Call for Views: Individual Responses The responses in this document are reproduced verbatim. Please note that not all respondents answered every section of the Call for Views, or all questions within each section. The original complete survey is provided in the Appendix. Page 1 of 31 Contents Dr Alice Bradbury .................................................................................................................................... 3 Jane Oakhill and Kate Cain..................................................................................................................... 4 David Chester ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Megan Dixon ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Dr Suzanne Fergus ................................................................................................................................. 9 Professor Lani Florian ............................................................................................................................. 9 Stephen Gorard ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Dr Shirley Gray…………………………………………………………………………………………………11 Helen Gutner ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Robert Hagan ........................................................................................................................................ 16 Dr Claire Haresnape Tyson................................................................................................................... 18 Dr Katherine J Haxton ........................................................................................................................... 19 Paul Kiff ................................................................................................................................................. 20 Marilyn Leask…………………………………………………………………………………………………...20 Emma Owen Davies…………………………………………………………………………………...………21 Alan Paterson…………………………………………………………………………………………………..22 Professor Dave Putwain……………………………………………………………………………………….23 Mark Quinn……………………………………………………………………………………………………...24 Jim Ryder…………………………………………………………………………………………………….....25 Ms C.M.P.J. Tillakaratne………………………………………………………………………………….…...27 Dr Kristy Turner…………………………………………………………………………………………….…..29 Anna Wood……………………………………………………………………………………………………..31 Page 2 of 31 Dr Alice Bradbury Summary of main points Please provide a brief summary (e.g. a list of bullet points), of not more than one side of A4, of the essential messages you are conveying in your response. Research on education policy and particularly its impact on existing inequalities is vital; however, the ability to convey findings in my field is limited by our ability to communicate them to policy-makers and have influence. This is often due to research being critical of government policy. Nonetheless, recent work with teachers’ trade unions has had a definite impact on policy, suggesting that creating better links with lobbying organisations would be effective. Questions for researchers 1. What broad area of educational research do you work in, and what is your role? I am a Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Education; my work is focused on education policy and its interactions with inequalities by race, class and gender. 2. Describe the contribution your field has made to educational research, policy, teaching and learning, and society? Providing research on the impact of policy on schools, teachers and children. For example, I undertook a project in late 2015 on Baseline Assessment, a new policy which involved testing four-year-olds as they started school. The research report (published here http://www.teachers.org.uk/files/baseline-assessment--final-10404.pdf) contributed to the reversal of this policy in mid-2016. We are currently working with the unions to influence the replacement policy. 3. In the past 10 years, what would you judge as the most significant contributions your field has made? Research has found significant consequences of policy in terms of disparities in attainment by ethnic group, class and gender. 4. What are the priorities in your field of educational research, and what is driving these? Priorities in my field are currently work on new education policies (e.g. the reintroduction of grammar schools) and their social impact. Academics in my field are driven by social justice aims; the direction of our work is often determined by policy developments. 5. What particular barriers and challenges do you face in undertaking educational research, and what changes might help overcome these? Please say whether these barriers and/or challenges apply to ‘blue skies’ or ‘applied’ research. 6. The main barrier is securing funding for research projects, both those that are exploratory and small scale, and those that involve a large team and take several years. In particular, it is rare to secure funding to explore a new education policy in its introductory phases, as many research application processes take several months or frequently over a year. 7. What opportunities (including opportunities for dissemination) exist to deepen the contribution that your research field makes to policy, teaching and learning, and society? The dissemination of research in my field to policy-makers has often been stymied by a lack of political will to engage with research which describes the negative effects of policy. Therefore the contribution of my field would be hugely advanced by more positive links with policy-makers, and Page 3 of 31 with other lobbying organisations who have access to key stakeholders and have greater influence that single academics. 8. How do you disseminate your research? Through academic journals and conference papers; public events; speaking at national teachers’ conferences; articles in education press e.g. Schools Week; national press. 9. Are there demonstrations of effective links between educational researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in this country, or internationally, that the Working Group should be aware of? My recent experience of working with the NUT and ATL on a project has been very successful in terms of relaying my research findings to policy-makers, and breaking down the barriers between research and policy. It has also led to better links with the DfE and other educational organisations. Jane Oakhill and Kate Cain Summary of main points Please provide a brief summary (e.g. a list of bullet points), of not more than one side of A4, of the essential messages you are conveying in your response. Research into children’s reading comprehension can make an important contribution to the effective teaching of reading comprehension in schools. Thus far, this research has had an impact on the National Curriculum, but teachers are not adequately prepared for how to teach the relevant skills, and do not have sufficient appropriate materials to support that teaching. Research funding in required to support the important applications of research in this area: In particular, to develop appropriate and accessible professional development for teachers, and to provide evidence-based (trialled) materials for teaching reading comprehension, together with guidance on, and support with, their use. Questions for researchers 1. What broad area of educational research do you work in, and what is your role? We work in the area of reading research and, more specifically, children’s development of, and problems with, the skills that are important for reading comprehension. 2. Describe the contribution your field has made to educational research, policy, teaching and learning, and society? Briefly, the research base has been important in influencing policy (e.g. the recent emphasis on reading comprehension skills in the National Curriculum). It has also influenced teaching in that primary and, increasingly, secondary school teachers are becoming more aware of the need to teach reading comprehension skills to all children, from a young age, and are developing the skills to do so. Our recently-published book (Oakhill, Cain & Elbro, 2015) has been instrumental in providing teachers and other educators with an overview of the relevant research base and how it can be applied to practice, and recently-developed training programmes, such as Inference Training (Whatmuff/Leicester LEA) have used the research base (primarily our own work) as a foundation. Our research in this area has been acknowledged as being “impactful”. For instance, Oakhill prepared a very highly-rated Impact Case Study for the 2014 REF, Oakhill and Cain were runners up in the 2016 ESRC “Celebrating Impact Awards” (Outstanding Impact in Society), and Oakhill Page 4 of 31 won the 2016 University of Sussex Impact Award (Policy and Practice). Cain was awarded the 2014 Samuel Torrey Orton Award by the International Dyslexia Association in recognition of the impact of the influence of her research on both theory and practice of reading development. 3. In the past 10 years, what would you judge as the most significant contributions your field has made? The most significant contribution has been to identify the component skills that contribute to effective reading comprehension in children, and to demonstrate