Research Projects

Exploring how foreign language knowledge develops in young learners learning French, German, or Spanish in an instructed setting.

Examining the role of technology in foreign language teaching and learning in primary school.

Exploring how school leaders strategically manage and plan for online provision of learning through the pandemic restrictions and beyond.

Dr Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (University of Reading) has been awarded an ESRC-funded UKRI Policy Fellowship.

Determining the factors that relate to better uptake and attainment in computing amongst students from all backgrounds in English secondary schools.

A recent surge in the number of girls being arrested has highlighted the need to re-evaluate our models for youth justice system involvement, specifically considering gender differences.

Addressing the gap in research on leadership development in higher education, especially in Arabic-speaking regions, by investigating academic middle leaders’ experiences in Qatar.

Exploring how different kinds of texts (poems, newspaper articles) have differing effects on foreign language learning in secondary schools.

Promoting inclusion and diversity and support success for underrepresented students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM).

Investigating the perceived skills that employers think are essential for workers to have gained through further education, training, and prior experience for employment.

Identifying the student characteristics that are valued by staff and students themselves across different disciplines, so staff and students can better recognise and address differences in their expectations.

Investigating the accessibility of online learning materials for university-level students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Exploring the extent to which mathematical talk can be fostered through children co-creating short mathematical story picture books.

Identifying and synthesising research studies on early primary mathematics teaching strategies that are thought to be relevant and appropriate for teachers and students in sub-Saharan Africa.

Improving development of reading and writing skills of primary-school aged children from Ukraine, who settled in schools in the UK.

Understanding how helpful different approaches to teaching reading are for children learning to read in a foreign language and moving from primary to secondary school.

Helping the higher education sector design better interventions which will lead to better learning experiences and enhanced longer-term student outcomes.

Tracking the progress and preparedness of young learners of French in England as they moved from primary to secondary school, exploring whether an ‘oracy-based approach’ or a ‘literacy-based approach’ leads to better outcomes for learners

Examining the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ students aged 11-18 in six high schools in the south of England.

Making grammar practice engaging and motivating, through a suite of mini-games practising a range of grammar features in French, Spanish, and German.

Investigating the development of reading and reading-related skills in Malay and English in the context of Malaysia, a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country.

Improving language curriculum design and pedagogy, leading to a higher take up and greater success at GCSE.

Determining whether a dialogic book sharing intervention for parents of children aged two to three years was associated with better child developmental outcomes and parenting.

Promoting inclusion and supporting success for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) students from underrepresented groups at university.

Teaching Maths-specific vocabulary using home languages to boost performance of EAL pupils in word-based problems.

Helping practitioners and parents work together and enhance children’s opportunities to play through holistic practice.

Delivering training for early years providers to assist parents with telling mathematical stories to their pre-school child at home.

Exploring inclusive literacy teaching practice in an accelerated learning programme in a Sub-Saharan country for children 8-14 years old who have never been to school or have been out of school for more than two years.

Exploring how the underdefined and under-researched role of Associate Dean was defined, perceived and experienced across a range of universities in the UK.