About

Welcome to the ESRC Education Research Programme. This is an exciting and ambitious research programme, addressing key challenges in education policy and practice in the UK.

What is the ESRC Education Research Programme

A cohort of nine projects have been funded to explore two themes:

• teaching and learning with a focus on teachers, their recruitment, retention and professional development 
• uses of technology that enrich teaching and learning.

You can read about the projects here.  The projects will be working collaboratively and sharing knowledge over the length of the programme. The Research Programme Director is Professor Gemma Moss.

Ways of working

To facilitate new ways of working across the boundaries between research, policy and practice in the four nations of the UK, the programme encourages projects to     

• work jointly with practitioners, policymakers and other stakeholders over the length of their project
• take account of the different education policy and practice priorities in the four nations and jurisdictions of the UK in their research
• make a significant scientific contribution to strengthening the evidence base on partnership working in education, leading to improvements in professional and policymaker knowledge. 

Outcomes are intended to have positive impacts on the lives of children and their families over the long term. 

Involving the wider education community

Throughout the programme the research team at UCL will be running a series of events designed to engage the wider education research community in

• identifying knowledge gaps that meet the priorities of different stakeholder groups
• agenda setting for research that would benefit from partnership approaches

Sharing insights and emerging findings

You can join up to receive our newsletters and briefing notes here. 

What are the primary aims of the Programme?

1. To strengthen the evidence base in education that informs:
 - teacher supply, retention and professional development, and
 - the use of technology to enrich teaching and learning in primary and secondary education.

2.   To enhance knowledge of the issues involved in successfully developing research partnerships in different policy and practice contexts.

3.   To engage the wider education research community and its diverse stakeholders in agenda setting for research that will benefit from partnership approaches.

Who are the Programme’s funders?

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK’s largest funder of economic, social, behavioural and human data science. ESRC supports independent, high-quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and civil society. Building strategic partnerships with academia, the public and private sectors, and civil society is a key aspect of the ESRC’s work.  

How long is it funded for?

The ESRC Education Programme runs between 2021-2026.