Special Interest Group
Providing a forum for sharing, developing and disseminating research that explores, informs and improves outcomes in education.
We recognise that the field of education is diverse and political and as such this SIG is interested in research that questions educational policy and practice from the early years to higher education and beyond. Our aim is to provoke intellectual debate in a supportive forum that stimulates thinking and inter-disciplinary collaboration to influence government policy making and the funding of education in the future.
This special interest group is concerned with educational effectiveness and improvement and aims to
Professor of Education & Dean at Plymouth Marjon University
Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope is a leading educationalist and professor of education at Plymouth Marjon University, serving as Dean of Place and Social Purpose and leading Marjon University Cornwall. Her work focuses on social inequity,...
Associate Dean of Education at Plymouth University
Dr Victoria Bamsey is an associate professor of Education at the University of Plymouth and chair of the National SENCo Advocacy Network. She is interested in educational effectiveness and inclusion, focusing on how individuals intra-act within...
Education Consultant and Educational Researcher (Retired) at University of Durham
Sean Hayes is a retired local government manager who led Performance and Data teams in education departments in several London councils. He remains active as an educational researcher, is a school governor, a member of Reconnect London, a member...
This event is being run by ½¿É«µ¼º½ in conjunction with the ESRC Education Research Programme. The focus will be on two inter-related topics. First, the issue of teacher recruitment and retention....
½¿É«µ¼º½ is proud to 'Go All In' and pledge support for the National Year of Reading 2026! This page details some of the initiatives that ½¿É«µ¼º½ has undertaken in the past and present to support...
What if the most important room in a school isn’t a classroom, but the one that unlocks every other door to learning? In schools with well-funded and professionally staffed libraries, student...
Continue reading blog postWhat if the most important room in a school isn’t a classroom, but the one that unlocks every other door to learning? In schools with well-funded and professionally staffed libraries, student...
In this blog post, two headteachers share their experiences of building thriving school libraries which nurture students’ wellbeing and love of reading. The effectiveness of school libraries is...
Continue reading blog postGrowing up, I did not have a good experience with my school library. It was cold and unfriendly, and did not offer anything interesting to me. In my opinion, this is because we did not have a...
Continue reading blog postThe school library is undergoing a profound and necessary evolution. The words of Ranganathan (1892–1972, considered to be the ‘father of library science’) remain true to this day: ‘The...
Continue reading blog postNorthern Ireland is a post-conflict society, yet it remains deeply divided. The school system is a complex network with sensitive and contested policy issues, and up to 94 per cent of pupils...
Continue reading blog post
