New fellowship to boost education research
25 October 2023
A Reading academic has been awarded a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Policy Fellowship, one of 44 academics who will be placed at the heart of government to help inform the way policy is made.
Dr Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Reading’s Institute for Education, will spend 18 months working closely with a host organisation to conduct research to help them address specific policy making-related challenges. The host organisations include 21 government departments and five What Works Centres (national research evidence generating centres) across the UK.
Dr Trakulphadetkrai’s chosen host organisation is the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). Founded in 2011 with a £125 million founding grant from the Department for Education, the EEF is a national influential charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement through generating educational research evidence.
As part of his Fellowship with the EEF, Dr Trakulphadetkrai will conduct mixed-methods research to help produce practical guidance on maximising the recruitment and retention of schools in trial studies.
There is currently little evidence on the most effective approaches to maximising study participant recruitment and retention, particularly within the research field of education. Dr Trakulphadetkrai’s work will therefore explore the incentives and strategies that are most effective, and will ensure successful research evaluation.
By supporting educational researchers to become more successful in recruiting and retaining schools in trial studies, it will allow more educational research evidence to be generated and will, in turn, help inform education policy making.
The outputs from this fellowship are expected to be of significant interest to the research community, including the broader What Works Network, government departments, academic institutions, and independent research organisations.
Dr Trakulphadetkrai said: “Research participant recruitment and retention are two crucial issues affecting evaluation studies not just in education but also across the wider research field of social sciences, and I aim to uncover the incentives and strategies needed to boost engagement in studies and promote best practice. This evidence will hopefully allow the EEF and the broader research community to design projects that successfully recruit and retain participants as well as generating robust and meaningful insights.”
“I very much look forward to working closely with the EEF. It is also a privilege to be part of this cohort of UKRI Policy Fellows from across the academic disciplines to use their research expertise to help address some of the major challenges facing policy makers here in the UK."
Professor Becky Francis, Chief Executive, EEF said: “I am delighted at this exciting partnership which allows EEF to benefit from academic expertise, and to share EEF know-how in reaching policy and practice. Dr Trakulphadetkrai’s important work to support recruitment and retention in trials research will address an ongoing challenge for EEF and wider RCT [Randomised Controlled Trial) work. This drawing together of expertise illustrates how collaboration can aid our mutual aim to support young people’s learning outcomes and narrow the attainment gap for social disadvantage.”
Professor Adrian Bell, Research Dean for Prosperity and Resilience, University of Reading said: “This policy fellowship enhances our commitment to be an Engaged University. The excellence of Dr Trakulphadetkrai’s research will be enabled to make a real impact on policy.”
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