Research Projects
Mental Health Research Project
The University of Manchester are seeking Colleges and Sixth Forms to help connect researchers and young women on a new mental health research project
What is the project?
They are looking for young women aged 16 to 18 for the research project. They want to hear what young women think might be causing low mood and anxiety across the teenage years, and what can be done to help. If you are interested in potentially connecting some of your students with this project, they would like to hear from you.
What would it involve?
The research team would ask you to provide information about the project to a small selection of young women in your setting. Students who are interested in taking part will be asked to provide some basic information about themselves to help us select a range of diverse young women across the country. Students will be invited to join a group discussion with other young women from across England, in May and June 2022. There is a limited number of places for this research so it is possible that not all students will be asked to take part. Students who are not asked to take part will be provided with information about other organisations and research they can get involved with.
What are the benefits of taking part for young women?
o The young women who take part in group discussions will have the opportunity to have their voice heard on what can be done to help reduce psychological distress in young women.
o These individuals will also receive a shopping voucher as a gesture of thanks and a certificate for taking part, recognising that they have made a positive contribution.
Who should you contact if I would like more information?
If you are interested in hearing more about this project, please email the research team at insightproject@manchester.ac.uk
Effective Personal and Social Development: a learner-led approach
Developing effective strategies to engage learners in meaningful personal and social development (PSD) has always been essential to learners’ achievement and progression. It is even more critical now with the sector’s increased responsibility for ensuring that individuals develop essential skills for success in life and work. The increased expectations for effective PSD to positively impact on learners is clearly set out in the current Ofsted Inspection Framework where learners’ personalised, holistic development is a central theme within ‘Personal development, behaviour and welfare’.
The purpose of this research was to explore strategies to improve the quality of provision, by creating a learner-led approach to delivering personal and social development. The central theme for the project was to provide Foundation Level learners, often the most disadvantaged and least confident young people, a key role in shaping the type of PSD programme that they feel is important and relevant to their needs and aspirations; this includes not only what is taught but also how it is best delivered for maximum effect.
This project was designed to enable students and staff to work together, as co-researchers, in order to create a shared understanding and model of effective PSD. By doing so it was intended that, in addition to the benefits for learners, staff working with and beyond the project, would gain a greater understanding of how PSD can be made more meaningful and engaging. Furthermore, it was envisaged that their new understanding would enable them to develop curriculum that would achieve more worthwhile, individualised skills development, relevant to the demands of society today.
Making Tutorial Matter
The nature of tutorial provision is such that the value, particularly in terms of retention and achievement, is clear to those with direct involvement as a manager or practitioner, but it is not necessarily apparent to those further removed from the activity. The rationale for undertaking this case study project was to generate a greater understanding of the nature and impact of tutorial provision and to identify key messages for middle and senior managers in order to improve the effectiveness of tutorial in promoting outcomes for learners. This report addresses some of these issues by exploring models of tutorial provision and a number of quality improvement interventions.