The Impact of Research on Policy: A Case of Qualifications Reform

ABSTRACT

The relationship between research and policymaking has been discussed repeatedly. However, the debate tends to be in general, abstract terms or from a macroeconomic perspective with any examples described in a fairly cursory way. Despite the inherent complexity of the research-policy interface, analyses tend to homogenise ‘research’ and ‘policy’ as coherent entities with discussions often focusing on products (research and policies) rather than on the relationships between producers (researchers and policymakers). Here, we take one piece of research on qualifications that has influenced policy rhetoric over the last 5 years. We trace the career of the research from its production in the late 1990s in order to understand the conditions of its dormancy, re-emergence and use over the ensuing years. The paper serves to document the case, which is important in its own right, but also proposes a typology of ways in which research gets adopted and adapted into policy.

Keywords:

• research impact
• policy
• mathematics
• qualification returns
• A level

7. Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ The availability of online materials has increased markedly over the period of interest herein so that speeches earlier in the ‘noughties’ are not as well represented in the dataset.

² The lead author on the Vorderman Report was Roger Porkess, who for 20 years up until the summer of 2010 had been the Chief Executive of Mathematics Education and Industry, and an increasingly influential policy interlocker.

Additional information

Funding

This research is part of the Rethinking the Value of Advanced Mathematics Participation project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation [grant number EDU/41221]. The Nuffield Foundation is an endowed charitable trust that aims to improve social well-being in the widest sense. It funds research and innovation in education and social policy and also works to build capacity in education, science and social science research. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation. More information is available at www.nuffieldfoundation.org