ECYS News

Project 17, a new radio series from the BBC World Service and The Open University, hears from seventeen 17-year-olds on whether the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals are making progress in addressing the issues relevant to them and their communities.

A homeschooling project, lead by WELS academics and geared towards inspiring hope and celebrating Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) diversity, has been awarded funding from the OU’s COVID-19 Rapid Response fund.

​A research project, led by Professor Kwame Akyeampong, which takes a play-based approach to learning to improve education in early years education in Africa, has received $500,000 CAD in funding.

Two reports on the effect of COVID-19 on people with learning disabilities launched on 10 December. Carried out by the Social History of Learning Disability (SHLD) research group with the Faculty of WELS) the research focuses on lessons learned during COVID-19 that can help shape how support for people with learning disabilities can be better organised and better funded.

Dr Lina Adinolfi, English Language Lecturer from the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics, has celebrated 3 million views of the authentic classroom video clips she developed as part of the TESS-India project.

Karen Baker, recipient of a WELS Student Inspirational Achievement Award 2020, was determined to complete her Primary Education studies despite experiencing major health issues in the final stages of her degree.

OU Professor of Literacy, Natalia Kucirkova, has been awarded a Jacobs Foundation Fellowship in recognition of her research into the impact of multimedia personalised stories for children.

Professor Kwame Akyeampong, School of ECYS, has joined the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel to share his international research and expertise on education systems in Africa.

Dr Michael Boampong has received £10,000 from the OU’s COVID-19 Rapid Response funding scheme to research the impact of COVID-19 on young Black Britons.

The Reading for Pleasure (RfP) project has launched Book Chat: Reading with your Child, a collaboration with Macmillan Children's Books to provide a resource which comprises three short films and support materials to help parents, families and carers read books conversationally and creatively to children. ​