Research

 

•        Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) ‘Year 7 Views of the Future’

The aim of this research was to enhance the understanding of how those in year 7 think about educational and career issues and what factors shape this thinking. It involved the 2008-09 year 7 cohort and is one of the first pieces of work with the initial cohort who will be affected by the raising of the school leaving age to 17 in 2013.

The study consisted of focus group workshops with over 600 young people in 27 different schools in 3 different areas of the country. Participating schools reflect a range of attainment performance and school ‘type’ i.e. mixed/single sex, faith/non-faith, 11-16/18, academy/community or voluntary aided. A total of 610 young people participated in the study from a range of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds and with differing ability levels.

The final report has now been published and is available to download.

 

•        Society for Educational Studies ‘Higher Education and Access over the next 10 years: More of the same?’

This project was an actual research seminar looking at the factors which may shape the access to higher education landscape in the 2010s. Presenters included Sir David Watson, Sir Diean Hopkin, Professor Ken Roberts, Professor John Storan, Professor Malcolm Gillies and Andrew Ward of Brunel University. The seminar focused on new research looking at the student experience, student finance in the UK and Australia, the views of the future of year 7 pupils and HE: School engagement in London. Click here to view the presentations.

 

•        LondonLearning and Skills Council ‘Getting Behind the Lines of Learning: Exploring Models of HE engagement in the 14-19 Diploma’

A key concern in the implementation of the 14-19 diploma is how the qualification can act as route to Higher Education. This research was based on a qualitative study of the development of the Society, Health and Development Diploma in central London. To view the publication please click here.

 

•        Aimhigher Greater Merseyside ‘A retrospective view of the impact of Aimhigher’

The Aimhigher project has had a presence in the vast majority of schools, Further Education Colleges and Higher Education Institutions in England since the early 2000s. Aimhigher Greater Merseyside is one of the largest Aimhigher partnerships in England with over 130 schools. This project involves a questionnaire to schools and interviews with Local Authority Aimhigher co-ordinators, HEI staff and Further Education staff looking at the impact of Aimhigher on the culture and structure of their organisations.

 

•        University of Manchester ‘The impact of AImhigher on staff attitudes in school’

This project is addressing some similar themes to those which are the focus of the work with Aimhigher Greater Manchester. Another very large partnership network with over 130 schools, this piece of work looks specifically at the school sector supported by interviews with school Aimhigher staff. It is looking for models of Aimhigher delivery in the school context. Do they exist and if so what do they look like and are they sustainable?

 

EARN is at present delivering assignments for:

•        Aimhigher Cheshire and Warrington ‘The impact of Aimhigher’

EARN is taking forward the whole of the monitoring and evaluation strategy of this Aimhigher partnership. We are conducting a tracking study with over 1000 learners in the area involving questionnaires and focus groups over the 2009 to 2011 period. This is a very exciting opportunity to work with such a large sample of learners. The tools and approach will be linked to that used in the Aimhigher West, Central and North (WECAN) Partnership to allow comparative analysis.

 

• Podium, the Higher Education & 2012 Games Partnership Organisation ‘A scoping study looking at the relationship between widening access to Higher Education and the Olympic Games’

The impact of the 2012 games on society in London and the wider UK is potentially very large. A potential impact could be on participation in Higher Education. This qualitative study based on interviewees with key stakeholders in the Games explores what the nature of the impact of 2012 on access to higher education could be and how we could realise this impact.

 

• DCSF ‘Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement’

EARN are supporting the lead partners University of Westminster in the delivery of this project. It focuses on using innovatory game-based techniques to explore how teacher expectations may affect student engagement in class work. The project will involve 20 secondary schools and over 500 year 8 pupils.