Typical questions

• • I need statistics about educational expenditure in DRC Congo.

• • Can you help me find articles about why girls don't study science?

Starting points

• • This section focuses upon general resources for educational research. It includes a sub-section on curriculum materials for trainee teachers. There is a separate chapter for Higher Education. Other related chapters include Sociology and Psychology (for those interested in child development).

• • Students of education often need to consult government documents and papers produced by think tanks. Sources for tracing these are listed in the sub-sections below.

Recommended resources

Key organisations – scholarly associations

American Educational Research Association (AERA)

www.aera.net

Founded in 1916. The website provides free access to conference papers, plus contents pages from its academic journals, including Review of Educational Research and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

British Educational Research Association

www.bera.ac.uk

Membership organisation whose website provides details of the latest events, conferences and research publications. It includes an online library of presidential addresses and reports, as well as contents pages from some of its publications.

European Educational Research Association (EERA)

eera-ecer.de

Network of national and regional educational research organisations based in Europe. Get details of projects, publications and events. Includes links to the websites of its members.

National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)

www.nfer.ac.uk

Research organisation focusing on UK education policy and practice. Includes coverage of education systems, social mobility, accountability and classroom methods.

World Education Research Association (WERA)

www.weraonline.org/default.aspx

Established in 2009. Aims to co-ordinate educational research activities worldwide. Website is useful for tracing the relevant national member organisations.

Key organisations – government departments

Recent government reports are often online. Earlier ones can often be located in print in major libraries. Key examples are listed in the libraries sub-section of this chapter. Departmental names and the remit of ages and sectors covered often change so remember to check details.

Department for Education

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education

Use the website to trace news, circulars, government papers and official statistics. It includes free access to school performance tables and links to materials relating to the National Curriculum.

House of Commons Education Select Committee

www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/ education-committee

Access minutes and reports from this influential parliamentary body that monitors the policy, administration and spending of the Department for Education.

Ofsted

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills.