Research Staff Interests
Professor Harry Torrance
Biography
Harry Torrance gained his PhD from the Centre for Applied Research in Education, University of East Anglia, where he studied with Barry MacDonald, Jean Rudduck and Lawrence Stenhouse. He was Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, working with Roger Murphy (1982-89) and Lecturer, Reader and Professor at the University of Sussex (1989-2003) prior to moving to MMU in 2003. He is an elected Academician of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.
Research Interests
Research interests include:
the inter-relation of assessment, teaching and learning;
testing and educational standards;
the role of assessment in educational reform and policy development;
qualitative research methodology;
the development of applied research and the relationship between research and policy;
research governance and research management.
He has undertaken many research projects investigating these topics funded by a wide range of sponsors.
Research Projects
Selected funded projects:
2008-09 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) £10,000
Consultancy to ESRC Strategic Review 2010-2015: 'Meta review of ESRC Key Research Challenge: Education for Life': preparation of 10,000 word review paper.
2007-08 ESRC £10,000
Consultancy to Review ESRC Investment in Educational Research: preparation of 10,000 word review paper.
2006-07 ESRC via TLRP Thematic Development £5,000
Reviewing Reviews (with Sebba, University of Sussex)
2005-2006 ESRC £46,536
Investigating Effective Strategies for Maths Teaching at Key Stage 3
(with Una Hanley)
2003-2005 Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) £226,000
The Impact of Different Modes of Assessment on Achievement and Progress
in the Learning and Skills Sector
2003 Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) £39,000
Research Review of the Impact of Summative Assessment on Students'
Motivation to Learn in the Learning and Skills Sector
2002-2005 EU Socrates/Minerva Programme, £41,000
Internet-based Assessment in Higher Education (Director of project at Sussex 2002-3; continued as co-director, with
Dr. John Pryor (Sussex) to completion in 2005)
1997-99 ESRC £69,000
Investigating and Developing Formative Teacher Assessment in Primary Schools (with Pryor, University of Sussex)
1993-96 ESRC £113,000
Teacher Assessment at Key Stage 1: accomplishing assessment in the classroom
1989-97 British Council/Overseas Development Agency (ODA), c.£350,000
Evaluation of the Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project (with B.
Cooper and C. Lacey)
Books
Torrance H.(ed 2012) Educational Assessment and Evaluation (Four-Volume Set in the Routledge 'Major Themes in Education' series), Routledge, 2052pp order here
Torrance H. (ed 2010) Qualitative Research Methods in Education a Four-Volume Set, Sage order here
QI Review
Torrance H. (2005 et al) The impact of different modes of assessment on achievement and progress in the learning and skills sector Learning and Skills Research Centre, 115pp view final report here
Torrance H. & Pryor J. (1998) Investigating Formative Assessment: teaching, learning and assessment in the classroom Open University Press 184pp
Torrance H. (ed 1995) Evaluating Authentic Assessment: problems and possibilities in new approaches to assessment (ed and author of Introduction and two other chapters), Open University Press, reprinted 1996, 173pp
Refereed Journal Articles
Torrance H. (2012) 'Triangulation, respondent validation, and democratic participation in mixed methods research' Journal of Mixed Methods Research 6, 2, pp111-123 (special issue on Triangulation) online here
Torrance H. (2012) 'Formative Assessment at the Crossroads: Conformative, Deformative and Transformative Assessment' Oxford Review of Education 38, 3, pp323-342 online here
Torrance H. (2011) Using Assessment to Drive the Reform of Schooling: Time to Stop Pursuing the Chimera? British Journal of Educational Studies 59, 4, 459–485 online here
Wyse D. & Torrance H. (2009) 'The development and consequences of national curriculum assessment for primary education in England' Educational Research 51, 2 pp213-238 online here
Torrance H. (2008) 'Building Confidence in Qualitative Research: Engaging the Demands of Policy' Qualitative Inquiry 14, 4 pp507-527 online here
Torrance H. (2007) 'Assessment as Learning? How the use of explicit learning objectives, assessment criteria and feedback in post-secondary education and training can come to dominate learning' Assessment in Education 14, 3 pp281-294 online here
Jacklin A., Robinson C. & Torrance H. (2006) 'When lack of data is data: do we really know who our looked after children are?' European Journal of Special Educational Needs 21, 1 pp1-20 online here
Torrance H. (2003) 'Big Change Question: As national policymakers seek to find solutions to national education issues, do international comparisons such as TIMMS and PISA create wider understanding, or do they serve to promote the orthodoxies of international agencies?' invited contribution to discussion symposium in Journal of Educational Change 4 p419-425 online here
Torrance H. & Pryor J. (2001) 'Developing Formative Assessment in the Classroom: using action research to explore and modify theory' British Educational Research Journal 27, 5 pp615-631 online here
Book Chapters
Torrance H. (2011) 'Qualitative Research, Science and Government: evidence, criteria, policy and politics' in Denzin N. & Lincoln Y. (eds) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research 4th Edition, Sage, pp569-580
Torrance H. (2009) 'Pursuing the Wrong Indicators? The Development and Impact of Test-based Accountability' in Ryan K. & Cousins B. (eds) The Sage International Handbook of Educational Evaluation Sage pp483-498
Torrance H. (2009) 'Using Assessment in Education Reform: Policy, Practice and Future Possibilities' in Daniels H., Lauder H. & Porter J. (eds) Knowledge, Values and Educational Policy London, Routledge pp218-236
Torrance H. & Pryor J. (2008) 'The social construction of success and failure in classroom assessment in England' in Krüger H, Helsper W, Foljanty-Jost G, Kramer R. & Hummrich M. (eds) Family, School, Youth Culture: International Perspectives of Pupil Research Frankfurt am Main, Bern, Oxford, Peter Lang Publishers, pp219-237
Torrance H. (2008) 'Building Confidence in Qualitative Research: Engaging the Demands of Policy' in Denzin N & Giardina M (eds) Qualitative Inquiry and the Politics of Evidence Walnut Creek, Ca, Left Coast Press pp55-79
Torracne H. (2006) 'Globalising empiricism: what, if anything, can be learned from international comparisons of educational achievement?' in Lauder H, Brown P, Dillabough J-A and Halsey A.H. (eds) Education, Globalisation and Social Change Oxford, Oxford University Press pp824-834
Torrance H. (2006) 'Research Quality and Research Governance in the UK: from methodology to management?' in Denzin N. & Giardina M. (eds) Qualitative Inquiry and the Conservative Challenge: Contesting Methodological Fundamentalism Walnut Creek, Ca, Left Coast Press pp127-148
Torrance H. (2004) 'Using Action Research to Generate Knowledge about Practice' in Thomas G. & Pring R. (eds) Evidence-based Practice in Education Open University Press, pp187-200
Research Reports
Consultancy Report on the 'Social Brain and the Curriculum' (with Maggie MacLure) Royal Society of Arts May 2010, 18pp download here
Meta Review of ESRC Key Research Challenge: Education for Life. Final Report of a consultancy commissioned by ESRC Strategic Research Board (November 2008) 20pp
Overview of ESRC Research in Education. Final Report of a consultancy commissioned by ESRC Strategic Research Board (February 2008) 30pp download here
The Trajectory and Impact of National Reform: curriculum and assessment in English primary schools Primary Review Research Survey 3/2 (with Wyse D. & McCreery E.) (2008) Cambridge: University of Cambridge Faculty of Education 25pp ISBN: 978-1-906478-22-3
eSpace
Journal & Book Series Editorships & Editorial Board Membership
Series editor of series of books on research methods - Conducting Educational Research - for the Open University Press; thirteen titles in print
Series editor of a series of books on assessment - Assessing Assessment - for the Open University Press; nine titles in print
Member of the editorial boards of:
- Assessment in Education (1994-present)
- Cambridge Journal of Education (2000-present)
- International Journal of Educational Research (2004-present)
- Educational Research (journal of the NFER, 2005-present)
- International Review of Qualitative Research (2007-present)
formerly co-editor of the:
- British Educational Research Journal (2000-2003)
formerly member of the editorial board of the
- British Educational Research Journal and
- Journal of Curriculum Studies (1990-1993)
Keynote Addresses or Prestigious Public Lectures
Torrance, H. (2010) 'Using Assessment to Drive the Reform of Schooling: an idea whose time has gone?' Keynote lecture to Annual Conference of the New Zealand Association for Educational Research (NZARE), University of Auckland, 6-9 December download here
Evidence of Impact on Policy and Professional Practice
Consultancy Report on the 'Social Brain and the Curriculum' (with Maggie MacLure) Royal Society of Arts May 2010, 18pp download here
Overview of ESRC Research in Education. Final Report of a consultancy commissioned by ESRC Strategic Research Board (February 2008) 30pp download here
International Recognition
Appointed member of the ESRC Peer Review College.
Referee for various sponsors including Nuffield Foundation, British Academy, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Research Council of Hong Kong, the World Bank and the Estonian Science Foundation.
Major Awards, Prizes & Honorary Degrees
Elected Academician of the UK Academy of Social Sciences
Conference Papers
Torrance, H. (2010) 'Science, funding and politics in the development of educational research: towards a political economy of educational research.' Paper presented in symposium Inciting the social imagination: Education research for the public good, Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Educational Research (AARE), University of Melbourne, 28 November-2 December
Torrance, H. (2010) 'What role for democratic participation in mixed methods research?' presented to plenary Issues and Controversies in Mixed Methods Research, International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI), University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA, 26-29 May
Torrance, H. (2009) 'Reviewing Reviews: moderating the debate about systematic reviews' presented to plenary Standards for Reporting Qualitative Inquiry organized by Torrance, International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI) University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA, 20-23 May
Torrance, H. (2009) 'Spanning Boundaries in Qualitative Research: implications for policy and practice' presented to Qualitative Research SIG symposium American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting, San Diego, USA, 13-17 April
Torrance, H. (2008) 'Education policy as a special case of theory: Correlation, causation and the legitimation of intervention' prepared for symposium Paradigms Lost and Found - Forms of Theory in Special Education and Their Consequences at AERA, New York, 24-28 March
Torrance, H. (2007) 'Building confidence in qualitative research: managing the demands of policy' presented to symposium on Standards of Evidence in Qualitative Inquiry AERA Annual Conference, Chicago, 9-13 April
Teaching Interests
Curriculum Theory
Assessment and Evaluation
Research Methods
Taught Courses
MRes & EdDoc
Areas of Post-graduate Supervision
Citizenship education.
Black and ethnic minority school experience and achievement.
