Perceptions of the role of neuroscience in education

What's the brain got to do with education?

Quite a lot - according to teachers in a recent survey commissioned The Innovation Unit and carried out by researchers at the University of Bristol. Although current teacher training programmes generally omit the science of how we learn, an overwhelming number of the teachers surveyed felt neuroscience could make an important contribution in key educational areas. The research was undertaken to inform a series of seminars between educationalists and neuroscientists organised by the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

This research was published in the September 2007 edition of the academic journal Mind, Brain and Education.

Anne Diack, former Director of Research, Media and Communications at The Innovation Unit who commissioned the report, commented: "Although the teachers surveyed in this study were a selected group and therefore the findings cannot be generalised across the whole of the teaching profession, the study does indicate the potential of collaborative debate across the boundaries of science and education for improving our understanding of learning."

Download the Innovation Investigation booklet, Perceptions of the role of neuroscience in education (2.1 MB)

Download the press release, What's the brain got to do with education?

Download the teacher-friendly report (86 KB)

See the video where some teachers are asked about what the brain has to do with education
The Brain in Education - Teachers' Views (requires Quicktime to view this movie) (2.4 MB)