Effective Classroom Practice (ECP) Project

The Effective Classroom Practice (ECP) study seeks to explore aspects of classroom practice and factors that contribute to effective teaching and pupil outcomes in primary and secondary schools.

This study is a two-year multi-disciplinary, mixed method research project which builds on previous research into 'Variations in Teachers' Work, Lives and their Effects on Pupils (VITAE)'.

VITAE, an Associate Project of the Teaching and Learning Research Project (TLRP), was a four-year, DfES funded, longitudinal study of 300 teachers in 100 schools which identified factors that affected teachers' work and lives over time, relationships between these and measures of pupil progress and attainment.

The ECP investigation takes account of the existing limitations of much of the research on teachers' work, lives and effective practices by developing a holistic design which enables a research-informed account and explanation of the relationships between teachers' histories, contexts, conditions and daily realities, both perceived and relative, in terms of pupils' classroom learning and attainments.

The research will make theoretical and methodological contributions to the study of teacher effectiveness and generate new knowledge which will have implications for policy, classroom practice and teacher development.