developer Japan systems which we have already worked for the development of web-based learning tools in Japanese and English.
- Piloting the developed test to up to 200 students (aged 10-13). It will be trialled with both UK and Japanese students. In order to examine general group thinking skills and domain specific thinking skills, we will also implement maths tests. We will undertake rigorous statistical analysis in order to compare test performances as well as identifying difficulties in the test. We also take a sample of video-recorded students'collaborative learning. Using these data, we will identify effective group thinking as well as different features of collaborative work between Japanese and the UK students.
- Hold a research seminar in June 2018 (Cambridge University) to share the project findings.
- Produce a bilingual project report and research papers for dissemination. We will also develop a bilingual project website.
Understanding effective evaluation of the impact of outreach interventions on access to higher education: phase two
21 August 2017 - 31 December 2018
PI/s in Exeter: Professor Anna Mountford-Zimdars
CI/s in Exeter: Pallavi Banerjee Joanne Moore Professor Debra Myhill
Research partners: Tim Quine (Geography, University of Exeter)
Funding awarded: £ 69,910
Sponsor(s): OFFA (Office for Fair Access)
About the research
This project sets out to determine the efficacy and usability of the Standards of Evaluation Practice. These are a set of useable and transferable standards of evaluation practice which provide guidance about different approaches to evaluation and evidence of which type of outreach interventions can have the greatest impact in different geographic and institutional settings. The project design is mindful that the evaluation tools will be used largely by practitioners rather than evaluation experts, and thus will address whether the tools and guidance sufficiently mediate this expertise on evaluation and data to outreach professionals. Accordingly, we approach this endeavour from the outset aware of the need to promote evaluation where we ‘collect evidence in a structured way to provide a common language for communicating impacts, where the evidence requirements are realistic and proportionate, to generate useful evidence to ensure we are making a positive difference’.
In the current context practitioners are being challenged to understand more about effective widening participation evaluation practices, and to evaluate more effectively and with more consistency across the breadth of institutions within the sector. Frameworks for evaluation of outreach and widening participation have been developed over a number of years. The Phase One work was developed in partnership with universities, and seeks to address tensions between statistical behavioural studies and qualitative data, through the focus on comparative studies. Achieving agreement on evaluation solutions and approaches that are owned by the sector and can operate within a changing landscape is challenging, and relies on access to appropriate data sources and staff with analytical expertise and knowledge. The proposed project will be important in developing practice-based conclusions and guidance about different approaches to evaluation, and useable and transferable standards of evaluation practice which have been tested ‘in the field’ (as well as evidence of the impact of different types of interventions). Improvements in administrative data sources have afforded greater opportunities for evaluations using a robust approach, but there are ethnical implications and control groups may be unreliable. Improved availability of matched administrative data is allowing for more comparative research and it will be important to test the data sources and uses, and the extent to which different approaches provide alternatives to randomised control trials in some circumstances. Collaborative working has been identified as a productive way of working on these issues (eg. HEAT membership). This is a promising development, although it will be important to test whether pooled data allows for the specificity of each activity to be addressed.
Project aims:
- To further understanding of evaluation practices in outreach activities;
- To support the development of institutional evaluation practices of their outreach activities;
- To influence guidance to institutions on data collection and evaluation practice;
- To develop guidance and practices which can withstand changes to the higher education sector;
- To provide evidence about the types of outreach intervention that have the most impact in different geographic and institutional contexts.
Key questions the project will address:
- How effective are the Standards of Evaluation Practice in determining the impact of outreach activities?
- How useful are the Standards of Evaluation Practice in determining the impact of outreach activities?
- How well do the Standards of Evaluation Practice and accompanying guidance mediate understanding of evaluation methodologies to outreach professionals?
DfE-Inclusion & the academisation of English secondary schools: trends in the placement of pupils with significant SEN & those permanently excluded
1 April 2017 - 30 September 2018
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Alison Black
CI/s in Exeter: Dr Alexey Bessudnov
Funding awarded: £177369.00
Sponsor(s): ESRC
Project webpage(s)
About the research
This project aims to analyse a national dataset (the National Pupil Database) about pupils and schools to explore the routes some vulnerable pupils take through secondary schools. We are interested in comparing trends over time (2003-2015) with a focus on:
- pupils with SEN that enter at year 7 and exit during later years
- all pupils permanently excluded from secondary schools.
Over the past 30 years consecutive UK governments have had 2 main policy initiatives regarding schooling in England. Raising academic standards has been the focus of the first initiative, leading to an assessment-led national curriculum; national testing and comparison of results; and developing a more market-orientated model of schooling. This reflected a wider development in public service policy, to replace some state provision by more diversity and autonomy of provision and more user choice. Academies were created by the Labour government to respond to the issues of persistently 'failing' schools. The Conservative/Lib Dem coalition built on this to introduce academies and free schools on a much larger scale. A lesser though nevertheless important trend was providing for more pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in ordinary rather than special schools and building capacity in ordinary schools to provide for these pupils - what has been called the inclusive education movement. However, the most recent legislation relating to pupils with SEN reinforces the choice and diversity model in emphasising more parental choice and offering more diversity of provision, for example more special schools established through the free school policy initiative. There are now a range of school types, each with a different level of autonomy. Converter Academies (the most autonomous of the types) had the lowest percentage of pupils with significant SEN, the sponsored Academies (required to convert, governed by outside sponsor) had the highest percentage with significant SEN, while maintained schools (remaining as local authority schools) had percentages between these levels.
We think the policy of secondary schools changing into academies and a focus on raising standards in school may have changed the patterns over time of vulnerable pupils (those with SEN as well as those who experience permanent exclusions) in ordinary schools. The specific aim of our project is to examine whether greater school autonomy and diversity is related to lower placements in ordinary secondary schools and thus greater separate special school and alternative provision placements.
Objective 1: to analyse secondary data from the NPD at a pupil, school and local authority (LA) level, regarding pupils that enter and exit mainstream secondary schools.
Objective 2: to explore the typical educational routes of children with SEN over time since pupil level data was collected. To find out if there is any variation in educational routes by different areas of SEN.
Objective 3: to examine whether greater school autonomy and diversity is related to lower placements in ordinary secondary schools and thus greater separate special school and alternative provision placements.
Objective 4: to examine variations in the educational trajectories of vulnerable pupils at a LA level associated with the extent of acadamisation at a LA level. If there are differences we will examine the characteristics of the LAs that may influence the variations.
By identifying routes from mainstream schools to special schools/alternative provision we hope to identify some factors that explain significant divergence from typical routes through school. This is to enable us to understand pupil, school and LA factors that influence the educational experiences of vulnerable pupils. The project will support original evidence informed policy making and will act as a model of the kind of research that can and needs to be done internationally in the context ofinternational moves towards greater inclusive education.
Transforming Transitions
1 March 2017 - 30 September 2019
PI/s in Exeter: Professor Debra Myhill
CI/s in Exeter: Pallavi Banerjee
Research partners: Richard Winsley, Martin Jones (Sport & Health Sciences, Exeter); Alison Truelove, Marwa Tourky and Graham Perkins (Business School, Exeter)
Funding awarded: £170155 (total funding of £50000)
Sponsor(s): HEFCE
Project webpage(s)
About the research
The "Transforming Transitions” project, led by Professor Debra Myhill, with Dr Pallavi Banerjee, received £500,000 funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
The project examined the barriers experienced by students with BTEC qualifications as they apply for, and then enter, higher education. The crucial project aims to understand the nature of the gap between the number of students taking solely BTEC qualifications and those moving into Higher Education with ‘traditional’ qualifications, but also to understand student and tutor perspectives on the causes of this gap. The project aimed to identify ways in which to smooth and aid student transition into university.
The project was conducted over the two years (2017-2019) in partnership with the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University and Queen Mary, University of London. It also involved Exeter College, Leicester College, Hereford Sixth Form College, City and Islington College.
Evaluating the fairness of admissions to UK higher education
1 March 2017 - 30 September 2019
PI/s in Exeter: Pallavi Banerjee
Research partners: Dr Vikki Boliver & Professor Stephen Gorard (Durham University, project lead)
Funding awarded: £97628.00 (total funding of £199695)
Sponsor(s): ESRC
About the research
The study will evaluate the fairness of admission to UK universities in general, and to highly selective degree programmes in particular. Ongoing debates about fair access to higher education have often focussed on the need to address the poorer attainment and aspirations of those from traditionally under-represented groups. This widening participation project will scrutinise the fairness of university admissions decisions.
The use of Contextual Data in University Admissions
1 February 2017 - 10 July 2018
PI/s in Exeter: Anna Mountford-Zimdars
CI/s in Exeter: Joanne Moore
Research partners: Louise Higham
Funding awarded: (total funding of £ 12,000)
Sponsor(s): Fair Education Alliance
About the research
Overview
The Fair Education Alliance has commissioned research to understand the current use and impact of contextualised admissions data in admissions to courses at universities with high entry requirements. This work builds on previous research into the use of contextual data published by Supporting Professionalism in Admissions (SPA) in 2013. This report is available here.
Purpose
The purpose of the current project is to:
- Investigate current practice in the use of contextualised data in admissions, extending previous analyses.
- Explore the use of contextualised data:
- in making offers of places;
- at the confirmation stage; and
- regarding progression at university.
Methodology
We will conduct interviews with up to nine universities to establish their practice in using contextual data, and will undertake fieldwork in institutions in support of the work. We will also undertake a review of the literature and will talk with sector stakeholders to establish the salience and support for the use of contextual data and future directions.
Outputs
The main output is this report and guidance for higher education providers and sector stakeholders which shows the use of contextual data in admissions and showcase examples, with a view to supporting good practice. We will also hold a discussion and dissemination event, and might publish an academic article from the work. Information on institutions will be reported on an anonymous basis unless participating institutions prefer their good practices to be identified.
PROTEACH (Promoting teachers' success in their induction period)
15 October 2016 - 14 October 2019
PI/s in Exeter: Dr Karen Walshe
CI/s in Exeter: Professor Vivienne Marie Baumfield Dr Emese Hall Associate Professor Lindsay Hetherington Thomas Ralph Bryan Smith
Sponsor(s): European Commission
Project webpage(s)
PROTEACH (Promoting teachers' success in their induction period)
About the research
Alarming numbers of beginning teachers (BTs) leave the profession within 1-3 years, while many remain in the system but become demotivated. The transition from education studies into teaching is often difficult, largely due to mismatched expectations.
In Israel, despite the importance assigned to teacher training and induction programs, high teacher dropout rates persist. PROTEACH aims at capitalizing on the recommendations of the EU’s “Handbook for policymakers on developing coherent and system-wide induction programs” (2010), the experience of the European members of the consortium, and the lessons learned from the Israeli “incubators” induction model implemented by some of the partners in previous years, to create a more effective model of teacher induction: MIT – Multi-player Induction Teams. This model will take into account all areas to be considered when developing coherent and system-wide induction programs, will support BTs’ diverse needs and will empower them to become active players in their own induction process and in their schools, while increasing their retention rates.
From Israel, 3 HEIs + 1 educational institute take part in the project and are responsible for conducting the actions in schools from which our understanding of the role of BTs and the importance of “amplifying their voices” will emanate. 3 European partners –from Romania, UK & Estonia– represent knowledge and experience in fields that are needed for achieving of PROTEACH’s objectives. Throughout 3 iterations, the model and related curriculum will be fine-tuned. MIT groups will be created at 15 Israeli schools, with 200 BTs and 450 participants in total.
Outcomes expected: (1) Establishment of intra- and inter-HEI frameworks for mutual learning; (2) BT will be empowered to serve as key actors in their induction and school communities; (3) BT retention rates at participating schools will increase; 4) MIT-based principles will be included in HEI training programs and adopted by policy makers.
Other institution's involved with the project are:
- Kibbutzim College of Education Technology & Arts, Israel
- Mofet, Israel
- Beit Berl College, Israel
- Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel
- Universitatea din Bucuresti, Romania
- Tallinn University, Estonia
