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Centre for Education and Research (CER)

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The Centre for Education and Research (CER) develops and promotes social justice, equity and inclusion through a culture of high-quality research that is accessible to all in education and related disciplines.

About Centre for Education and Research (CER)

CER is a focal point for the research, development, consultancy, research degree supervision and teaching in formal, informal, and non-formal Education across diverse social contexts and throughout life. CER engages with and promotes interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research relating to Education and its related areas.

CER sits within the Faculty of Education and Society, Arts, Sciences and Technology (FEAST) at the University of Northampton. The Centre operates in partnership with a wide range of local, national and international stakeholders, including children’s centres, NGOs, governments, further and higher education institutions, charities, nurseries and schools, and many CER members have previously worked on the ground in children’s services. Consequently, educational research at the University of Northampton has a long-standing and successful track record of promoting positive outcomes for children and young people, and adults working in all areas of educational provision.

CER is the base for Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in the field of Education. CER SIGs explore exciting approaches to researching in education, including critical research, participatory research and research with children. Each CER SIG has its own identity and focus:

  • Education in Schools
  • Early Childhood Education and Care
  • Children and Young People
  • Families and Communities
  • Higher and Further Education

CER hosts a rich programme of events concerning research in the field of Education, including research training, workshops and a research seminar programme which attracts many visiting speakers and is open to all.

For more information about CER research, PhD study or SIGs, contact our Centre Leaders Associate Professor Cristina Devecchi and Professor Jane Murray, Professor of Education.

Research, Practice and Policy

At CER, our research is strongly interwoven with policy and practice. We build links with colleagues across multiple sectors within the field of Education and beyond so that research at CER is informed by education practice and policy which are, in turn, informed by CER research findings. Our commitment to impactful research guides our work with the wide range of organisations we work with locally, in the UK and internationally. CER research informs – and is informed by – learning and teaching in the School of Education and Society at the University of Northampton.

Almost all the research conducted by CER contributes towards the achievement of the United Nations global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 for Quality Education, and much of our research also makes contributions to other SDGs.

Key Themes

Inclusion and diversity in Education

CER features specialist expertise in inclusion and diversity in Education, including special educational needs. CER members conduct and promote research about special educational needs provision, autism, dyslexia, and behaviour.

Early Childhood Education and Care

CER has a strong reputation for research conducted in early childhood education and care. Our work features studies about young children as researchers, children living in poverty, young children’s language development, young children’s literacies and high-quality early years practice.

Education in Schools

Many of the studies that CER members undertake concern aspects of life in schools that affect teachers and students every day. Our research with schools includes focus on pedagogy, out-of-school learning, non-cognitive skills, learning outdoors, and curriculum areas including art, music, digital technologies and science.

Children’s and Young People’s Rights in Education

Much of the work CER does includes focus on children’s and young people’s rights. Examples of our research in this area include support for migrant children in their new countries, early school leaving and attitudes to children with disabilities.

View the Centre on PURE

Physical Education in the Primary Schools
Dr Vicky Randall (University of Gloucestershire)

Join us online – no need to book.

In this online seminar, Dr Vicky Randall explores the unique role of physical education within the primary curriculum, drawing on recent research that examines perspectives from teacher educators across the UK and Europe. Key ideas about what a curriculum should be, and why this matters, will be discussed, alongside a critical consideration of the future and why providing children with opportunities to develop a positive relationship with movement is more important than ever. With a focus on issues highlighted in the Curriculum and Assessment Review, Vicky will examine what the future of the subject may hold and the vital role of teacher knowledge in shaping the profession.

Dr Vicky Randall – Vicky is a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Gloucestershire, a teacher educator, and an education and research consultant. She is internationally recognised for her work in primary physical education and has published widely, including three Routledge texts: An Introduction to Primary Physical Education, Contemporary Issues in Primary Physical Education, and Professional Knowledge in Primary Physical Education. Vicky is an Associate Editor of the internationally leading journal Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy and is part of the drafting team for the 2028 National Curriculum for Physical Education in England.

Exploration of the impact of 1:1 pupil conferencing on Year 5 pupils in writing lessons
Emma Langridge MA (University of Northampton)

Join us online – no need to book.

In this UON-CER seminar, Emma Langridge will present action research that she conducted in her workplace school for a master’s dissertation. The study explored four year 5 pupils’ views of the impact of one-to-one verbal feedback (pupil conferencing) during the writing process over 6 weeks. Data collection methods included audio diaries, researcher notes, pupil surveys and semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis indicated that pupils’ experiences of the process were positive and they wanted to continue it as part of regular classroom practice. Other positive outcomes included increased pupil confidence and agency. Furthermore, the one-to-one feedback gave the pupils more time and space which supported complex writing processes. Results also showed that despite enjoying the verbal feedback, some pupils would enjoy it alongside more traditional written comments. Overall, data suggest that one-to-one verbal feedback in writing lessons has positive benefits for pupils that are worth exploring further.

Emma Langridge is a researcher and Senior Lecturer in Initial Teacher Education at the University of Northampton. She was a primary school teacher for nearly three decades, helping children develop a love of communication. Emma is interested in a purposeful and social-cultural Literacy curriculum, empowering teachers to adapt for their classes’ needs. Emma studied at University College London, IOE for a Master’s degree in Education and has presented at the UKLA International Conference. Emma’s current research interests include children’s voices and choices in the writing curriculum; she is studying for a PhD in Learning and Leadership.

Primary mathematics textbooks and schemes in England’s changing school system
Dr Cath Gripton (Nottingham University)

Join us online – no need to book.

The shift to a school-led system with a range of different sized multi-academy trusts and local authorities has changed how national policy for primary mathematics is implemented. Curriculum hubs and private providers now support teaching quality alongside trusts, local authorities and in-school provision. This talk particularly focuses in on schools’ use of mathematics education resources, such as textbooks and schemes, across different school types in the changing school system. Using interview data from 57 school leaders, subject leaders and class teachers in 19 schools across three localities, we consider the high levels of variation between schools with differing choices made as to the number of resources used and how closely these are followed. Reflecting on this research, there will be a discussion of what highly varied use of resources might signify for national and local attempts to improve primary mathematics teaching including for teacher professional development.

Dr Catherine Gripton is Associate Professor of mathematics education at the University of Nottingham and Associate Director of the Observatory for Mathematical Education. She researches mathematics education at a system, policy and practice level across all phases of education but with specialist expertise in early and primary mathematics. Her research includes early number, pattern and spatial reasoning as well as mathematics attitudes and educational design. Cath is a subject matter expert on early mathematics for the Department for Education in England.

Why Art Matters in the Primary Curriculum: Insights from Research, Practice and the Curriculum & Assessment Review
Dr Kate Noble (Fitzwilliam Art Museum, University of Cambridge)

Join us online – no need to book.

Although the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child has the right to participate in arts and culture, there is no universal arts entitlement in UK schools. Too often, Art and Design is treated as enrichment rather than as an essential way in which children explore ideas, express identity and make sense of the world. This talk will consider art and design provision in primary schools, with particular attention to questions of equity and representation. Through a series of case studies from museum–school partnerships, I will show how high‑quality art experiences support children’s development, encourage deep looking and creative risk‑taking, and enable rich cross‑curricular learning. Crucially, I will also consider what teachers need to make this work in classrooms. If art is a right rather than a reward, then we have a collective responsibility to build a primary curriculum that offers every child a diverse range of creative and cultural opportunities.

Dr Kate Noble is Assistant Research Professor Museum Participation and Practice at the Fitzwilliam Museum. She is an educator and practitioner researcher, whose work focuses on visual literacy, creative pedagogies, museum learning and community participation. She is fascinated by how art and objects can help people to connect, learn and think critically, and how museums can function as dynamic spaces for creativity, dialogue and collaboration. Kate was one of the co-authors Art Now: An Inquiry into the state of Art and Design Teaching in Early Years Foundation Stage, Primary and Secondary Education in 2023.

Exploring England’s Primary Music Education Needs
Dr Lilian Simones (Open University)

Join us online – no need to book.

This talk will consider the current needs of primary music education in England, drawing on insights from relevant literature, including the Curriculum and Assessment Review (DfE, 2025) and a study exploring perspectives from school senior leadership teams, music curriculum leaders, generalist teachers, and music hubs (Simones, Griffiths & Clarke, 2025). It will begin with an overview of the challenges currently facing primary music education, before moving on to reflect on the value and position of music within the curriculum. Building on this foundation, the presentation will examine how leadership teams, curriculum leads, and generalist teachers perceive their roles in music delivery; what specific training and support needs are identified by these groups and by music hubs; and how partnership working could most effectively meet these needs and enhance music provision across the sector. The talk will conclude with the speaker’s reflections on the future direction of the primary music curriculum.

Dr Lilian Simones is a Lecturer in Music and Staff Tutor at The Open University, UK. An interdisciplinary researcher, her work explores the intersections of music, creativity, and embodied cognition, with a particular focus on vocal and instrumental music education. She specialises in the continuing professional development (CPD) of music teachers, advocating reflective, practice-led pedagogical frameworks. She is the founding Director of Enact Music, where she provides strategic leadership, teaches piano and directs the Certificate for Music Educators, validated by Trinity College London and ABRSM.

Bringing the Humanities Primary Curriculum to Life through Oracy and Drama
Dr Lisa Stephenson (Leeds Beckett University)

Join us online – no need to book.

In this seminar, Dr Lisa Stephenson presents findings from a two-year ‘Story Exchange’ case study project employing co-participatory research with teachers, artists, and young people. Seven primary schools worked with five artist-educators in the North of England to bring the primary Humanities curriculum to life through an oral storytelling and inquiry approach called Drama Worldbuilding. The project aimed to promote imaginative, culturally relevant learning by building on the linguistic strengths of all children, especially Black and Global Majority children, seeing these assets as rich affordances of learning. Teachers were paired with artist-educators and given time and space to co-plan, co-deliver, and co-reflect on curriculum learning, engaging them in systematic action research. Employing a translanguaging approach, the research evidences impacts of the pedagogical approach on children’s social-emotional literacy, presenting a new co-designed Framework of Dispositional Learning through Embodied-Dialogic Oracy.

Dr Lisa Stephenson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at Leeds Beckett University. Her teaching and research specialism is creative (drama) learning. She is founder and director of Story Makers Company, a practice-based research centre which champions creative pedagogies and relational learning.

Writing Assessment Workshop: Live feedback, through conferencing, to support developing primary school writers in primary school
Emma Langridge MA (University of Northampton)

Do you want to make your live feedback more effective in supporting your pupils to develop as writers?

This workshop introduces a practical, student‑centred approach to writing conferences that strengthens writer identity, builds independence and supports consistent practice across classrooms.

Purpose:

  • Develop confidence in conducting efficient, meaningful writing conferences
  • Strengthen feedback practices that move young writers forward
  • Build a shared, school‑wide approach to conferencing.

We will explore the core purpose of writing conferences, reflecting on how feedback shapes writer identity and motivation.

The workshop sets out a clear four‑step structure for effective live feedback, explores three types of conferences, and examines teaching points to support the writing process and writer identity.

There will be opportunities to practise applying these approaches with texts to build confidence and fluency.

Emma Langridge is a researcher and Senior Lecturer in Initial Teacher Education at the University of Northampton. She was a primary school teacher for nearly three decades, helping children develop a love of communication. Emma is interested in a purposeful and social-cultural Literacy curriculum, empowering teachers to adapt for their classes’ needs. Emma holds a Master’s degree in Education (IOE, UCL) and has presented at the UKLA International Conference. Her research interests include children’s voices and choices in the writing curriculum; she is studying for a PhD in Learning and Leadership.

  • Specialist interest: Primary Teachers, Leaders, Trainees and Teacher-Educators
  • Free of charge – all welcome.

For further information, contact: Professor Jane Murray – jane.murray@northampton.ac.uk

CER members and associate members are educational researchers and education research users and include a large group of post-graduate research (PGR) students from around the world.

CER Leadership

CER Special Interest Groups (SIG)

CER Special Interest Groups (SIGS) are groups of staff members who lead on specialist areas within the wider Centre for Educational Research. CER SIGs engage with their communities through a broad range of activities including hosting events, working on research, supporting enquiry and writing for publication.

  • CER Children and Young People (CYP) SIG

SIG Leads:

The CER Children and Young People (CYP) SIG focuses on conducting and sharing research about experiences of children and young people concerning informal, non-formal and formal education.

  • CER Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) SIG

SIG Leads:

The CER Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) SIG develops research and expertise about a wide range of issues concerned with young children’s development, learning, and professional workforce. Our work includes focus on children’s language development and research by children.

  • CER Education in Schools (EiS) SIG

SIG Lead:

CER Education in Schools (EiS) SIG members develop, discuss and share educational research and its impact in schools, including promoting practitioner research and Continuing Professional Development. Our work includes focus on transitions, curriculum and pedagogy relating to schools.

  • Families and Communities (F and C) SIG

SIG Leads:

The vision of the CER Families and Communities (F and C) SIG is to provide a transformative non-judgmental space for researching and showcasing diverse current issues relating to families and communities, ranging from human rights law to healthy diet.

  • Higher, Further and Adult Education (HFAE) SIG

SIG Lead:

Based on the ideal of critical inquiry for advancing knowledge, understanding and development of practice, the CER HFEA SIG fosters research, study and work in higher, further and adult education sectors, for example the uses of digital technologies in HEIs.

View the centre’s researchers on PURE.

Knowledge Transfer Project exploring Environment Audit Impact on Speech and Language development.

In partnership with across a nursery chain, the implementation of an environment audit in 44 nurseries has demonstrated the association of environment features to enhancements in young children’s speech and language skills.

CHILD-UP: Children Hybrid Integration: Learning Dialogue as a way of Upgrading Policies of Participation

Funded by Horizon 2020

CHILD-UP researches how migrant children integrate through social participation, taking into account gender differences, legal status and age groups, with the final aim to propose an innovative approach to understand and transform their social condition. The research focuses on:

  • Policies and practices of integration in schools, reception centres, social services and communities;
  • Children’s and parents’ experiences, perceptions and expectations of integration;
  • Specific practices of language teaching, facilitation of dialogue, intercultural education and mediation. Second objective is providing support for migrant children’s exercise of agency in changing their own conditions of integration and constructing hybrid identities.

These objectives will be achieved through the promotion of different dialogues in schools and in their relations with partners (social services, reception centres, education and mediation agencies) and families.

Desenvolvendo Universidades Digitais para o século 21: as experiências da UON e da UCDB (Developing Digital Universities for the century 21: the experiences of UON and UCDB)

Funded by the Brazilian State Funding Agencies (FAPs)

The project aims to explore current conceptualizations and practical implications of developing digital universities for the 21st century and compare the role of technology as a pedagogical tool and as essential employability skill. It will share pedagogical and institutional practices to act as a starting point for collaboration and shared development setting out recommendations for the development and implementation of technology-enhanced teaching and learning.

Take One Picture (TOP) for NPAT Schools 1 and 2

Funded by The National Gallery and Paul Hamlyn Foundation

NG TOP for NPAT is an investigation of the views of NPAT Year 4 students and their teachers about their experiences of The National Gallery’s Take One Picture (TOP) NPAT Programme and its effects on the teachers’ professional development and the students’ outcomes in art, writing and non-cognitive skills acquisition. This project has an innovative participatory approach which features diverse research methods and teachers as co-researchers.

Find out more about these and other Centre projects.

Achtypi, A., Isiaka, A. B., Schildt, J. & Arico, F. (2025). Technology-enhanced learning in higher education institutions: Exploring the lived experiences of students with specific learning differences and their lecturers. British Educational Research Journal, 00, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.70039

Aidonopoulou-Read, T. (2025). Empowering non-speaking autistic participants and neurotypical researchers in qualitative research through ethical listening: A framework. Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251336290 

Owen, K., & Simmons, H. (2024). ‘I spend my whole life worrying’: The experiences of student mothers working in the Early Childhood Sector. Student Engagement in Higher Education Journal, 5(3), 86–102. https://sehej.raise-network.com/raise/article/view/1198

Robinson, C., Wall, K., Murray, J., Evans, E., Grogan, D. & Bowes, C. (2024) An exploration of practices for rights-based education through promoting voice in the early years: Building a spider’s web. In Children’s Voice and Agency in Diverse Settings: International Research and Perspectives, edited by M.C. Beaton, A. Burke, P. Keskitalo, & T. Turunen. Pp.24-47. Abingdon: Routledge.

Farini, F., Amadasi, S., Murray, J., Scollan, A., and Slusarczyk, M. (2023) ‘Participation and hybrid integration in primary and secondary schools.’ In Exploring the Narratives and Agency of Children with Migrant Backgrounds within Schools: Researching Hybrid Integration, edited by C. Baraldi. Pp. 98-122. Abingdon: Routledge.

Please access the PURE repository for all Centre for Education and Research publications