Evaluation of the Villiers Park Scholars Programme

An evaluation of the Villiers Park Scholars Programme was carried out by Louise Gazeley, Judy Sebba, Sarah Aynsley and Angela Jacklin from the Department of Education at the University of Sussex between 2009 and 2011. The Villiers Park Scholars Programme identified young people from less advantaged backgrounds who displayed high academic potential and sought to improve their chances of gaining entry to 'centres of excellence at leading universities'. The evaluating team focused on tracking the impact of the programme on its first cohorts of scholars over a two year period. A multi-site case study approach was adopted for which data was collected in three phases for each of the 10 participating institutions. The main impact at school level related to improvements in the identification of high potential. Analysis of the quantitaive data showed Year 11 scholars in three schools performing favourably at GCSE level in relation to the top 25 per cent of their peer group. Feedback from the scholars themselves indicated that the mentoring they had received had contributed to changes in their academic and study skills that contributed to improved attainment. Staff, parents and scholars all felt that changes in the performance of identified scholars was seen in their motivation, self-esteem and confidence in particular. Greater impact was seen in relation to Year 11 scholars and those without a parent who had been to university. Staff and scholars also considered that the programme had improved scholars' knowledge of higher education. Analysis of the destinations data for Year 13 scholars revealed that around half of those for whom data was available took up places in 'leading' universities. Scholars who did not have a parent who went to university were found to be more likely to say that their involvement in the programme had changed their future plane

What are the impacts and cost-effectiveness of strategies to improve performance of untrained and under-trained teachers in the classroom in developing countries?

What are the impacts and cost effectiveness of strategies to improve performance of untrained and under-trained teachers in the classroom in developing countries

Evaluation of ‘Musical Bridges’ – a Paul Hamlyn foundation special initiative

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A Systematic Review of the Evidence of the Impact on Students, Teachers and the Curriculum of the Process of Using Assessment by Teachers for Summative Purposes

First paragraph: The ALRSG was created as one of the first wave of the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre) Review Groups in 2000 and undertook its first review from February 2001 to January 2002. This was entitled 'A systematic review of the impact of summative assessment and testing on students' motivation for learning' and was published in the Research Evidence in Education Library (REEL) in 2002 (Harlen and Deakin Crick, 2002). The second review, conducted from February 2002 to January 2003, was concerned with the impact on students and teachers of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for assessment of creative and critical thinking skills, and was published on REEL in 2003 (Harlen and Deakin Crick, 2003a)

The Educational Progress of Looked After Children in England:Linking Care and Educational Data

First major study in England to explore the relationship between educational outcomes, young people’s care histories and individual characteristics. It focused on the reasons for the low educational outcomes of young people in care (looked after) in secondary schools in England

Effective teaching and learning for pupils in low attaining groups

The research investigated the characteristics of pupils in low attainment sets, the factors that determine the composition of these sets and the approaches to effective teaching of pupils in low attainment groups used by schools. Central to the aims of the study was the identification of how schools and teachers maximise the benefits of attainment grouping and mitigate its disadvantages. It was conducted by the Universities of Sussex and Manchester, on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). While the main focus was on low attainment sets, consideration was also given to effective teaching approaches with pupils regarded as low attaining in other grouping arrangements and more generically within the broader school context. The study sought to answer four key research questions: 1. What are the population characteristics of pupils in low attainment sets? 2. What practices and processes do schools use to identify and organise low attainment groups? 3. How do schools and teachers motivate and inspire pupils in low attaining groups to learn? 4. Are different approaches used for pupils from specific social groups (minority ethnic/social class/ gender) who are over-represented in low attainment groups and/or ‘at risk’ of low educational outcomes