Research
This is a selection of projects at the Institute of Education whose reports can be found on our website.
Effective pre-school, primary and secondary project (EPPSE)
Effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE)
Effective pre-school and primary education (EPPE 3—11)
EPPE tracked 3,000 children in different kinds of pre-school setting from 1997 to their key stage 1 tests in 2003. Its aim was to identify the aspects of pre-school provision that had a positive impact on children’s attainment, progress and development, and so provide guidance on good practice. The project was funded by the DfES. Twelve technical papers were produced on all aspects of pre-school education and its effects on the children’s primary careers. The project was then extended to follow the same 3000 children until the end of primary school at age 11. A further extension has turned it into EPPSE; it will track the cohort until age 14 and will look at the continuing effects of pre-school and of effective primary schooling into secondary school.
Click here to go to the EPPSE website.
British birth cohort studies
The British birth cohort studies have been tracking the lives of everyone born in Britain in one week in 1946, 1958 and 1970 from birth to present day. These pioneering studies have tracked over 50,000 people and have advanced knowledge and helped shape policy in areas including education, health, family life, social class and economics, and crime and anti-social behaviour.
The Millennium Cohort
Researchers began collecting data on almost 19,000 babies born in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2000 and 2001 when the babies were nine months old. The cohort includes a substantial number of babies from minority ethnic families, many living in some of England’s poorest urban areas. Major issues concern poverty and wealth, the quality of family life and its support by public policy, and the broader community. Two more surveys have since been completed, and a fourth is taking place this year (2008).
The 1958, 1970 and Millennium studies are managed by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the Institute.
Click here for more information about the cohort studies.
EPPI-Centre
The EPPI-Centre, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), was established in 1993 to address the need for a systematic approach to the organisation and review of evidence-based work on social interventions. The work and publications of the centre engage health and education policymakers, practitioners and service users in discussions about how researchers can make their work more relevant and how to use research findings. An increasing number of the publications are made available on its website.
Click here for more information.
Reading Recovery National Network
Reading Recovery is an early literacy intervention for five- and six-year-olds who are identified as the lowest attaining in their class, many unable to read or write their names after a year of formal schooling. Children in Reading Recovery receive daily, individual teaching for between 15 and 20 weeks, with the aim of accelerating their literacy learning to the average band for their class. Recent research shows that children given this tuition can outperform the national average for their age within two years.
More information about Reading Recovery here.
Multigrade teaching in primary schools
Multigrade classrooms, in which teachers teach across several curriculum grades at the same time, are extremely common in developing countries. Yet in many systems of education, where monograde classes are the norm, the multigrade classroom and the needs of the multigrade teacher are often unrecognised. This project describes the extent of multigrade practice and associated problems in Peru, Sri Lanka and Vietnam; describes how teachers organise teaching and learning in multigrade primary schools, and makes recommendations on multigrade teaching policy and practice.
Click here to go to the Multigrade website
For more information about the research projects at the Institute of Education set to finish in the next four months, please click here.
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