Research

REAP pursues a range of research activities that are relevant to the themes of educational equity, access and participation. Our research considers the factors that help and hinder participation in learning which include issues around widening participation within families, communities, educational institutions and in the work place. Our research pays particular attention to national and regional policy issues of disability, gender, social class, race and ethnicity and how these factors affect responses to learning and social inclusion within schools, colleges, universities, communities and the workplace.

Themes

A unifying theme of our research is the relationship between various players – students, pupils, parents and practitioners within a variety of learning contexts including the local community, the work place and educational institutions. In addition to this, our knowledge of Northwest England provides us with a particular strength to our regional-based activities which not only enables us to place the research within its regional, spatial, social and cultural context but also adds to our understanding of wider national debates.

Activities

The focus of our research is designed to extend our understanding of the situations in which we work and to give voice to the learners, community tutors and voluntary sector representatives with whom we seek to develop inclusive provision. Our research is used to inform the development of materials and resources to be used by both practitioners in education and parents and carers, as well as the individual learners themselves. We offer a range of activities and resources including:

• Action research
• Evaluation reports
• Staff development workshops
• Development of learning resources

Projects

Find out more about some of our projects.