You are in :
  • News
    • > 1998
      • > Press release 15 May 1998

HEFCE press release

15 May 1998

Economic and Social Research Council Higher Education Funding Council for England

NEW RESEARCH PROGRAMME WILL PROMOTE EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING


EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01 HRS FRIDAY 15 MAY 1998

A major new research programme is being launched to deepen understanding of the factors which underpin and create effective teaching and learning at all levels from pre-school to higher education and life-long learning.

The programme is the result of a partnership between the Economic and Social Research Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The HEFCE will fund the programme which is being designed and developed by the ESRC.

The programme will be of practical benefit to teachers and practitioners in education and closely related to their needs. The results will be widely disseminated.

Professor Ronald Amann, Chief Executive of the ESRC, said: 'If life-long learning is to become a reality in this country, we need a body of relevant research widely available on all aspects of teaching and learning which will actually help teachers improve learning of all students. In short this new programme will be seeking to develop 'evidence based teaching' showing what works best and why it does so'.

Professor Brian Fender, Chief Executive of the HEFCE, said: 'The HEFCE is supporting project research for the first time, because of the importance we attach to improving pedagogic research. We have discussed this proposal with many of the bodies who support research in education and I am delighted that the ESRC have agreed to run the programme. The results will benefit students at all levels'.

The research programme will have an initial budget of £10.5 million, covering the early years of the programme. A director and steering committee will be appointed to run the programme. Its remit will be drawn up following a major review of existing research and extensive consultation with teachers, education practitioners and researchers.

The first projects are likely to start in Autumn 1999 following a call for proposals later this year. The programme will be multi-disciplinary, including contributions from psychologists, sociologists, educationalists and anthropologists.

The programme will cover all sectors of education in England. One of its major features will be to help teachers make better use of research in order to improve their teaching.

The type of issues likely to be considered by the programme include:

  • Teachers and Trainers - including what it means to be a teacher, what styles and approaches are currently used and what impact different levels and types of resources have.


  • Technology and Learning - including the application of new technologies and with appropriate models of how people learn in order to provide a deeper understanding of how and where IT can help teaching and learning.


  • .Learning to Learn - how learning occurs throughout people's lives and how skills which assist learning can best be developed.


  • Different Educational Needs - how teaching and learning can be made more appropriate to meet diverse educational needs; for example how do factors such as gender, class, age, ethnicity, religion and other differences affect learning?


  • Managing Change - teaching and learning does not take place in a vacuum. Global, natural and local change, including the effects of different forms of regulation, will have significant impacts on the ways in which, and the effectiveness with which, teaching and learning takes place.



For further information contact Kathy Ham, David Ridley, Tim Whitaker, ESRC External Relations,
Tel: 01793 413032, 413118, 413115
or Roger Grinyer, HEFCE, Tel: 0117 931 7317.



NOTES TO EDITORS

  1. The ESRC is the UK's largest independent funding agency for research and postgraduate training into social and economic issues. It currently has an annual budget of around £65 million from the Government.
  2. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) distributes around £3.8 billion of public money each year for teaching and research in universities and colleges. In doing so, it aims to promote high quality education and research within a financially healthy sector.
  3. The research programme covers England and Northern Ireland.

Last updated