Research news

The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Awards 2021, in association with The Open University and the UK Literacy Association (UKLA), were announced on Thursday 21 October.

Professor Teresa Cremin, Professor of Education (Literacy) at The Open University, takes a look at the role Reading for Pleasure plays in children's literacy, both in and beyond the classroom.

In collaboration with WELS academics, the OU has launched the first module in a package of free Safeguarding Leadership Training courses, aimed at those working in the international development sector.

Open University Associate Lecturer Dr Katharine Jewitt has been appointed co-lead of the Education and Digital Skills team within UNESCO’s Inclusive Policy Lab.

Research by The Open University Children’s Research Centre (OUCRC) was key to the evolution of a book on children’s rights published this month.

Undertaking any form of research is a challenge in its own right, but having a global pandemic breakout mid-way through is something that nobody expects to happen when they set out on their PhD journey. Find out how WELS student, Petra Vacková, coped with the challenges of carrying out research in such unprecedented times.

Informed by research from the Faculty of WELS, a new golf monitoring app has launched, which is designed to offer in-depth athlete analysis as well as research insight. The AMI Sports: Golf app enables golfers to track their training, practice, tournaments and daily wellness measures to provide insights to optimise their performance and reduce the risk of injury.

Dr Caroline Tagg has been awarded a British Academy Fellowship for a project that aims to better understand the nature of 21st century communication and the role mobile phones play in people's busy lives.

A study which measured and analysed scholarly literature, including research by academics from the Faculty of WELS, has found the OU to be second highest for publications in the field of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), with 75 articles identified.

Natalia Kucirkova, Professor of Reading and Children’s Development in the WELS School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport (ECYS) has won the UK Literary Association (UKLA) Academic Book Award 2021 by unanimous vote for her title ‘How and Why to Read and Create Children’s Digital Books: A Guide for Primary Practitioners’.