Research databases

Research databases are large collections of journal articles and other academic papers. Some cover lots of subjects (Academic Search Complete and publisher packages such as Wiley or SAGE), and others are more specialist (for example, PsycInfo for psychology or Emerald for leadership and management). Many are included within Library Search but some are not (British Education Index and ERIC being notable examples). 

Are you undertaking a Systematic Review methodology or 'systematic literature review'? Recommended databases include British Education Index, ERIC, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete and ProQuest (Education Database - use the 'choose databases' tab to select those you wish to search).

Subject-related and specific journals

Our Browzine collection offers a great visual way to browse journals in your area, build your own bookshelves, save links to articles, and explore special issues and articles in press. Here is a link to the journals categorised under Education.

There are a few journals and publications which might not be available through Library Search or research databases, including the following:

Subject association memberships and subject-specific journals

We may not have a subject or professional association membership for all curriculum areas because they do not always offer suitable subscription packages to libraries. We prioritise access to resources for all students and staff and preferably off-campus as well as on-campus. However, you may wish to investigate whether you can subscribe as a student or teacher member individually. The Council for Subject Associations directory may be useful.

• Association for Science Education's (ASE) journals : Primary Science, Education in Science, School Science Review, Science Teacher Education, Journal of Emergent Science, and ASE International Journal.
• Design and Technology Education: An International Journal
• Geographical Association journals Primary Geography and Teaching Geography are available online. To access these off-campus, please email Ask a Librarian for details.
• Historical Association Student Zone : practical resources for trainee teachers. Please email Ask a Librarian for details. Primary History and Teaching History journals are available on level 4 of The Hive.
• NALDIC : The subject association for English as an additional language (EAL) provides access to journals online. Please email Ask a Librarian for details on how you can register.
• Wideworld GCSE Geography Review  - please email askalibrarian@worc.ac.uk for details on how to access. 

The University subscribes to many other journals which are relevant to other school subjects, and if the subscription is online these will appear in Library Search results and on the our journal A-Z and Browzine e.g. trainees focusing on art will find the International Journal of Art and Design Education of particular value.

Specific journal titles not available in Library Search

• Good Autism Practice : journal from the British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD). Focuses on practical support for children and adults with autistic spectrum conditions.
• Nursery World : Policy, news and practical ideas for early education and childcare practitioners. Our subscription offers selected content from Nursery World. You can find additional content on the Nursery World website.
• NZ international research in early childhood education journal (NZIRECE) : Please email Ask a Librarian for details. 
• UCL Press journals including International Journal of Social Pedagogy, Race Equality Teaching, History Education Research Journal and International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning.

Curriculum and policy

National Curriculum references

Department for Education (2013) The national curriculum in England: key stages 1 and 2 framework document. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum (Accessed: 8 August 2022).

Department for Education (2014) The national curriculum in England: Key stages 3 and 4 framework document. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-secondary-curriculum (Accessed: 8 September 2022).

Department for Education (2023) Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2 (Accessed: 21 August 2023).

Websites for Government and education policy

• School curriculum - gov.uk
• Department for Education and DfE policy papers and consultations
• Ofsted for news, surveys, thematic reports and school inspection reports.
• Education Policy Institute conducts research and analysis to inform the public, Government and decision-makers.
• Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) is an independent think tank for higher education. 
• Institute for Government is a think tank that conducts and promotes research, analysis, commentary and discussion to address challenges and bring about change. 
• Centre for Education and Youth is a "think and action tank" focused on supporting children and young people into adulthood.
• Policy Exchange is an educational charity and think tank focusing on public services, society and economy.

The University of Bristol's Education Policy and Research Service (EPRS) provide useful document summaries on policy, research and reports related to education and teaching. As a subscriber we can also access their toolkits on thematic summaries and the CCF for trainees. Please email askalibrarian@worc.ac.uk for details (registered University of Worcester staff and students only). 

Exam board subject listings

Qualifications and specifications, including Business

• OCR subjects
• Pearson subjects
• AQA subjects

Statistics and legislation

• Acts of Parliament and other legislation
• Statutory guidance for schools on the Department for Education website
• Department for Education (2014) SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25 (Accessed: 2 October 2023). 
• A chronological list of all Acts of Parliament related to children, schools and education since 1721 is available on the Education in England website.
• Research and statistics search relevant to Department of Education
• National and regional level data from the Government's education statistics service
• Publications and records of parliamentary business, classified by staff of the House of Commons Library.

Historical documents and archives

• Education in England is full of original source material relating to schools and education, and includes a useful timeline of events, policies and reports.
• Digital Education Resource Archive (DERA) is a digital archive of reports, guidance, research and speeches from Government and other relevant education bodies.
• UK Government web archive includes videos, tweets and images dating back to 1996.
• Nuffield Foundation includes a short history of curriculum development at the Nuffield Foundation (2017).

Research and organisations

These organisations and independent bodies conduct and share research, which informs educational policy and practice.

Evidence and research

British Educational Research Association (BERA) focuses on the advancing of knowledge in education and sustains an educational research community. The BERA Blog and the Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research may be of particular interest to students.

Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is “dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement”. The charity does this by summarising, sharing and generating research-informed evidence on what works for teachers and leaders.

EPPI-Centre develops methods for and conducts systematic reviews in social policy. A range of technical reports and summaries are available on the website.

National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) offers news, opinion, and research for schools and policy-makers.

National Institute of Teaching "will boost the quality of teaching and school leadership by carrying out research, applying the insights to its professional development programmes, and sharing findings with the sector. Our programmes are designed by teachers and leaders who understand the joys and pressures of school life. We work in collaboration with schools across the country, ensuring that our findings benefit all schools, teachers and leaders."

Sutton Trust "champions social mobility through programmes, research and policy influence". Lots of research here related to cost of living, school funding, mental health, access to education and more.

TACTYC - the Association for Professional Development in Early Years - provides research, news, papers and reflections for practitioners through their website, and also their journal, Early Years.

Other organisations and charities

Advance HE has a knowledge hub of resources on topics and themes across higher education.

Chartered College of Teaching works to support teachers and connect them within a research-informed community. Keep up to date through their news and blogs page. Free student membership is available to those on teacher training courses, including those on School Direct and Teach First, plus "those studying in full-time education for a degree in education or on a postgraduate programme related to education". One benefit of membership is access to Impact, a termly publication with articles and information connecting research to classroom practice.

House of Commons Library produces research and provides an impartial information service to MPs and their staff. Find the latest research, briefings and data tools here. 

Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA) is a charity that provides advice, support and training to parents, carers and professionals who work with children with SEND.

Optimus Knowledge Centres provides some videos and resources relevant to four areas, including leadership, SEN and safeguarding. Please email Ask a librarian for details on how to log in, but please be aware that we do not subscribe to all resources on the website.

Social Care Online is a database from the Social Care Institute of Excellence, including resources relevant to social care and social work.

TED Talks (Education) shares videos and discussions from experts and researchers “exploring the latest thinking on how to build a better school”.

Current awareness and news

News and summaries

• Education Policy and Research Service at the University of Bristol shares monthly digests and summaries of key reports and research. Email Ask a Librarian for details of how you can access these.
• Times Higher Education (THE) offers the latest HE news and university rankings.
• TES Magazine is available via ProQuest from 2008 to 2021.

Blogs, podcasts and video

• BERA Blog shares research-informed comment and opinion on educational issues. This blog has an editorial team who approve posts prior to publication. Selected articles on a topic may later be reproduced in an issue of BERA Bites.
• NFER Blog offers comment and analysis on educational research.
• Box of Broadcasts (BoB) is an on-demand TV recording service and includes most major UK channels, including BBC, Channel 4 and Sky channels. Record programmes to watch back and create your own playlist. Log in with your university details.
• Kanopy is a streaming service, providing access to films, documentaries and more on Education and Early Childhood.
• Explore the University of Oxford's podcasts from the Department of Education and others.
• The Educators (BBC) offers podcasts involving influential thinkers, researchers and teachers (2014-2015).

Email alert services

• NFER email alerts include NFER Direct and blog notifications.
• Education Endowment Foundation’s regular news alerts by email
• Wonkhe daily briefing for the latest in HE policy, reports and activity across the sector.
• Sign up for email alerts from academic journals in your discipline, and browse the latest issues as they are published. Several options are available. Our Browzine collection offers  a great visual way to browse journals in your area, build your own bookcases, save links to articles, and explore special issues and articles in press. You might also try Journal TOCs, the Researcher App or Europe PMC publication email alerts.

Classroom and teaching ideas

The Hive and research collections

• The Teaching Collection in The Hive is full of resources you can use in the classroom. Please visit and explore what we have. You can borrow many of the kits, books and folders - just ask the library team. It is situated at one end of a huge children's library, which offers  picture books, children's fiction and non-fiction, books for parents and carers, early readers, board books and more. Look out for our new picturebooks and book boxes, coming soon! 
• Join in with the exciting activities, exhibitions and events taking place throughout the year in The Hive. 
• Library Services also has a number of special collections available to view by appointment, including education research, children's literature and childhood.

Websites and resources for educators

Books and reading

• BookTrust shares and supports resources, research and awards to get children reading. Try out their Bookfinder tool organised by age/stage and topic.
• Books for children, themed book lists and topic bibliographies are recommended on Bishop Grosseteste University's teaching resources website. Also available are reading resource booklets produced by Richard Woolley (formerly of University of Worcester) and Janice Morris, which include recommended children's books related to family diversity, transitions and disability. 
• Books for Keeps is an independent children's book magazine, offering hundreds of reviews and interviews with authors and illustrators.
• The Chicken House Schools Hub includes a set of schemes and resources to go with some of the Chicken House publications (KS2/3).
• CLPE Teaching Resources shares early years and primary language, vocabulary, reading and writing resources, including Power of Reading and Power of Pictures.
• Love My Books is a free resource for parents, carers and practitioners. Find children's books for different ages and topics, with lots of suggested activities to go with them.

Mathematics

• IXL maths and English resources - personalised learning for Reception to Year 13.
• NRICH mathematics resources for early years, primary and secondary from the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Mathematics.
• Numberphile includes videos and podcasts from expert mathematicians on a range of topics.

Computing and programming

• Computers Unplugged - computer science without a computer - free teaching materials using games, puzzles and movement.
• Computer Programming - Khan Academy - online courses and materials on programming, webpages and more.
• Computing at School - Teaching Resources

Cross-curricular

• The international charity ActionAid offers teaching resources for download.
• Christian Aid offers educational teaching resources for schools.
• Digital Theatre Plus is a performing arts resource, offering live performances and educational resources. University of Worcester student and staff login required. 
• Google Translate can be used to translate not just text but images, documents and websites. The Help pages provide step-by-step instructions.
• NCB resources for schools - the National Children's Bureau shares resources to support the wellbeing of children.
• RE:Quest offers resources for RE teachers and students to "explore the Christian faith".
• Teaching Ideas and Twinkl both offer resources, games and activities across many subjects.