Update on EMC impact

The Education Media Centre has gone from strength to strength in an astonishingly short time since it was officially launched last autumn. The CEBE creation has become the centre of choice for organisations such as the OECD when launching educational reports. Also, internationally, it is already recognised as a unique meeting ground for journalists and researchers to promote good stories around an improved understanding and use of research evidence.

The EMC, under the directorship of former BBC Radio 4 Education Correspondent Sue Littlemore, provides a platform for briefing the press about research and adds evidence-based comments from leading researchers in a style the journalists can easily use. The latest example is the widespread commentary in news coverage of expert opinion for the EMC on England’s results in the OECD TALIS Teachers’ Survey. Headlined, “Undervalued, undertrained, long hours, get useless feedback, but love the job,” it was reported everywhere from the BBC and The Guardian to The Daily Telegraph, The Times and the Daily Mail. Four leading research experts analysing the findings and commenting prominently in the media for the EMC were Professor Chris Husbands, Professor Pamela Sammons, Emeritus Professor Dylan Wiliam and Vivienne Porritt.

For more information about the EMC, its activities and detailed evidence of success, visit the website educationmediacentre.org.