Our REF submission
Between REF 2014 and REF 2021, we saw substantial growth in the scale of our research activity, with a significant rise in doctoral awards.
Our submission to this unit of assessment featured contributions from 16 people, 37 outputs and two impact case studies:
- Removing barriers to musical participation in schools – a social justice issue
- Re-imagining and transforming teaching and learning in further education
This area of our work also saw 25 doctoral awards and £1.3m research income during the REF 2021 period.
Our research
Education research sits within the School of Education and Social Work and is part of our Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences.
The growth and transformation of education research is led by the Centre for the Study of Practice and Culture (CSPACE), an inclusive collective of staff drawn predominantly from the School of Education and Social Work but with members from other faculties.
Our research spans subject areas and education phases from early years to higher education, bringing a strong interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral culture, with a focus on participatory practitioner research.
CSPACE coordinates education research through three research clusters:
- Birmingham Music Education Research Group
- Practitioner Education Research Group
- Cultures in Education Research Group
CSPACE is committed to research that serves social justice aims, enabling the communities we work with to become research-engaged, knowledge-producing, self-transforming and sustainable. We prioritise collaborative approaches to research that blur traditional boundaries between researchers and research subjects.