CIER has a core mission of promoting inclusion in education, investigating different types of excluded and marginalised groups. These range from those with those excluded because of ethnicity, class or gender to those with disabilities such as visual impairment.
An international comparison of pupil perspectives on justice (2010).
Research by Stephen Gorard and Emma Smith across Europe and Japan has examined young people's experiences of justice in schools and beyond. This includes the views of potentially disadvantaged pupils, including those with learning difficulties, or behavioural problems, those apparently less suited to an academic 'trajectory', recent immigrants, those learning through a second language, or who are from socio-economically deprived backgrounds. The impact of their experiences is revealed on well-being, work, relations at school, involvement in tasks, and results, plus perseverance in school, ethical and civic judgements, trust in institutions, and unfairness in general. This provides important indications for policy-makers and practitioners about the role of school organisation, and the behaviour of teachers, in creating equity and helping to form pupils' sense of justice. Pupils have quite clear views on what is fair, and are generally willing and able to express those views. Are research users willing to acknowledge and act on those views?
The educational inclusion of children with visual impairment in East and Southern African countries (2008-2010).
Paul Lynch and Steve McCall are working with parents and itinerant teachers to establish teaching approaches and learning materials that can best secure the children's literacy skills in the local mainstream classroom.
Drawing upon the principles of action research, the children's development is regularly assessed and supported. This also involves working with braille producers and teacher trainers, which has already resulted in the development and testing of pre-braille and braille assessment tools in English and Chichewa (national spoken language in Malawi). The final phases of the research consist of knowledge transfer through a final report, an accompanying DVD capturing the braille residential schools and a high-level seminar to share the results with key stakeholders at the Ministry of Education in Malawi.
Can private schools in India offer inclusive education? (2006)
This research investigated the extent to which private schools that run outreach programmes for out-of-school children in India are able to provide inclusive education. It presents different models of inclusion and discusses the implications of these in terms of providing children with an education that is both appropriate to their needs and offers equal opportunities. www.id21.org/publications/edn_for_all.pdf
This has led to further work exploring how the private education sector can contribute to meeting EFA and MDG targets.
Crime and abuse against people with learning disabilities.
A two-year study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation contributed to new legislation, EU policy, and the training of judges, health and social care professionals.
Working children in Lebanon and Jordan.
An evaluation of education projects for child labourers was supported by the US Department of Labor (USDoL). Large-scale initiatives aim to integrate children into schools and colleges, and to create public awareness of the difficulties faced by these children.
Street-working child in Kabul.
An evaluation of NGO projects for children working on the streets was conducted for the European Commission (EC). Around half the children in Kabul attend school regularly, and these projects provide compensatory education and integration into mainstream schools.
Small rural schools.
Funded by the National Association for Small Schools this project is looking at how e-learning is facilitated in small rural schools. Historically, rural schools have been under-resourced and most teachers carry out dual roles i.e. the e-learning teacher often doubles as technician and e-learning trainer. The concern in rural areas is twofold: first many rural areas are not cash rich and as such many schools are not able to offer full electronic facilities; second, many rural areas do not have full internet access making it difficult to deliver teaching and learning resources often taken for granted in urban areas.
Inclusion of muslim girls and women in physical education and sport.
Gaining a Leverhulme Research Fellowship in 2008 enabled Tansin Benn to develop her work on gender, culture and religion and the interface with physical education and sport participation internationally.
The research explored the different ways in which these aspects of identity are embodied and managed in the lives of Muslim girls and women. One outcome was the book Muslim Women and Sport, published by Routledge, July 2010, which captures diversity of situations and experiences of physicality in the lives of Muslim girls and women in 14 countries: South Africa, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Palestine, Morocco, Turkey, Germany, Denmark and UK.
Examples of books and papers
Benn, T., Pfister, G., and Jawad, H. (Eds) (2011) Muslim Women and Sport, London, Routledge.
Laura Day Ashley, L. (2010). The use of structuration theory to conceptualize alternative practice in education: the case of private school outreach in India, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31, 3, 337-351.
Chris Williams (2009) (with Yazdani, F.) The rehabilitation paradox: street working children in Afghanistan, Diaspora, indigenous, and minority education. 3(1), 4-20. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?content=a907455142&fulltext=713240928
Stephen Gorard and Emma Smith (2010) Equity in Education: An international comparison of pupil perspectives. London: Palgrave.
Gentile, J., Lynch, P., Robertson. C., Jahn, J. & Rischewski, D. (2009) A Review of support strategies for children and youth with disabilities in post-primary education in developing countries.
Lynn Davies (2009) A Human Rights Based Approach to Roma Education Briefing Paper for the Decade of Roma Education, UNICEF
Laura Day Ashley. (2008) Becoming inclusive? A study of private schools in India offering education to children out-of-school. Commonwealth Education Partnerships 2008/09: Education in the Commonwealth: Towards the MDGs. London: Commonwealth Secretariat. Cambridge: Nexus Strategic Partnerships.
Paul Lynch & Steve McCall (2008) Educating children with visual impairment in Africa, Institute of Development studies 2, No.68.
Paul Lynch & Steve McCall(2007) The Itinerant Teachers' Role in Educational Inclusion of Children with Low Vision in Local Schools in Africa. The Educator.