In a world so full of change there is something wonderful – as well as manic – about a new school year. Like the turning of the seasons it brings a sense of rhythm and renewal.
We got off to a flying start in the first week of term with five new presentations of CUREE research (see the slides here) at the British Education Research Association (BERA) Conference. Didn’t know whether to celebrate or cry about the press coverage of a tiny sliver of evidence about challenge from our research. Why is only bad news news? It’s nice to see education research featuring in the press and it’s true we found a substantial and growing minority of pupils who said that their school (and, actually their parents and friends) weren’t challenging them – but we also found lots of positive evidence about the obstacles and ways teachers are overcoming them…
It is both depressing and puzzling to see the government dismantling the infrastructure for supporting teacher access to research. Web-based free resources disappear every week and the stuff on DfE website is almost perversely difficult to find. Whatever happened to the promise in the White Paper to making research available to teachers free of charge? Our generic ‘tube map’ of useful research evidence is proving impossible to maintain so we are creating both simpler and bespoke versions. You’ll find details below about the first of our route maps tailored to specific topics…
We are trying to adapt to the new regime, hold on to core values, listen hard to schools and respond creatively. How are we doing? We’d love to have feedback from you about what we do or could offer that would be useful.
Philippa Cordingley