Our burgeoning understanding of the brain’s ‘reward centres’ provides powerful new tools for understanding (and changing) classroom behaviour. We will therefore seek to apply insights from recent neuroscience research to behaviour in the classroom. Another strand of this research will focus on the attitudes and aspirations of parents and children – a critical determinant of educational outcomes. While various interventions have sought to change children’s dispositions towards learning, and parents’ attitudes towards their children’s school, the data gathered during these trials remains underexploited. In particular, linking this information with existing administrative data sources could provide a much deeper insight into the interaction between aspirations, parental involvement, and learning outcomes.
