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Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP)

The TLRP is a co-ordinated research initiative. Its overarching purpose is to support and develop educational research leading to improvements in outcomes for learners of all ages, in all sectors and contexts of education, training and lifelong learning throughout the UK.

The first projects began work in 2000 and the programme is scheduled to end in December 2008. It is managed by the Economic and Social Research Council on behalf of its funders. To date, it has received £30 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Department for Education and Skills.

Widening participation strand

HEFCE has allocated a further £2 million to the Teaching and Learning Research Programme's widening participation strand. The aim of the strand is to support high quality, innovative research with the potential to enhance understanding. It will inform and/or underpin future policy, practice and learning outcomes relating to widening participation and fair access to higher education in England.

The ESRC issued a call for proposals for this strand in March 2005 and successful projects were announced in autumn 2005. The projects chosen are listed below. Further information can be found on the TLRP web-site by clicking on the project title links.

• 'The social-cultural and learning experiences of working class students in higher education', Crozier and Reay (2005-07)

• 'Non-participation in HE: decision-making as an embedded social practice', Fuller, Dyke and Foskett (2005-07)

• 'Degrees of sucess: the transition between VET and HE', Hayward and Ertl (2005-07)

• 'Learning and teaching for social diversity and difference', Hockings and Bowl (2005-07)

• 'Keeping open the door to mathematically-demanding FE and HE programmes', Williams, Davis and Wake (2005-07)

• 'Widening participation in higher education: a quantitative analysis', Vignoles, Goodman and Machin (2005-07)

HEFCE has also provided additional funding to one project which has a particular fit with our interests:

• 'Universal Access and dual regimes of further and higher education', Parry, University of Sheffield.
  This project will examine the impact of the division between further and higher education on strategies to widen participation in undergraduate education.

For more information, contact Sarah Howls, e-mail s.howls@hefce.ac.uk, tel 0117 931 7073.

Last updated 2 February 2006