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John Elliott

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Professor John Elliott

Emeritus Professor

Email:
john.elliott@uea.ac.uk
Telephone:
+44 (0)1603 592859
Fax:
+44 (0)1603 451412
Office location:
EDU 1.38
Personal Website:
http://www.research-edu.net

 

Research
Publications

 

Research Interests

John Elliott is Emeritus Professor of Education in the Centre for Applied Research in Education (CARE), School of Education and Lifelong Learning, at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. He is a former Dean of the school and a former Director of CARE. He also holds appointments as Visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, Honorary Professor at Sheffield University, and Associate of the Von Hugel Institute in St.Edmunds College, Cambridge. John was recently awarded Honorary Doctorates by the Hong Kong Institute of Education (2002) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2003).John was President of the British Educational Research Association (1989-1990) and, for a decade, pedagogical consultant to the OECD programme on "Environment and School Initiatives" (1988-1998).

In addition to his work in the field of curriculum development and action research, John has been associated for many years with the theory and practice of 'Democratic Evaluation', developed in education policy contexts under the leadership of his colleague Barry MacDonald.

He has been a regular participant over the years in the influential Cambridge Conference. This conference meets every 4-5 years to review the state of the art and to forge new directions. John co-convened the latest conference, with Saville Kushner in July 2004 at St.EdmundsCollege, Cambridge.

His long-standing interest is in understanding the problems of achieving significant change in the quality of students' learning experiences in classrooms and schools. In this connection, he is internationally well-known for pioneering the development of action research approaches to curriculum and pedagogical change. He is the founder of the Collaborative Action Research Network (CARN) and a founding editor of 'Educational Action Research: an International Journal'.


Major projects include

The Humanities Curriculum Project (under the direction of Lawrence Stenhouse, 1967-72)
The Ford Teaching Project (1972-76)
The Cambridge Accountability Project (1978-80)
The Teacher-Pupil Interaction and Quality of Learning Project (1981-84)
Teachers as Researchers (1994-97)
The Development of Distance Learning Materials to support Practice-based Inquiry amongst teachers in the Republic of Namibia (1996-1999)
Practice-based research into the Curriculum Dimensions of Students' Disaffection from Schooling (Norwich Area Schools Consortium, 1998-2003)
With CARET, Representing Context in a Research Archive of Educational Evaluation Studies (2005-06).


Consultancies

• Academic Adviser to the Home Office Modernisation Project Steering Group
• Academic Adviser to the Home Office Probationer Training Programme Steering Committee (2002)
• Member of the CabStreet Advisory Committee, Norwich and District Citizens' Advice Bureau (2002)
• Appointed Local Council Member of Norfolk Learning & Skills Council for a 4-year period (initially 2000-04, now extended to 2007)
• Consultant to the Chief Executive of the Curriculum Development Institute, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Responsible for overseeing the strategic development of the reforms, particularly with respect to research and development projects.
• Consultant to the Ministry of Education in Malaysia on the Professional Development Programme for English Language Trainers, October 1999.
• Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) funded Seminar series, October 1998, 'Capturing the essence of effective performance'.
• Pedagogical consultant OECD 'School Initiatives and the Environment Network' in 19 countries (1986-99).
• Higher Education Authority, Republic of Ireland. Research Infrastructure Review.


Special Honours

Associate, Von Hügel Institute, St Edmund's College, Cambridge, UK (2004).

Biographical details included in Debrett's 'People of To-day' (2005).

Honorary Professor, University of Sheffield, UK (2004).

Honorary Doctorate, University of Barcelona, Spain (2003).

Visiting Professor, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK (2003).

Honorary Doctorate in Education, Hong Kong Institute of Education (2002).

Selected for inclusion in Who's Who (2002).

Appointed Advisory Professor of Education at the Hong Kong Institute of Education for a 3-year period (2000-03).
Term now extended to 2006.

 

Major Funded Research Projects (Directorships) include:

1973-75 Ford Teaching Project
1978-89 Director, SSRC, Cambridge Accountability Project
1980-83 Director, Teacher-Pupil Interaction and the Quality of Learning Project, Schools Council
1986-90 Director, Home Office funded project, Assistance with Development and Implementation of Changes in Police Probationer Training
1987-89 Director, ESRC Teachers' Jobs and Lives
1988-90 Director, Micro Electronics Education Support Unit and Norfolk, Cambs and Essex LEAs funded Pupil Autonomy in Learning with Micros
1990-92 Director, with Open University, ESRC Spoken Language and New Technology
1994-96 Principal Investigator, ESRC Teachers as Researchers in the Context of Award Bearing Courses and Research Degrees
1994-95 Co-Director, Competence Based Higher Education and the Standards Methodology, Engineering Council and Dept of Employment
1995-96 Co-Director, Partnerships in Professional Higher Education, DEE
1996-98 Director, The development of practice-based inquiry for the Teacher Education Reform Project (in service) in the Republic of Namibia. Funded by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency and Ministry of Basic Education, Namibia.
1998 - 2001 UEA Co-ordinator, Norwich Area Schools Consortium, Teacher Training Agency funded research project
1999-2001 Co-Director, Educating the General Practitioner in a primary-care led NHS. Funded by the NHS Executive - Eastern Region. 2000-01 Co-Director of Norfolk Careers Service evaluation “Young people achieving their potential?”
2002-04 Co-Director of "The Graduate Labour Market in the East of England" funded by EEDA
2003 Co-Director for 'Provision of Learning Requirement for Probationer Police Officers in England and Wales', with UWE, funded by The Home Office
2005-06 Co-applicant with CARET, ESRC ‘Representing Context in a Research Archive of Educational Evaluation Studies’
2005-2006 Co-applicant with Professor David Bridges (UEA), Dr Patrick Carmichael (Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technology) and Professor Mary James (University of London Institute of Education) on ESRC grant 'Representing Context in a Research Archive of Educational Evaluation Studies'.


 

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List of Publications

Recent Books

Elliott, J (1991) Action Research for Educational Change, Open University Press: Milton Keynes.

Elliott, J (1993) (ed) Reconstructing Teacher Education, Falmer Press: London.

Elliott, J (1998)The Curriculum Experiment. Meeting the Challenge of Social Change, Open University Press: Milton Keynes.

Altrichter, H and Elliott, J (2000) (eds) Images of Educational Change, Open University Press: Milton Keynes. Day, C,

Elliott, J, Somekh, B, and Winter, R (2002) (eds) Theory and Practice in Action Research, Symposium Books: Oxford.

Elliott, J (2007) Reflecting Where the Action Is: the Selected Writings of John Elliott on Pedagogy and Action Research, Routledge:London.


Recent Chapters in Books

Elliott, J (1996) 'Curriculum Study' in A Guide to Educational Research (ed)P. Gordon, The Woburn Press: London.

Elliott, J (1997) 'School-based Curriculum Development and Action Research in the United Kingdom' in International Action Research: A Casebook for Education Reform (ed) S. Hollingsworth, Falmer Press: London.

Elliott, J (2000) ‘Towards a synoptic vision of educational change in advanced industrial societies’ in Images of Educational Change (eds) H Altrichter and J Elliott Open University Press: Milton Keynes.

Elliott, J and Ebbutt D (2000) ‘Practice-based inquiry as a capacity-building strategy in a distance-learning context: The problems and potentials’ in Perspectives on Teacher Education and Transformation in Namibia (ed) L Dahlstrom, Gamsberg Macmillan, Namibia.

Elliott, J and Morris, P (2001) ‘Educational Reform, Schooling, and Teacher Education in Hong Kong’ in New Teacher Education for the Future: International Perspectives (eds) Y C Cheng, K W Chow, K T Tsui, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong and Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands.

Elliott, J (2001) ‘Restructuring Educational Research for the Third Way’ in Taking Education Really Seriously: Four Years Hard Labour (ed) M Fielding, RoutledgeFarmer: London and New York.

Elliott, J (2001) ‘The Crumbling Shrine: the National Curriculum and the Proposals to Amend it’ in The National Curriculum and its Effects (eds) C Cullingford and P Oliver, Ashgate: Aldershot.

Elliott, J (2001) ‘Characteristics of performative cultures: their central paradoxes and limitations as resources for educational reform’ in The Performing School (ed) C Husbands, Routledge: London

Elliott, J (2002) 'What is Applied Research in Education?' in The Teacher as Researcher (ed) G Bagakis, Athens: Metaichmio

Elliott, J and Chan, KK (2003) 'Curriculum Reform East and West: Global Trends and Local Contexts' in Reforms of Curriculum and Instruction in Hong Kong and Shanghai: A Paradigm Shift, (ed) Law Hau Fai, Edmond, Hong Kong Institute of Education

Elliott, J (2004) 'Using research to improve practice: the notion of evidence-based practice' in International Handbook on the Continuing Professional Development of Teachers (eds) C Day and J Sachs, Open University Press: Maidenhead

Elliott, J (2005) ‘Reflections: personal and professional’ in Curriculum Change in Secondary Schools, 1957 – 2004 (ed) N Evans, Routledge: Abingdon

Elliott, J (2007) 'Reinstating social hope through participatory action research' in Action Research and Education in Contexts of Poverty, a Tribute to the Life and Work of Professor Orlando Fals Borda, Universidad de la Salle, Bogota, Colombia


Recent Articles in Refereed Journals include:

Elliott, J (1997) 'Quality assurance, the educational standards debate, and the commodification of educational research' in The Curriculum Journal, Vol 8, No 1.

Elliott, J and Ebbutt, D (1998) 'Practice-based Inquiry in the BETD In-service Programme - some key issues' in Educational Action Research Vol 6, No 2.

Elliott, J (1999) 'Evidence-based practice, action research and the professional development of teachers' in Goldsmiths Journal of Education Vol 2, No 1.

Elliott, J (1999) 'Introduction: global and local dimensions of reforms in teacher education in Teacher Education Reforms in an Age of Globalization'. Special issue of Teaching and Teacher Education, An International Journal of Research and Studies.

Elliott, J (2000) 'Sustainable Society and Environmental Education - Future Perspectives and Demands for the Educational System' in The Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol 29, No 3. Special Issue on Environmental Education.

Elliott, J (2000) ‘Revising the national curriculum: a comment on the Secretary of State’s proposals’ in Journal of Educational Policy, Vol 15, No 2.

Elliott, J, (2000) ‘Doing action-research: doing practical philosophy’ in Prospero, Vol 6 Numbers 3 and 4.

Elliott, J, (2001) ‘Making Evidence-based Practice Educational' in British Educational Research Journal, Vol 27, No 5.

Elliott, J (2002) 'Working 'against the grain': conversation pieces from the academy about the experience of sustaining collaborative research with teachers', in Pedagogy, Culture and Society. Special edition on Pupil Disaffection.

Elliott, J (2002) 'What is applied research in education?' in Building Research Capacity, Issue 3.

Elliott, J (2002) 'The Impact of Intensive 'Value for Money' Performance Auditing in Educational Systems' in Educational Action Research, Vol 10, No 3

Elliott, J (2002) 'The paradox of educational reform in the evaluatory State: implications for teacher education' in Prospects, quarterly review of comparative education, Issue No 123, vol XXXII, no 3, September 2002

Elliott, J (2003) 'Collecting, Analyzing, and Reporting Data in Action-Research: Some Methods and Techniques Used in the Assessment for Teaching and Learning Project at HKIEd' in Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development, Vol 6, Special Issue 1, September/October 2003

Elliott, J (2004) 'The struggle to redefine the relationship between "knowledge" and "action" in the academy: some reflections on action research' in Educar, No 34

Elkins, T and Elliott, J (2004) ‘Competition and control: the impact of government regulation on teaching and learning in English schools’ in Research Papers in Education, Vol 19, No 1

Elliott, J (2005) ‘Becoming Critical: the failure to connect’ in Educational Action Research, Vol 13, No 3

Elliott, J (2005) ‘The Teacher as a Member of a Networked Learning Community’ in Learning for Democracy, Vol 1, No 3

Elliott, J (2006) ‘Educational Research as a Form of Democratic Rationality’ in Journal of Philosophy of Education, Vol 40, No 2

Elliott, J (2007) 'Assessing the quality of action research' in Research Papers in Education, Vol 22, No 2

Elliott, J and Kushner, S (2007) 'The need for a manifesto for educational programme evaluation in Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol 37, No 3

Elliott, J (2007) Jean Rudduck: a personal tribute in Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol 37, No 3


Guest Editor of Special Editions

Elliott, J and Zamorski, B (2002) (eds) Pedagogy, Culture and Society. Special Edition on Pupil Disaffection.

Elliott, J (2004) (ed) Research Papers in Education, Vol 19, No 1. Special Issue Making teachers more accountable: case studies of the modernization process in six countries.


Reports

Elliott, J (2001) 'Fostering a Culture of Teachers' Professional Development: A UK Perspective'. Paper presented at 'Workshop on Fostering a Culture of Teachers' Professional Development in Hong Kong' organised by The Hong Kong Institute of Education.

Elliott, J (2004) ‘The Independent Evaluation of the PIPS (Progressive and Innovative Primary Schools) Project’, produced for the Centre for the Development of School Partnership and Field Experience at the Hong Kong Institute of Education.


Journal Editorships

International Editorial Board of Teaching and Teacher Education, an International Journal of Research Studies.

Editorial Board of Research Papers in Education.

Editorial Board of The Curriculum Journal.

Adviser to the Editorial Board of Investigacion en la Escuela

Adviser to the Editorial Board of Revista Interuniversitaria de Formacion del Profesorado

Special Issue Adviser of Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & Development


Book Reviews

Elliott, J (2005) Review of Amy B M Tsui (2003) ‘Understanding expertise in teaching: case studies of ESL teachers’, Cambridge University Press in Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol 35, No 3

Elliott, J (2006) Review of Ciaran Sugrue (Ed) (2004) ‘Curriculum and ideology: Irish experiences, international perspectives’, Cambridge University Press in Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol 36, No 1


Official Reports

Elliott, J., Sue Long, Barbara Walker, David Bridges, with contributions from Panel Members (2004) 'The Dynamics of the Graduate Labour Market in the East of England' for the East of England Development Agency. Download (PDF, 628 Kb)

Elliott, J.; Kushner S.; Alexander, A.; Danes, J.D.; Wilkinson, S.; Zamarski, B. (2003), 'Independent Review of The Learning Requirement for Police Probational Training'. The Learning, Training and Organisational Requirements and the Evidence Base.

Elliott, J., (2001) 'Fostering a Culture of Teachers' Professional Development: A UK Perspective' presented at the workshop on fostering a Culture of Teachers' Professional Development in Hong Kong organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Education.

Elliott, J. (1995) 'A check-list for monitoring the quality of the police training system,' Police Training: the management of police training user committees. Association of Metropolitan Authorities/ Association of County Councils, pp38-49.

Elliott, J., Mercer, N., Phillips, T., Scrimshaw, P. & Fisher, E. (1993) End of award report to ESRC 'Spoken Language and New Technology' Centre for Applied Research in Education. 17pp.

Elliott, J. (1993) 'Handling Values in Environmental Education' in Values in Environmental Education, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Conference Report 5-7 May 1993, Stirling, Scotland. Published on behalf of the ENSI Project by the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum, pp18-24.

Elliott, J. (1991) Evaluation of Appraisal Phase I in Enfield CARE mimeo 18pp.

Elliott, J., MacLure, M. et al (1990) End of award report to ESRC 'Teachers'Jobs and Lives' Centre for Applied Research in Education, 13pp.

Elliott, J., MacDonald, B. et al (1990) The New South Wales Police Recruitment Education Programme: an independent evaluation Centre for Applied Research in Education, October 1990, 146pp.

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