Consultancy service - innovation in learning

The University of Glasgow’s International Educational Consultancy (UGIEC) is a specialist centre in the Faculty of Education working nationally and internationally with central government, education authorities, schools and other public bodies to improve the quality of education. The staff have experience leading policy-related research and evaluation projects and providing consultancy in pedagogy, curriculum, leadership and organisational change.

Professors Kay Livingston and Vivienne Baumfield are the Directors of the International Educational Consultancy and they both have extensive experience of leading research and consultancy projects in the UK and in a number of countries around the world. Working with staff from the University they are able to design, organise and deliver consultancy grounded in research to develop learning and teaching in the 21st century.

Areas of Particular Expertise

UGIEC is able to draw upon resources from not only the Education Faculty but from across the university as a whole. It is therefore able to offer flexible teams tailor-made to meet specific requests. Staff for a team will be drawn from within the university and from partners at policy or practitioner level according to specific needs. In this way UGIEC is in a unique position to offer consultancy that integrates research, policy and practice. The wide range of expertise is clustered around the following areas:

• system and organisational change
• leadership development
• curriculum design, development, implementation and evaluation
• learning and teaching processes
• international and intercultural education
• teacher education

Consultancy informed by research

A key aspect of UGIEC is that it is able to provide consultancy that is informed by research. It is able to facilitate literature reviews, collection and analysis of qualitative and/or quantitative data, writing and dissemination of reports. Project designs may include large-scale surveys, fieldwork in schools or related agencies, such as interviews and/or focus groups with students, teachers, local authority personnel, other professionals and parents.

Experience of working with a wide range of agencies and organisations

Both Directors have had experience leading projects and working with a large number of government agencies and professional organisations in the UK and beyond. For example:

• Scottish Government
• Home Office
• Department for Children, Schools and Families
• Innovations Unit
• Specialist Schools Trust
• Teacher Development Agency
• General Teaching Council Scotland
• General Teaching Council England
• Scottish Enterprise
• British Council
• Scottish Arts Council
• Economic and Social Research Council
• Arts Humanities Research Council
• Learning and Skills Development Agency
• National Union of Teachers
• Equal Opportunities Commission
• Prison Service
• European Commission
• UNESCO
• Sage Foundation
• Benton Foundation
• AOL Time Warner Foundation
• Johann Jacobs Foundation

Working in an international context

The Directors of UGIEC are able to draw on experience of working with colleagues, agencies and professional organisations at an international level. This means that they have knowledge and understanding of a broad range of education systems and of innovations in learning and teaching in a number of countries. They have had experience working in and/or working with colleagues in the following countries:

Working in a national context

Professor Kay Livingston has experience of working with all 32 local authorities in Scotland with policy-makers and practitioners. She has led a number of national and local authority evaluation projects. Professor Vivienne Baumfield has experience of working in England, Wales and Ireland. She has worked with colleagues on a number of national and local authority research projects.

The new Concordat between the Scottish Government and local authorities creates a new educational landscape. In this context of the single outcome agreement in Scotland and its related priority outcomes and indicators, UGIEC is able to offer advice and support in developing innovative activities and connecting existing activities to the new agenda.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Reviews of Policies for National Education: Quality and Equity of Schooling in Scotland was published in December 2007. The review which aimed to examine the strengths of Scotland's school education and the challenges the system faces in ensuring high achievement for all was welcomed by the Scottish Government. UGIEC can provide advice and support in taking forward recommendations suggested by the OECD report.

Local Authorities work with the university in a variety of contexts. UGIEC is able to act as a point of access to the University of Glasgow’s significant education resources and coordinate and integrate activities.

Working in national and international contexts

The following are examples of areas of work that UGIEC is able to undertake in national and international context:

Consultancy informed research

UGIEC is able to provide consultancy based on a concise review of major research evidence in specific areas and provide advice and support in implementing system or organisational change and/or innovation in learning and teaching.

Learning at the cutting edge

UGIEC is able to provide advice and support by drawing on research evidence and examples of practice from countries around the world.

Evaluation of initiatives

To confirm the success or otherwise of an initiative UGIEC can provide an independent external evaluation which would draw upon the university’s extensive resources as required. Recommendations for action can be provided.

Self-evaluation

Local Authorities and schools are involved in self-evaluation as part of the ongoing process of improvement. UGIEC is able to offer an independent and rigorous audit of existing self-evaluation assessments, which will provide an objective external view. If self-evaluation processes are not in place UGIEC can provide advice and support to develop and implement them.

Continuing Professional Development

UGIEC is able to provide CPD customised to an individual, local authority, national or international needs. The CPD will be underpinned by recent and relevant research.

Professional/Political Interface

UGIEC is able to offer coaching and mentoring of senior members of staff (Director of Education, Director of Children’s Services etc) - particularly those new in post or those handling a change process. This includes coaching and mentoring in relation to working with elected members at local or national levels.

In all of the above, UGIEC is able to draw upon resources from not only the Education Faculty but from across the university as a whole.