This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at the problem with higher education funding and the potential solutions. England's once world-leading Higher Education (HE) system has become increasingly fragile over the last decade, with students suffering from real financial hardship, and some universities rumoured to be on the verge of collapse. Back in 2012,...

This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at causal effects on teachers' skills, knowledge and self-efficacy. Teacher education/training often incorporates observable examples of focal teaching practices - models. Yet, there is little causal evidence on the benefits of models or how best to design them. We used a classroom simulator experiment to test the...

This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at randomised experiments in experimental education research. Over the last twenty years, education researchers have increasingly conducted randomised experiments with the goal of informing the decisions of educators and policymakers. Such experiments have generally employed broad, consequential, standardised outcome measures in the hope that this would allow...

This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at the differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market outcomes of graduate workers. We examine the differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market outcomes of graduate workers by their family background. Specifically, we compare first in family (FiF) graduates, young people...

This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at the impact of entering unemployment under UC compared to the former system. The UK Universal Credit (UC) welfare reform simplified the benefits system, combining six benefit applications into one, whilst creating strict incentives for full-time employment. Exploiting a staggered roll-out, we analyse the impact of entering...

This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at the effectiveness of instructional coaching as a form of teacher professional development. Instructional coaching has emerged as an effective form of teacher professional development. However, there is evidence of large variation in effectiveness between different coaches. What is it that differentiates more from less effective instructional...

This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at how students from non-elite backgrounds are less likely to have peers with elite educated parents in Norway. High school students from non-elite backgrounds are less likely to have peers with elite educated parents than their elite counterparts in Norway. We show this difference in social capital...

This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at the large gaps in skills between children from different backgrounds by the time they start school. There are large gaps in skills between children from different backgrounds by the time they start school. For example, nationally representative data from the Millennium Cohort Study shows that less...

This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at consistency of school inspections, including how judgements vary across inspectors with different characteristics. School inspections are a common feature of education systems across the world. These involve trained professionals visiting schools and reaching a high-stakes judgement about the quality of education they provide. By their nature, school...

This report from UK think tank CEPEO looks at maths apps as an emerging trend in young children's learning environments aiming to raise attainment. Educational maths applications (apps) are an emerging trend in young children's learning environments aiming to raise attainment. The current systematic review aimed to thematically synthesise quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies...