Research Circles an exciting innovation for collaboration

Edge Hill University’s Early Years Education Department is developing the idea of Research Circles to foster better collaborations and encourage knowledge that can be adapted for practical work in the classroom.

Research Circles bring together groups regularly with the purpose of exploring, through research, a common issue and possible solution for future action. They aim to foster further development of more collaborative university/early years’ workforce partnerships to:
• Improve knowledge transfer
• Identify collective areas of interest
• Facilitate effective research collaboration
• Disseminate the findings of each research project in a collaborative way

One current project underway at Edge Hill University is exploring the impact of the Government’s 30 hours free childcare scheme and the impact it has on the operation and leadership of a day nursery.

Others in development include a project with a community school, with a focus on communication, language and literacy (CLL), considering local issues and the impact these are having on speech development, language and vocabulary. Another is looking to explore a nursery school’s role in developing cultural capital.

As part of the development of its Research Circles work and broader commitment to partnership working, Edge Hill’s Faculty of Education is looking to build similar regional partnerships to undertake collaborative, commissioned research with different educational settings.

The faculty is keen to support projects that are highly relevant to the sector, and that have the potential to impact positively on children and young people’s lives, as well as on teachers’ practice and on institutions. The faculty is also committed to sharing the outcomes of research more widely for the benefit of the education sector.

If you are interested in collaborating in this way, contact Professor Amanda Fulford: fulforda@edgehill.ac.uk.