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Wallenberg

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The Wallenberg Research Centre was created in November 1997 when an agreement was signed by Peder Wallenberg, on behalf of the Wallenberg Educational Foundation, and Professor Alec Broers, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

Mission

  • to conduct research and evaluation studies for the improvement of education
  • to formulate dynamic learning systems based upon its research
  • to promote good practice in education on the basis of its own research and that of others
  • to create a framework for products to be developed and published on the basis of its research
  • and in the longer term
  • to build assessment programmes to be used by teachers for the assessment of individual pupils and as a 'bridge' to those in traditional school systems
  • and to facilitate through its systems and products the development of UK educational communities and Foundations, such as Carpe Vitam, Sweden

Research Remit

The Centre was an integral part of the Faculty of Education. Its research remit reflected elements of the Faculty's own research agenda and that of the Wallenberg Educational Foundation. These concerns included:

recognition of the centrality of the family as the child's primary educator and a corresponding recognition of the importance of collaboration between professional educators and parents recognition of the critical importance of early learning for later learning and a consequent concern to develop effective early education programmes recognition of the complex diversity of learners, rejection of one-dimensional views of differences in ability, and concern to develop teaching strategies to cater effectively for the needs of all learners recognition that modern schools have tended to offer limited benefits because of being organisations, not communities, and of being inadequately integrated into the wider communities around them recognition of the importance of professional education for teachers throughout their careers, and a concern to develop approaches to teacher education which foster skilfulness and a critical questioning openness to changes in practice recognition of the powerful, but as yet largely unrealised, potential value of information technology in the improvement of education recognition of the central importance of learning to learn and to become self-aware, self-directing and responsible learners.

In order to establish the Centre for three years, the Wallenberg Educational Foundation committed the sum of £575,540 to support the Centre during that period. Although the Wallenberg Educational Foundation was the major funding body, the Faculty of Education also committed a large sum from its internal research and development budget to the Centre over the three-year period.