In 2019, the University of Oxford’s Department of Education celebrates the 100th year since the passing of a statute creating what was known in 1919 as the University Department for the Training of Teachers. Join us as we mark our 100th anniversary through a series of public events that reflect on our past and pay particular tribute to our contributions in the field of teacher education today.

Our public seminar programmes are free to attend and open to all. The aim, to encourage public engagement with those interested in the field of education. All seminars are convened by members of the department and include a wealth of academics from across the department and wider University, as well as internationally recognised professionals from across the globe.

Registration is required.

If education policy-making is based strictly on rigorous evidence there is a risk of bias towards simple, discrete, measurable interventions. We present a framework for considering inconclusive evidence – through systematic consideration of the estimated costs, benefits and potential harm of a policy, along with the uncertainty in those estimates. This allows for a rational approach to pursuing or testing policies lacking rigorous evidence. The framework also suggests research methodologies to improve the rigour of evidence for interventions that are complex or highly context-dependent. The aim is to make evidence-based decision making more widely applicable and more effective.