Dominic Wyse
Biographic Data
| ID | 5239988 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Dominic Wyse |
| GIVEN NAMES | Dominic |
| FAMILY NAME | Wyse |
| SIGNATURE | WYSE D |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cambridge |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8888-9032 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 40 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Barriers to Curriculum Reform
This paper explores the barriers faced by primary schools in England looking to reform their curricula. Drawing on six varied case studies of schools involved in a programme of curriculum innovation support, we examine how Ofsted inspections, assessment pressure, school location, lack of time, and staffing concerns all limit schools’ ability to revise their curricula. We argue that, even with dedicated time and support, schools found it challengi…
Mapping the Field of Effective Teaching and Interventions for Children With Reading Difficulties
This paper maps the field of teaching and interventions for children with reading difficulties through a systematic tertiary review, qualitative meta‐synthesis, and a national survey. The study has two main aims: (1) to provide an up‐to‐date review of systematic reviews and longitudinal experimental trials of effective interventions for children with reading difficulties; and (2) to report the findings from a national survey that addressed approa…
The dominance of synthetic phonics in reading policy in England
While the Science of Reading (SoR) has not been a commonly used term in the United Kingdom, many of the tropes of the ‘reading wars’ in the United States are also present in the debates in England and in other jurisdictions. Since the late 2000s, successive government policies in England have fundamentally altered what were, historically, accepted practices of teaching reading that could be described as a balanced approach. From 2008 to 2024, the…
Young Children's Engagement with Objects in Science Museums
This rapid evidence assessment (REA) of literature was conducted to aggregate knowledge about young children's engagement with objects in science museums. The review focuses on empirical studies published between 2000 and 2020 reporting on children in the age range from birth to eight years. Scrutiny of a final sample of 48 peer‐reviewed papers indicated that certain museum object characteristics may arouse children's curiosity more than others. …
The passion, pedagogy and politics of reading
The teaching of reading has been a source of contentious debate for many years. Margaret Meek Spencer contributed her passion for the importance of specific texts to help children learn to read. In addition to the kinds of texts to be used, important aspects of the debateimportant aspects of the debate include the relationship between national curriculum policies and robust research evidence about what works in teaching reading This paper notes a…
People and practice
Education research and educational practice
The relationship between education practice and education research has a long history. In modern times, education practice and its relation to education research has been central to debates about the nature and quality of education as an academic discipline in universities. This article reports an empirical study that investigated a new instantiation of the practice–theory debate: ‘close‐to‐practice’ research in education. The research sought to …
Writing and Writing Systems
Humans' ability to intentionally communicate meaning through written language is one of the attributes that makes them unique in comparison with all others species on earth. This entry begins with a short account that summarizes some key historical developments that ultimately led to alphabetic writing. This is followed by some of the important philosophical and theoretical trends in writing scholarship including the attack on phonocentrism and m…
Early childhood practitioner beliefs about digital media
The effective integration of educational technologies into early childhood education remains a significant challenge. An important element of this challenge is how practitioner beliefs about pedagogy relate to how digital technologies are used in the early years classroom. Focussing on early childhood practitioner beliefs in relation to pedagogy and digital technologies, this paper reports on a doctoral study where Educational Design Research (ED…
Presidential Address
This article explores the nature of education as a vital part of human knowledge. The argument that is presented addresses the critique of education as having epistemological weaknesses as an academic discipline. The argument is framed by scholarship that has categorised the discipline of education as derived from three main traditions of knowledge. In order to explore the coherence of education as a discipline, contrasts are made with other disc…
The Bera/Sage Handbook of Educational Research
Experimental trials and ‘what works?’ in education
The place of evidence to inform educational effectiveness has received increasing attention internationally in the last two decades. An important contribution to evidence‐informed policy has been greater attention to experimental trials including randomised controlled trials ( RCT s). The aim of this paper is to examine the use of evidence, particularly the use of evidence from experimental trials, to inform national curriculum policy. To do this…
Sustainable commercialization of new crops for the agricultural bioeconomy
Diversification of agroecological systems to enhance agrobiodiversity is likely to be critical to advancing environmental, economic, and social sustainability of agriculture. Temperate-zone agroecological systems that are currently organized for production of summer-annual crops can be diversified by integration of fallow-season and perennial crops. Integration of such crops can improve sustainability of these agroecological systems, with minimal…
Inclusive pedagogy and knowledge in special education
There has been an increasing focus in policy and practice on adopting inclusive pedagogy as a way of reconceptualising how schools work with children with special educational needs (SEN). The paper considers the split between knowledge and pedagogy inherent in some dominant strains of inclusive pedagogy. Drawing on the ‘knowledge turn’ in curriculum studies, we argue that although an analytical distinction between knowledge and pedagogy may be us…
Creativity and education
In the past 20 years the importance of creativity as part of young people's education has increasingly been recognised. The stimulus for the growing emphasis on creativity has come from diverse sources including drives for greater national economic prosperity and enlightenment visions of young people's education. One facet of creativity in education has been its place in the national curriculum texts of nation states. The research reported in thi…
English language teaching and whole school professional development in Tanzania
Place‐related identity, texts, and transcultural meanings
The spatial turn has been marked by increasing interest in conceptions of space and place in diverse areas of research. However, the important links between place and identity have received less attention, particularly in educational research. This paper reports an 18‐month research project that aimed to develop a theory of place‐related identity through the textual transactions of reading and writing. The research was an in‐depth qualitative stu…
Place-Related Identities Through Texts
The implications of the transdisciplinary spatial turn are attracting growing interest in a broad range of areas related to education. This paper draws on a methodology for interdisciplinary thinking in order to articulate a new theoretical configuration of place-related identity, and its implications for a research agenda. The new configuration is created through an analysis of place-related identities in narrative theory, texts and literacy pro…
Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading
A review of the teaching of early reading in England commissioned by the UK Government recommended that synthetic phonics should be the preferred approach for young English learners. In response, all English schools have been told to put in place a discrete synthetic phonics programme as the key means for teaching high‐quality phonic work. In this paper we analyse the evidence presented by the review to support the change to synthetic phonics. We…
The national literacy strategy
This article examines three areas that are of central importance to the pedagogy of the National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching (FFT) at primary level: inspection evidence; school effectiveness (SE) research; and child development evidence. Analysis of national inspection reports on the teaching of English illustrates that these cannot be used as a reliable source of evidence. A focus on the claims made in support of an objective‐based …
Circular Arguments
Statutory regulation of national curricula has presented a series of challenges for primary educators. Circular 4/98 prescribed for the first time the English subject knowledge that should be delivered by initial teacher education programmes. The detail of this prescription resulted in less emphasis on texts for children and analysis of their possible meanings. The consultation on changes to Circular 4/98 presents an opportunity to reassert the c…
Felt tip pens and school councils
The United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child has created practical challenges for nation states and institutions particularly in relation to children's rights to participation. The limited research that is available has tended to use survey methodology; qualitative accounts of children's daily lives are rare. The present study investigated the nature of children's participation in their education in two primary and two secondary school…
Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading
A review of the teaching of early reading in England commissioned by the UK Government recommended that synthetic phonics should be the preferred approach for young English learners. In response, all English schools have been told to put in place a discrete synthetic phonics programme as the key means for teaching high‐quality phonic work. In this paper we analyse the evidence presented by the review to support the change to synthetic phonics. We…
Education research and educational practice
The relationship between education practice and education research has a long history. In modern times, education practice and its relation to education research has been central to debates about the nature and quality of education as an academic discipline in universities. This article reports an empirical study that investigated a new instantiation of the practice–theory debate: ‘close‐to‐practice’ research in education. The research sought to …
Presidential Address
This article explores the nature of education as a vital part of human knowledge. The argument that is presented addresses the critique of education as having epistemological weaknesses as an academic discipline. The argument is framed by scholarship that has categorised the discipline of education as derived from three main traditions of knowledge. In order to explore the coherence of education as a discipline, contrasts are made with other disc…
Experimental trials and ‘what works?’ in education
The place of evidence to inform educational effectiveness has received increasing attention internationally in the last two decades. An important contribution to evidence‐informed policy has been greater attention to experimental trials including randomised controlled trials ( RCT s). The aim of this paper is to examine the use of evidence, particularly the use of evidence from experimental trials, to inform national curriculum policy. To do this…
Creativity and education
In the past 20 years the importance of creativity as part of young people's education has increasingly been recognised. The stimulus for the growing emphasis on creativity has come from diverse sources including drives for greater national economic prosperity and enlightenment visions of young people's education. One facet of creativity in education has been its place in the national curriculum texts of nation states. The research reported in thi…
Place-Related Identities Through Texts
The implications of the transdisciplinary spatial turn are attracting growing interest in a broad range of areas related to education. This paper draws on a methodology for interdisciplinary thinking in order to articulate a new theoretical configuration of place-related identity, and its implications for a research agenda. The new configuration is created through an analysis of place-related identities in narrative theory, texts and literacy pro…
People and practice
Inclusive pedagogy and knowledge in special education
There has been an increasing focus in policy and practice on adopting inclusive pedagogy as a way of reconceptualising how schools work with children with special educational needs (SEN). The paper considers the split between knowledge and pedagogy inherent in some dominant strains of inclusive pedagogy. Drawing on the ‘knowledge turn’ in curriculum studies, we argue that although an analytical distinction between knowledge and pedagogy may be us…
Place‐related identity, texts, and transcultural meanings
The spatial turn has been marked by increasing interest in conceptions of space and place in diverse areas of research. However, the important links between place and identity have received less attention, particularly in educational research. This paper reports an 18‐month research project that aimed to develop a theory of place‐related identity through the textual transactions of reading and writing. The research was an in‐depth qualitative stu…
English language teaching and whole school professional development in Tanzania
Felt tip pens and school councils
The United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child has created practical challenges for nation states and institutions particularly in relation to children's rights to participation. The limited research that is available has tended to use survey methodology; qualitative accounts of children's daily lives are rare. The present study investigated the nature of children's participation in their education in two primary and two secondary school…
Circular Arguments
Statutory regulation of national curricula has presented a series of challenges for primary educators. Circular 4/98 prescribed for the first time the English subject knowledge that should be delivered by initial teacher education programmes. The detail of this prescription resulted in less emphasis on texts for children and analysis of their possible meanings. The consultation on changes to Circular 4/98 presents an opportunity to reassert the c…
The national literacy strategy
This article examines three areas that are of central importance to the pedagogy of the National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching (FFT) at primary level: inspection evidence; school effectiveness (SE) research; and child development evidence. Analysis of national inspection reports on the teaching of English illustrates that these cannot be used as a reliable source of evidence. A focus on the claims made in support of an objective‐based …
Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading
A review of the teaching of early reading in England commissioned by the UK Government recommended that synthetic phonics should be the preferred approach for young English learners. In response, all English schools have been told to put in place a discrete synthetic phonics programme as the key means for teaching high‐quality phonic work. In this paper we analyse the evidence presented by the review to support the change to synthetic phonics. We…
Place-Related Identities Through Texts
The implications of the transdisciplinary spatial turn are attracting growing interest in a broad range of areas related to education. This paper draws on a methodology for interdisciplinary thinking in order to articulate a new theoretical configuration of place-related identity, and its implications for a research agenda. The new configuration is created through an analysis of place-related identities in narrative theory, texts and literacy pro…
Place‐related identity, texts, and transcultural meanings
The spatial turn has been marked by increasing interest in conceptions of space and place in diverse areas of research. However, the important links between place and identity have received less attention, particularly in educational research. This paper reports an 18‐month research project that aimed to develop a theory of place‐related identity through the textual transactions of reading and writing. The research was an in‐depth qualitative stu…
English language teaching and whole school professional development in Tanzania
Inclusive pedagogy and knowledge in special education
There has been an increasing focus in policy and practice on adopting inclusive pedagogy as a way of reconceptualising how schools work with children with special educational needs (SEN). The paper considers the split between knowledge and pedagogy inherent in some dominant strains of inclusive pedagogy. Drawing on the ‘knowledge turn’ in curriculum studies, we argue that although an analytical distinction between knowledge and pedagogy may be us…
Creativity and education
In the past 20 years the importance of creativity as part of young people's education has increasingly been recognised. The stimulus for the growing emphasis on creativity has come from diverse sources including drives for greater national economic prosperity and enlightenment visions of young people's education. One facet of creativity in education has been its place in the national curriculum texts of nation states. The research reported in thi…
Sustainable commercialization of new crops for the agricultural bioeconomy
Diversification of agroecological systems to enhance agrobiodiversity is likely to be critical to advancing environmental, economic, and social sustainability of agriculture. Temperate-zone agroecological systems that are currently organized for production of summer-annual crops can be diversified by integration of fallow-season and perennial crops. Integration of such crops can improve sustainability of these agroecological systems, with minimal…
The Bera/Sage Handbook of Educational Research
Experimental trials and ‘what works?’ in education
The place of evidence to inform educational effectiveness has received increasing attention internationally in the last two decades. An important contribution to evidence‐informed policy has been greater attention to experimental trials including randomised controlled trials ( RCT s). The aim of this paper is to examine the use of evidence, particularly the use of evidence from experimental trials, to inform national curriculum policy. To do this…
Writing and Writing Systems
Humans' ability to intentionally communicate meaning through written language is one of the attributes that makes them unique in comparison with all others species on earth. This entry begins with a short account that summarizes some key historical developments that ultimately led to alphabetic writing. This is followed by some of the important philosophical and theoretical trends in writing scholarship including the attack on phonocentrism and m…
Early childhood practitioner beliefs about digital media
The effective integration of educational technologies into early childhood education remains a significant challenge. An important element of this challenge is how practitioner beliefs about pedagogy relate to how digital technologies are used in the early years classroom. Focussing on early childhood practitioner beliefs in relation to pedagogy and digital technologies, this paper reports on a doctoral study where Educational Design Research (ED…
Presidential Address
This article explores the nature of education as a vital part of human knowledge. The argument that is presented addresses the critique of education as having epistemological weaknesses as an academic discipline. The argument is framed by scholarship that has categorised the discipline of education as derived from three main traditions of knowledge. In order to explore the coherence of education as a discipline, contrasts are made with other disc…
People and practice
Education research and educational practice
The relationship between education practice and education research has a long history. In modern times, education practice and its relation to education research has been central to debates about the nature and quality of education as an academic discipline in universities. This article reports an empirical study that investigated a new instantiation of the practice–theory debate: ‘close‐to‐practice’ research in education. The research sought to …
The passion, pedagogy and politics of reading
The teaching of reading has been a source of contentious debate for many years. Margaret Meek Spencer contributed her passion for the importance of specific texts to help children learn to read. In addition to the kinds of texts to be used, important aspects of the debateimportant aspects of the debate include the relationship between national curriculum policies and robust research evidence about what works in teaching reading This paper notes a…
Young Children's Engagement with Objects in Science Museums
This rapid evidence assessment (REA) of literature was conducted to aggregate knowledge about young children's engagement with objects in science museums. The review focuses on empirical studies published between 2000 and 2020 reporting on children in the age range from birth to eight years. Scrutiny of a final sample of 48 peer‐reviewed papers indicated that certain museum object characteristics may arouse children's curiosity more than others. …
The dominance of synthetic phonics in reading policy in England
While the Science of Reading (SoR) has not been a commonly used term in the United Kingdom, many of the tropes of the ‘reading wars’ in the United States are also present in the debates in England and in other jurisdictions. Since the late 2000s, successive government policies in England have fundamentally altered what were, historically, accepted practices of teaching reading that could be described as a balanced approach. From 2008 to 2024, the…
Barriers to Curriculum Reform
This paper explores the barriers faced by primary schools in England looking to reform their curricula. Drawing on six varied case studies of schools involved in a programme of curriculum innovation support, we examine how Ofsted inspections, assessment pressure, school location, lack of time, and staffing concerns all limit schools’ ability to revise their curricula. We argue that, even with dedicated time and support, schools found it challengi…
Mapping the Field of Effective Teaching and Interventions for Children With Reading Difficulties
This paper maps the field of teaching and interventions for children with reading difficulties through a systematic tertiary review, qualitative meta‐synthesis, and a national survey. The study has two main aims: (1) to provide an up‐to‐date review of systematic reviews and longitudinal experimental trials of effective interventions for children with reading difficulties; and (2) to report the findings from a national survey that addressed approa…
Pedagogy (13 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Political science (12 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Curriculum (8 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Mathematics education (7 works) · Global Educational Policies and Reforms (6 works) · Reading and Literacy Development (6 works)