The School of Education - University of Birmingham

The Impact of the School’s Research
Research within the School of
Education aims to impact on
other academic research by
encouraging and supporting
research staff to undertake
research beyond academia and
into the wider community. This
ensures that maximum change
is achieved and benefits
realised. The School has
achieved notable impact across
a number of areas with its
funded research projects. Dr
Graeme Douglas and his
colleagues from VICTAR have
achieved a standard height of
Braille lettering on
pharmaceutical packaging.
Professor Hywel Thomas
(Director) and his colleagues
from CRMDE have worked in
conjunction with the Royal
College of General Practitioners
to produce a full review of the
training curriculum for medical
practitioners.
16 SCHOOL OF EDUCATION | BRINGING VISION AND VALUES TO LIFE
In addition to these examples of
more tangible impact, Dr Karen
Guldberg and her colleagues
within ACER have developed a
number of training programmes
for practitioners and carers of
individuals on the autism
spectrum. Currently over 1,500
school staff have received Level 1
training. Professor Stephen Gorard
has produced a series of articles
looking at the problems of
assessing school performance.
These have contributed to the
evidence base for the high profile
abolition of the school Contextual
Value Added measure by the
Coalition Government, and for the
prior abolition of school league
tables in Wales.
Professor Ian Grosvenor’s
Children’s Lives exhibition was the
first major project in Birmingham
and the West Midlands to consider
children’s lived experiences from
the 18 th century to the present
day. The project drew on the
nationally acclaimed collections
of archives, artefacts, oral
histories and film material held
by Birmingham Archives and
Heritage, Birmingham Museums
and Art Gallery and the Media
Archive for Central England.
Further details on this can be
found on page 24.
Professor James Arthur’s work on
character education and moral
development of young people
led to the creation of the Jubilee
Centre for Character and Values
which will support the promotion
of debates amongst
policymakers, the media and the
general public regarding
character education, virtues and
future mindedness. Professor
Arthur’s research has prompted
demand for an accepted
standard language to use across
character education and has
begun a consultation over a
character education curriculum.