International knowledge accumulation
Important synoptic reviews of cumulative evidence on teaching and learning include:
- Bransford, J. (Ed.) (1999) How People Learn. Brain, Mind, Experience and School. Washington DC: National Academy Press. (Reading 4.1)
- Muijs, D. and Reynolds, D. (2011) Effective Teaching: Evidence and Practice. London: SAGE. (Reading 8.6)
- Good, T. and J. Brophy. 2008. Looking in Classrooms. Boston: Pearson.
- Darling Hammond, L. 1996. The Right to Learn: A Blueprint for Creating Schools that Work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Globally influential work drawing on development in Austalia, Canada, Singapore and Finland is:
- Hayes, D., Mills, M., Christie, P. and Linguard, R. (2006) Teachers and Schooling Making a Difference. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. (Reading 4.2)
- Levin, B. (2008) How to Change 5000 Schools. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard Education Press.
- Hogan, D., Chan, M., Rahim, R., Kwek, D., Aye, K. M., Loo, S. C., Sheng, Y. and Luo, W. (2013) ‘Assessment and the logic of instructional practice in Secondary 3 English and Mathematics classes in Singapore.’ Review of Education, 1 (1), 57–106. (see Reading 4.2)
- Sahlberg, P. (2012) Finnish Lessons: What the World Can Learn from Educational Change in Finland? Boston: Teachers’ College Press. (Reading 4.4)
An attempt to summarise the implications deriving from what is known about learning from across the world is:
- OECD (2011) The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice. Paris: OECD. (Reading 4.5)
- A UK synopsis of key studies on effective teaching since 2007 is:
- Rowe, Wilkin and Wilson, (2012) Mapping of Seminal Reports on Good Teaching. Slough: NFER (Reading 4.6)
Two synopses of quantitative research, encouragingly consonant in general with the results of qualitative research and teacher experience, are:
- Hattie, J. (2009) Visible Learning. A Synthesis of Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. London: Routledge. (Reading 4.7)
- Marzano, R. J. (2009) Designing and Teaching Learning Goals and Objectives. Bloomington: Solution Tree.
For more specialist insights, the handbook below indicates the range of scientific disciplines engaging with new contemporary understanding of teaching and learning, and the nature of their contributions.
- Sawyer, R. K. (2006) The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The insights from international research are also played out in particular ways in relation to learners of different ages, and thus for each sector of education. Among the most significant recent review studies are:
- Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Taggart, B. (2010) ‘The Effective Pre-School and Primary Education Project’. Early Childhood Matters. London: Routledge.
This book summarises the first large scale multi-level longitudinal study of young children’s development and underpinned a significant expansion in early years provision in the UK.
- Alexander, R. (Ed.) (2010) Children, their World, their Education: Final Report and Recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review, London: Routledge.
The CPR was funded in 2006 by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to evaluate the current state of primary education by combining ‘retrospective evidence with prospective vision’. The final report, based on extensive research, drew together over 30 interim reports. Its website is can be found at: www.primaryreview.org.uk.
- Nuffield Review: Pring, R., Hayward, G., Hodgson, A., Johnson, J., Keep, E., Oancea, A., Rees, G., Spours, K., Wilde, S. (2009) Education for All: The Future of Education and Training for 14-19 Year Olds in England and Wales, London: Routledge.
In 2003, the Nuffield Foundation funded a major Review of every aspect of 14-19 provision to be led by Richard Pring. The final Report was supported by a wide range of research papers, and these remain available on its website (www.nuffieldfoundation.org/nuffield-review-14-19-education-and-training-0)
- Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning: Schuller, T. and Watson, D. (2009) Learning Through Life, London: NIACE.
This Inquiry was set up in 2007 by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, and informed by over 250 evidence submissions. The Report is ‘nested’ in 30 supplementary papers published on www.lifelonglearninginquiry.org.uk. The primary focus is on adult learning but the crucial continuity with early childhood and schooling is drawn out.
- Mental Capital and Well Being Report: Feinstein, L., Vorhaus, J., Sabates, R. (2008) Learning through Life: Future Challenges: London: Govt. Office for Science. (Reading 1.7)
The Office for Science’s Foresight Programme advises the Government on how to achieve the best possible mental development for everyone. This Report considered factors which could affect ‘learning through life’ in future decades. The report is on www.foresight.gov.uk.
There has been a rapid growth in research about digital learning, which was accelerated in schools by the COVID-19 crisis.
- Andrews, R., & Haythornthwaite, C. (Eds.). (2007). The SAGE handbook of e-learning research. London: Sage.
- Lightbody, B. (2021). Advancing Learning Within and Beyond the Classroom: Resetting Pedagogy for the Online Era. Abingdon: Routledge.
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