This guide is intended for teachers and others with a research interest in education.
Use this guide to find suggestions for how to access and search for research literature as well as lists of useful websites for some subjects taught in schools.
Some research material relevant to education is freely available online. This guide gives some suggestions and also information on searching for relevant literature when doing educational research. You can view video tutorials on the research support page of this guide.
The Bodleian Education Library houses material in the areas of the curriculum and professional development relevant to the Department’s PGCE courses. As well as a print collection of theory books and teaching resources (included selected journals), the library provides access to a wide range of online resources, including the latest research papers about education and pedagogy.
If you are not a current member of the University of Oxford, you are nonetheless welcome to use the Education Library and other Bodleian Libraries for reference (you won't be able to borrow books) - you will need to join the libraries to get a Reader Card.
Teachers not currently registered on a course with the Department of Education are welcome to apply for a Bodleian Reader Card. This will allow you to use many of the libraries within Oxford (although not to borrow books) and to access online resources when inside a library using a library computer. For Oxford alumni there is some additional access to selected online resources. For alumni of other universities, check what is available to you via their websites.
As well as the books in the Bodleian Education Library, having a Bodleian Reader Card gives you access to the items in the other Bodleian Libraries. The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in Europe. It is a legal deposit library, with a right to receive a copy of everything published in this country. SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online) allows you to request material from offsite storage to be read in the Education Library. This material is for reference only so it cannot be borrowed.
If your school is part of the Education Deanery, you may be able to apply to be your school's research champion. This allows you enhanced access to the Bodleian Libraries' online resources as well as the above access to the library buildings and reference use of the books.
If you are not close to Oxford, your local public library may also provide access to some academic journals online as well as an interlibrary loan scheme.
There are also a great many academic sources of literature as well as many curriculum ideas available for free online. We give some suggestions on the pages on online academic sources and useful websites by subject.
Your course reading lists are available via Canvas or ORLO with links to online journal articles, ebooks (where available) and information about books in the library. You can search for additional material for your course using SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online), for print and ebooks and journal articles. For further inspiration, try Databases A-Z for subject collections of articles and other literature. Library staff are happy to help you to use these resources.
We have a guide aimed at current students with more information about searching for literature available here.
