Useful links - literacy research

www.bbk.ac.uk/ce/bill
Birkbeck Institute of Lifelong Learning research centre set up in 2004 to investigate how adults learn and what factors affect their chances of accessing education. Based at Birkbeck College, University of London.
Contact: Birkbeck Institute of Lifelong Learning, 26 Russell Sq, London WC1B 5DQ. Tel: 020 7631 6625.

www.bera.ac.uk
British Educational Research Association (BERA) aims to sustain and promote a vital research culture in education by encouraging an active community of educational researchers and by promoting co-operation and discussion within the field.
Contact: BERA, Community House, King Street, Southwell, Notts NG25 0EH. Tel: 01636 819090.

http://cee.lse.ac.uk
The Centre for the Economics of Education (CEE) is dedicated to combining the fields of economics education, and statistics in an interdisciplinary approach to research. The CEE is a research centre based at Centre for Economic Performance in partnership with the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Institute of Education. The CEE is sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills.

www.ceruk.ac.uk
CERUK is a database of current educational research in the UK, run by NfER.

www.cilip.org.uk/specialinterestgroups/bysubject/research
The Library and Information Research Group is a special interest group of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, LIRG is coordinated by an elected committee of researchers, research students, lecturers and practitioners in the library and information profession, to bring together those with an interest in this area.

www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cedar/
Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR) is part of the Faculty of Social Studies within the University of Warwick and has established a reputation for research across a range of topics. They are concerned with education in its widest sense, from pre-school to higher education, including initial and post-qualification development of a range of professional groups. Research is also undertaken which concerns the nature of teaching and learning and the needs of children and adult learners.

www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/centres/clr/
The Centre for Literacy Studies, at the School of Education, University of Nottingham, was set up in 1996. Members of the Centre are committed to the promotion of high quality research, and its effective communication, in areas related to children's literacy, and to maintaining strong partnerships with schools and the wider educational community through work in continuing professional development, taught courses and research supervision.

www.crec.co.uk
The Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) is dedicated to raising the quality of children's early education and care. They aim to work collaboratively to pursue research, evaluation, scholarship, professional development and research related consultancy within the field of early childhood in order to raise the quality, status and visibility of this crucial area of national policy and practice.

www.learningbenefits.net
The Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning was established by the Department for Education and Skills in 1999 to investigate the full range of benefits that learning brings both to the individual learner and society as a whole.
Contact: Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning, Bedford Group for Lifecourse and Statistical Studies, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1A 0AL. Tel: 020 7612 6291.

http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk
Since 2000, the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre) has been funded by the Department for Education and Skills to provide a resource for those wishing to undertake systematic reviews of educational research, and for those wishing to use reviews to inform policy and practice.
Contact: The EPPI-Centre, Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL. Email: d.elbourne@ioe.ac.uk.

www.literacy.lancs.ac.uk/index.htm
Lancaster Literacy Research Centre works to understand the role of literacy in all areas of social life and to and improve communication and collaboration between researchers and educational practice. The Centre approaches this with three important assumptions: firstly, that literacy can only be understood within the social context in which it is learned and used. Secondly, that in order to understand relations between literacy and social life, there is a need for detailed information about people's meanings and uses of literacy in different domains, their literacy practices. Thirdly, that it is essential to bring people's purposes and conceptions of literacy, including learners' perceptions, into understandings of literacy.

http://ioewebserver.ioe.ac.uk/ioe/cms/get.asp?cid=1076
Language and Literacy Research Centre (LLRC) supports theoretical and applied research in the areas of spoken and written language with the specific aim of developing an understanding of language acquisition, literacy development and the relationship between the two. It is committed to supporting and enhancing evidence-based practice by conducting research in the areas of oral and written language development, the development of reliable and valid tools for assessing language language and literacy development in multi-cultural environment, the creation and evaluation of educational interventions targeed at oral language and literacy, and the wider impact of language and literacy difficulties.

www.lsrc.ac.uk
The Learning and Skills Research Centre was established by the Learning and Skills Development Agency to increase the research effort in post-16 education and training and create a stronger, independent evidence base to inform policy and improve practice. The focus is on strategic, longer-term studies, creative thinking and the 'big issues'. 
Contact: Learning and Skills Research Centre, Regent Arcade House, 19-25 Argyll Street, London W1F 7LS. Tel: 020 7297 9000.

www.sheffield.ac.uk/literacy
The Literacy Research Centre brings together a group of 12 academic staff, and approximately the same number of research students, all of whom are active in literacy research.

www.ncll.org.uk
For over three decades, the National Centre for Language and Literacy has been offering an independent voice, responding flexibly to teacher needs as they have evolved over time. The National Centre for Language and Literacy supports teachers, parents and governors in a wide range of ways - resources, publications, courses, conferences and research.

www.ncrcl.ac.uk
The National Centre for Research in Children's Literature, based at the University of Surrey, Roehampton, facilitates and supports research exchange in the field of children's literature. It is also the headquarters of the UK branch of IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young People.
Contact: National Centre for Research in Children's Literature, University of Surrey Roehampton, Digby Stuart College, London SW15 5PH. Tel: 020 8392 3008. Email: ncrcl@roehampton.ac.uk.

www.nfer.ac.uk
The National Foundation for Educational Research in England & Wales (NFER) is a leading provider of assessments and assessment information services. It publishes educational, clinical, psychological and occupational tests and guidance materials.
Contact: NFER, The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 2DQ. Tel: 01753 574123. 

www.nrdc.org.uk
The National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy is based at the University of London's Institute of Education. It conducts research into teaching methods and professional development in basic skills, and provides a wide range of resources.
Contact: NRDC, Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL. Tel: 020 7612 6476.

www.dundee.ac.uk/eswce/research/projects/parentsineducation/pern/
Parents in Education Research Network (PERN) is a network of individuals and organisations concerned with the promotion, dissemination and application of research and its applications about the roles, functions, participation and effects of parents, families and carers in the education of children - in the home, in the school, in the community and more widely.

www.scotland.gov.uk/edru/
The website of the Scottish Executive Education Department Research Unit is an information point on educational research in Scotland. It includes details of current research, research publications, profiles of institutions conduction research and links to researchers.

www.scre.ac.uk
The Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE) is an independent national organisations that provides research, evaluation and training services.
Contact: SCRE, 15 St John Street, Edinburgh EH8 8JR. Tel: 0131 557 2944.

www.srcd.org
The Society for Research in Child Development (SCRD) is a multidisciplinary, not-for-profit, professional association with an international membership of approximately 5,000 researchers, practitioners, and human development professionals.

www.ukla.org
The United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) is the professional association for those involved in literacy and language in the UK, including teachers, librarians and academics. It provides a regular newsletter, two journals - Literacy and The Journal of Research in Reading, other publications including books and papers, and a programme of conferences. 
Contact: The United Kingdom Literacy Association, 4th Floor, Attenborough Building, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH. Tel: 0116 229 7450. E-mail: admin@ukla.org.