We are a group of psychologists who conduct research to understand and combat educational inequalities. We are led by Dr Matthew J. Easterbrook, a Reader in Social Psychology at the University of Sussex.
Our research includes performing primary research and secondary analyses, and designing and evaluating interventions within schools, colleges and universities. This website is where we publish research reports, outline new projects and publications, and describe our current activities.
Current research highlights:
Tackling social class inequalities through policy. Dr Easterbrook is a member of the team that is leading the British Psychological Society's senate campaign that aims to get social class included as a protected characteristic in an updated (2010) Equalities Act. We have published a report of evidence into social class inequalities in education, health, and work; a special issue of The Psychologist magazine; and blogs. We continue our work, so check the website for the latest developments.
Selecting the right intervention for the local setting. We have developed and are refining a protocol to help educational practitioners understand which psychological barriers are holding back which groups of students in their school or college. This helps practitioners to select and/or tailor an intervention that will be effective locally. Find out more.
Home Learning Study - Education in the Time of Corona. We are creating a series of short research reports containing the key findings from our Education in the Time of Corona study on home learning in UK schools. The study is based on a survey of over 3,500 teachers and parents and focuses on inequalities in the effectiveness of provision for different groups of pupils. Find out more.
Understanding and overcoming bias in education. We are running a series of studies to examine how and when bias in academic judgements may negatively contribute to the outcomes of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This line of research also focuses on methods of overcoming these issues. Our latest published work on this topic can be found here.
If you would like to get in touch, please email me directly at m.j.easterbrook@sussex.ac.uk. You can see my full academic profile here.
