Community for Learning and Teaching Newsletter
May 2024
Issue 48
CFLAT headlines
University promotions have been won this year by CfLaT members Anja Giudici, Karen Laing (to Principal Research Associate) and Lisa Ramshaw (to Senior Lecturer). Congratulations to all!
CfLaT’s long-standing collaborator, Teresa Strachan has just published a book, ‘Engaging Young People in Planning’.
Amina Razak has had a BERA blog published: Degrees of difference: Exploring degree award gaps.
European partners from the Collaboratve Redesign with Schools (CoReD) project will be back in Newcastle, 10-12 June, to plan the next project. Initial ideas are to apply their knowledge and resources to cross-disciplinary research on climate action through school premises. Watch this space…!
There are two new doctors in CfLaT as Lydia and Karen have both gained PhDs. Well done indeed, Dr Wysocki and Dr Laing!
The Department for Education has published the report of research by CfLaT and Open Lab to explore digital approaches to including student views in reviews of school spaces.
We will be visited from June to September by Siv Marit Stavem, who is a school architect from Norway who researches school space. Find out more about her work at the CfLaT Research Tea in June.
Sue Robson's Autism in Schools project: next steps and help needed
A new project at Newcastle aims to help autistic pupils thrive at school. The project, which is supported by the Newcastle University Summer Placement scheme, is based on a report written by CfLaT's Sue Robson for the Churchill Fellowship.
This report addresses the challenges which autistic pupils face at school. Specifically, the project aims to create accessible resources in the form of a user-friendly website for educators in order to support the development of autism-friendly schools. Possible resources include checklists for autism-friendly classrooms, lesson plans, and interviews with autistic pupils and specialist teachers discussing their personal experience of autism.
The project is being conducted by Speech and Language Therapy student Matthew Gabrielli under the supervision of Nick Riches (Speech and Language Sciences), and Sue.
If you are interested in being involved, by providing feedback on materials, or identifying individuals who wish to participate in interviews, please contact nick.riches@newcastle.ac.uk.
Education Support Personnel - new report
On 16 May, World Education Support Personnel Day, Anja Giudici co-hosted a webinar for union leaders from across the world to launch a report she co-authored for Education International with Lucas Cone (University of Copenhagen) with support of NU student Isabel Ponce. The report analyses the impact of privatisation on the working conditions of education support staff.
Free university event
CfLaT are contributing a treasure hunt round campus spaces to Newcastle University’s Discover Festival on Saturday 8 June.
The hunt will use Open Lab’s PosterVotes to record views of the locations, feeding into research about student use of university space, and provide information about the places. This follows the recent collaboration with Open Lab and use of PosterVote in research for the Department of Education.
If you are interested in being involved, by providing feedback on materials, or identifying individuals who wish to participate in interviews, please contact nick.riches@newcastle.ac.uk
Fostering sense of belonging: the Black Engineering Network
Data at Newcastle University shows a persistent and unexplained degree awarding gap with white students, on average, more likely to leave university with a 1st or 2:1 degree compared to Black home undergrad students. Narrowing this awarding gap is a strategic priority for the university and a pilot research project was embarked on to begin to understand how we could do this.
The project was led by CfLaT’s Amina Razak, as part of her role with the Inclusive Newcastle Knowledge Centre (INKC). Amina collaborated with a Student Advisory Board in the School of Engineering (SoE), to explore ways of narrowing the degree awarding gap. The research provided important insights into the experiences of Black and other Global Majority students across SoE.
One of the key recommendations was the need to foster a sense of belonging within the Engineering community. A Black Engineering Network was launched in October 2023, attended by Chi Onwurah MP who delivered the keynote address. Over 70 students attended and had the opportunity to raise questions through a Q+A session with a panel of students, alumni and colleagues.
Amina continues to support the work in the SoE and has successfully recruited students and alumni as part of an Executive Committee who are working with staff to nurture and shape the Network to be an inclusive and supportive environment for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Early feedback finds that students are enjoying opportunities to network and meet other students and Engineers. INKC will be evaluating the impact of the Network and will be sharing learning across the university and the wider sector.
Digging deeper: developing an enrichment homework programme
Working with CfLaT’s Alison Whelan, staff and pupils at Corbridge Middle School trialled an innovative enrichment homework programme last term.
The headteacher, Adele Brown, and enrichment lead, Mark Blatherwick, wanted to engage their pupils in the wider community and give more authenticity and meaning to homework. Working alongside Alison, they developed a Project-Based Learning (PBL) set of curriculum-embedded projects, with each question linked to the overall question: “What makes us proud of where we live?” The pupils were given a full term to work on their chosen project, and were encouraged to involve their families, friends and local community members. School staff were on hand to help guide and support them in their research.
On the last day of term, the school held a showcase where all pupils could circulate round the classrooms to see each other’s final work. Parents, governors and special guests were invited and were blown away by the standard of the work. Pupils showcased a wide range of incredible products from artwork, sculpture and highly detailed posters, to brochures, recipe books and websites. There was even some homemade food on offer! Feedback from the pupils included:
“It was amazing to do because it’s something that I love.”
“It was good to be able to focus on something I’m interested in.”
“It was enjoyable and I learnt a lot more from this than from previous projects. It’s a full term’s work so the standard is higher. We could do it any way we wanted – we could dig in.”
One pupil was already enthusiastic for how they could further develop their new research skills, and said “I’m definitely excited to see what’s on offer next term!” Feedback was collected from staff, pupils and parents about the trial, and will inform the future direction of the enrichment homework programme next year.
Young Advisors' Theory of Change
Debbie Ralls was funded by the Child Health and Well-being Network North East and North Cumbria to do some engagement and impact work with their Executive and Youth Boards, based on her relational engagement research and the development of the Relational Toolkit.
This led to the young people from the Youth Board (the Young Advisors) developing a theory of change (River of Change) and a manifesto for how to work with children and young people on health and well-being.
The Relational Toolkit project and the Young Advisors' work was included in a national policy report. Their River of Change was published in the recent report on young people and mental health.
Their work is on pages 27-28 and they are named as contributors to the report on page 41. It's fantastic to see - as it's unfortunately very unusual to have young people included in national policy reports in this way! Hopefully, a relational approach to engagement can help support more of this type of activity.
Schools in Uruguay
After a decade of interdisciplinary collaboration with Uruguayan academic and architect Dr Paula Cardellino, CfLaT’s Pam Woolner recently got chance to visit some Uruguayan schools.
The visit was arranged through ANEP, the National Administration of Public Education, where Paula combines work in the branch that designs secondary schools with her academic role at ORT University.
Pam spent 10 days in and around Montevideo. Activities included a busy day of talks and discussion about how to bring architecture and education together, visits to a comprehensive range of newly built and refurbished schools with the government architects who designed them and meetings with the various departments that contribute to school planning and design.
Paula and Pam also organised a workshop on collaborative approaches to school design and Pam gave a lecture at ORT, entitled, ‘Architecture for Education: Challenges and Opportunities to Connect Educational Intentions with School Spaces’.
To find out more, please contact: pamela.woolner@ncl.ac.uk come along to Pam’s Research Tea in July.
Research Teas Summer 2024
CfLaT Research Teas aim to provide an informal opportunity for staff, postgraduate students and other interested parties to get together to discuss current research. They will be held in KGVI.B83.iLabLearn with tea and coffee available from 15:30 and the session running 15:45 to 16:45.
Wednesday 19 June 15:30 to 16:45 - The governance of school design in a decentralized policy setting - Siv Marit Stavem, Norconsult, Norway.
Wednesday 17 July 15:30 to 16:45 - Educational Innovation in Uruguay: technology, curriculum and school design; how does it all fit together? - Pam Woolner, CfLaT.
For further information on CfLaT research teas, if you would like to join a tea via Zoom or if you are interested in discussing some of your own research please contact Pamela.Woolner@ncl.ac.uk
CFLAT Publications 2023/24
Ayadurai C, Todd L. et al (2024) An evidence-based plan for addressing poverty with and through education settings. N8 Child of the North, Health Equity North, Centre for Young Lives. https://www.n8research.org.uk/research-focus/child-of-the-north/2024-campaign/
Bidmead E, Hayes L, Leggott E, Wildmane J, Rankin J, Nicoll L, Bramhall L, Bambra C, Todd L, Mazzoli-Smith L, Wildman J. (2024) Poverty Proofing health care: a qualitative exploration of barriers to accessing health care for low income families with children in the North of England. SSM Health System.
Bøjer, Bodil Hovaldt and Woolner, Pamela (2024) Creating ‘Perfect’ New Learning Spaces: Collaboration to Align Design and Use. In Design for Education, edited by Ana Rute Costa and Rachel Cooper, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Design-for-Education-Spaces-and-Tools-for-Learning/Costa-Cooper/p/book/9781032552675
Giudici, Anja. (2023). ‘Nationalism and the Curriculum: Analytical and Methodological Considerations’. In Handbook of Curriculum Theory and Research, edited by Peter Pericles Trifonas and Susan Jagger. London: Springer.
Gingrich, Jane, Anja Giudici, and Daniel McArthur. (2023). ‘The Politics of Equality in Secondary Education Across Wealthy Postwar Democracies’. In The Oxford Handbook of Education and Globalization, edited by Paola Mattei, Xavier Dumay, Eric Mangez, and Jacqueline Behrend, 633–56. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gingrich, Jane, Anja Giudici, and Daniel McArthur. (2024). Multidimensionality Matters: The Implications of Educational Hierarchy and Differentiation for Intergenerational Mobility in Europe. Comparative Education Review. https://doi.org/10.1086/729572.
Giudici, Anja, and Patrick Emmenegger. (2023). ‘Education Policy’. In The Oxford Handbook of Swiss Politics, edited by Patrick Emmenegger, Flavia Fossati, Silja Häusermann, Yannis Papadopoulos, Pascal Sciarini, and Adrian Vatter, 604–22. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kerr K, Laing K, Todd L. (2024) Promoting equity through Comprehensive Community Initiatives in England. In: Downes P; Li G; van Praag L; Lamb S, ed. Promoting Equity in Education through Inclusive Systems and Societies. Routledge.
Koglbauer, R. (2023) Gelebte Sprachenpolitik: Die Rolle von Sprachverbänden als Vermittler, Aufklärer, Aktivist und Lobbyist – am Fallbeispiel England. In: Fritz, T., Sorger, B., Schweiger, H., and Reitbrecht, S. (Eds) IDT 2022 Mit.Sprache.teil.haben. Band 5. Sprachenpolitik und Teilhabe. Berlin, Erich Schmidt Verlag, p. 157-165.
Koglbauer, R. (2024) Professional identity: Becoming an extended professional. In: Pachler, N. and Redondo, A. (Eds) A Practical Guide to Teaching Foreign Languages in the Secondary School. (3rd ed)., London and New York, Routledge, p. 179-194.
Leat, D., Whelan, A., Thomas, U., Kerr, C., & Webb, R. (2023). Turning Schools Inside out–Community Curriculum Making. In The Ideas-Informed Society: Why We Need It and How to Make It Happen (pp. 321-331). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Leat, D., Whelan, A., (2023). Innovative pedagogies in relation to curriculum. In: Tierney, R.J., Rizvi, F., Erkican, K. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education, vol. 7. Elsevier, pp. 132–141.
Ramshaw, L. (2024). Book Review: Handbook on leadership in education by Philip A. Woods, Amanda Roberts, Meng Tian and Howard Youngs, 2023, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, £240.00 (pbk), 547 pp., ISBN 978-1-80088-041-2. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 47(3), 309–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2024.2341583
Robinson, L. and Clark, J. (2024) Socially Haunted? Exploring Young People’s Views on Education and Marginalization. Youth, 4, 214–230. https://doi.org/10.3390/youth4010015
Shields, S. (2023). ‘I’ve Found Friends’: Experiences of Persistence and Shared Academic Identities in Friendship Formation for Working-Class University Students. https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/88593
Todd L, Pini S, Mathai M, Wood M. et al (2024) Building the foundations of a new ‘Sure Start’: An evidence-based plan for connecting and coordinating support and services for children and families in and around schools. N8 Child of the North, Health Equity North, Centre for Young Lives. https://www.n8research.org.uk/research-focus/child-of-the-north/2024-campaign/
Woolner, P., Kharrufa, A., Lengyel, D., Whelan, A. and Clements, K. (2024) Developing a method for obtaining pupil insight for Building in Use reviews. London: DfE. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/developing-a-method-for-obtaining-pupil-insight-for-building-in-use-reviews