Research, consultancy and other projects

Key research themes, consultancy activities and other projects of the International Literacy Centre.

Key research themes

Our key research themes include:

Adult literacy 鈥� we have a strong interest in adult literacy research, policy and practice, and supervise doctorates in this area.
Deepening professional knowledge and professional enquiry through the study of literacy in diverse settings.
Early literacy development and its challenges.
Enhancing literacy pedagogy through a focus on what works for whom, under what condition.
Interdisciplinary perspectives on literacy 鈥� what can we learn from each other.
Literacy as a lifelong and life-wide social practice 鈥� the contribution of ethnography, sociolinguistics and psychology to empirical enquiry.
Literacy policy and its impact on literacy practices in education.
Tools for studying literacy interventions: process evaluation, theories of change and rapid evidence assessment.
Transposing literacy pedagogies into other languages and education systems.

Our consultancy projects develop through strong relationships with publishers, practitioners, third-sector organisations and policymakers. We work to:

bring research into dialogue with practice
deepen professional knowledge by fostering professional enquiry
encourage critical thinking and reflective practice that is evidence-informed.

Current projects

The ESRC Education Research Programme 2021-26

A project comprising of a cohort of nine projects has been funded to explore two themes:

teaching and learning with a focus on teachers, their recruitment, retention and professional development听
uses of technology that enrich teaching and learning.

More info: The ESRC Education Research Programme 2021-26.

Reading the Way (2023-ongoing)

We are delighted to be working with Prison Reading Groups, Novus and Claire Collins Consultancy on the Reading the Way project, developing reading groups for emergent readers in prisons.
More info on the website.

鈥榃rite from the Beginning鈥�

The purpose of this community engagement project was to pilot a collaborative approach between 最准的六合彩论坛 staff and an East London school community (families and teachers) to support young children鈥檚 writing.

Past projects

Learning through disruption: rebuilding primary education using local knowledge.

A project exploring how primary school parents, pupils and staff have coped with, and adapted to, a period of prolonged disruption in education, and the lessons we can learn as schools resume.

Output

Main report

Policy Briefings

Articles

Watch

Post-16 Phonics

Commissioned by The Education and Training Foundation (ETF), we investigated uses of phonics as part of adult literacy teaching in further and adult education. This included experiences of using phonic approaches with diverse adult learner groups and barriers and enablers to effective practice.听The project report also provides guidance and recommendations for future work in this area.听The study led to work (in collaboration with Claire Collins Consultancy) developing a toolkit for phonics teaching in the post-16 sector, providing a principles-based approach to using phonic approaches in the teaching of reading and writing with post-16 learners.听

Output

(PDF, 1.2MB)

Reading Aloud in Britain Today (RABiT)

This two-year study of contemporary adult reading-aloud practices explored diverse forms of oral reading in different communities, languages, cultural contexts and phases of adult life. The study was funded by the AHRC and carried out in urban and rural locations across Scotland, Wales and England.听

Output

Publications

Duncan, S., Freeman, M. (2019).
Duncan S. (2019). . Volume 97/Spring 2019.
Duncan, S. (2018). Reading Aloud in Britain Today (RABiT): an introduction. Word Matters: The Journal of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama, 68 (1), 19.
Duncan, S. (2018). . Changing English, 1-16.

Blogs

Rapid Evidence Review on Translational Research

Dr Sinead Harmey, Dr Bernardita Munoz-Chereau and Professor Gemma Moss conducted a rapid evidence review for the Froebel Trust on Translational Research. This investigation explored the processes involved in successful research 鈥榯ranslation鈥� and the key features or characteristics of academic work that has been translated and used in education settings.听A framework is provided to support researchers to make their research more accessible and support the development of successful partnerships.听

Output

Publication

Reimagining Literacy Practica

Dr Sinead Harmey received 最准的六合彩论坛 Global Engagement Funds to engage in a project with Dr Bobbie Kabuto (Queens College, City University of New York) on the 鈥淩eimagining literacy practica: Preparing educations to teach literacy in a global context鈥� project鈥�.

Output

Publication

鈥� 最准的六合彩论坛 Press

Manor Park Talks

Conducting a systematic review for the implementation of the Every Child a Talker (ECAT) programme, this is part of a and funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

Output

Current teaching practice in using a system of phonics with post-16 learners

This project is to support the use of phonics in the Functional Skills English curriculum for post-16 learners.

A duty of care and a duty to teach: educational priorities in response to the COVID-19 crisis

This project explores the challenges the COVID-19 crisis sets primary school teachers. These challenges will be considered in light of the diverse roles primary schools find themselves playing in their local communities.听

Output

Briefing papers

Publications

Harmey, S. and Moss, G. (2021) . Educational Review

Reports

(PDF, 0.6MB)
(PDF, 0.9MB)
Harmey, S. and Moss, G. (2020) (PDF, 0.1MB)

Blogs and articles

The role of Teaching Assistants during the COVID crisis

The research team conducted a large-scale, national survey of teaching assistants (TAs) working in schools in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland during February 2021, at a time when schools were focused on supporting children鈥檚 learning in school and at home during the Winter 2021 lockdown.

Output

听