Institute for Education Policy Research

Members of the Institute for Education Policy Research (IEPR) are drawn from the Business School and Faculty of Sciences and have a broad range of experience in researching, advising and reporting on aspects of educational policy at national and international levels.   Recently consultancy work has been carried out for government departments and agencies (e.g. Department of Education and the Training and Development Agency for Schools), and educational charities (e.g. Joseph Rowntree Foundation).

The researchers have diverse academic backgrounds in the social sciences and psychology and substantial experience in different sectors of education. We seek to bring a variety of perspectives and methods to bear in the analysis of educational issues, with some members experienced in statistical analysis while others are more experienced in qualitative research. We work in small research teams with a mixture of skills and backgrounds appropriate to each research project.

The Institute is committed to disseminating research and good practice through publications, and conferences, seminars and symposia. It is concerned with encouraging scholarly activity in the field, including supervising Doctorate students.

The work of the Institute is divided into three main areas: 

• The Learning and Teaching in Education section is concerned with pedagogy both in schools and in higher education (HE). Examples of this research area include the professional development for teaching assistants and the application of ‘threshold concepts’.
• The Centre for Educational Psychology Research has a commitment to multidisciplinary research, and a belief in the value of the dialectic between theory and practice. Members of the group are drawn from a broad range within psychology - including cognitive, social, developmental, critical and educational psychologists – and interests range across the educational curriculum and levels.
• The Education Policy section is concerned with both teacher and school effectiveness and HE policy.  This includes the area of access to and participation in HE, where the Institute has a long standing reputation. Areas of interest include HE funding and student finance, the role of cultural capital in participation and retention, and self-efficacy and determinants of school performance.

See the Institute for Education Policy Research.