Research

The School of Education offers a dynamic environment for researchers and research students, with a strong network of national and international collaborative links. We are number one in Scotland for the quality of our research and one of the leading schools in the UK, with 90% of our research assessed as being of international or world leading significance in the 2008 UK Research Assessment Exercise.

We respond effectively and critically to the challenges faced by education in a rapidly changing world. This means that we conduct research that makes a difference to practitioners, policymakers, and students of all ages. Our research also makes a difference to our teaching programmes and to our own practice. We go beyond simply staying up to date by developing creative and inspiring approaches which look to the educational needs of the future, whether for undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications or for our research degrees.

We have acknowledged excellence in areas including educational theory, curriculum and pedagogy, and professional, vocational practice and lifelong learning. Funders for our research include the UK Economic and Social Research Council, charitable foundations, government departments and local authorities. Our research is organised into two research groups: Curriculum and Pedagogy; and Professional, Vocational and Lifelong Learning. The School hosts two major research initiatives: The Laboratory for Educational Theory (TheoryLab) and the Research Network for Professional Practice, Education and Learning (ProPEL). Find out more about our research strategy, our externally funded research projects, our publications, our seminars, our research students, and our events.

We are at the forefront of worldwide developments in educational research, combining advanced methods with innovative theoretical perspectives.

A list of upcoming seminars hosted by the School of Education is available here.