My main areas of research focus on: Teaching and learning outcomes arising from uses of leading edge technologies, principally in primary and secondary schools; Implementation and management of leading edge technologies at local authority and individual institution levels; Uses of data and development of data systems to support curriculum and educational practices; How home and out-of-school practices can enhance and support learning at an individual pupil level; How technologies support young people who are at risk of learning exlusion or who are hard to reach; How evaluation and research can be undertaken to support policy and practice.

Uses and impacts of technologies and technology-based resources in formal educational environments

Uses and impacts of technologies and technology-based resources across informal and formal learning environments

Specific aspects of learning and how these are impacted by technologies

How technologies are used by and impact young people who find it hard to learn or who are vulnerable

Uses of data management and data handling in school-based and lifelong learning contexts

His work has focused on a number of main areas:

• Teaching and learning outcomes arising from uses of leading edge technologies, principally in primary and secondary schools.
• Implementation and management of leading edge technologies at local authority and individual institution levels.
• Uses of data and development of data systems to support curriculum and educational practices.
• How home and out-of-school practices can enhance and support learning at an individual pupil level.
• How technologies support young people who are at risk of learning exlusion or who are hard to reach.
• How evaluation and research can be undertaken to support policy and practice.

Here Don Passey talks about his research interests.

He has undertaken studies for the government department in England, government agencies, and, in a number of countries, commercial and non-commercial groups, educational institutions and schools to inform both policy and practice.

Current research and writing includes:

• Detailing evidence from a range of recent studies that have looked at how different technologies can enhance learning engagement and outcomes for different groups of young people
• Exploring the impacts of learning platforms in schools on management, teaching and learning, and how uses of associated technologies integrate with learning platform functionality
• Detailing pupil and teacher concerns about online safety
• Examining uses of large online resource sets, and their impacts on specific aspects of learning
• Considering uses and impacts of technologies in informal, non-formal and formal learning settings
• Assessing the sustainability and influences of digital access at home in socio-economically disadvantaged communities

Recently completed studies:

• Identifying ways that technologies are used by young people who are not in education, employment or training
• Exploring ways that learning platforms are being implemented and used in schools
• Examining ways that support workers use emerging technologies to engage with young people

Society memberships

• International Federation for Information Processing Working Group on Elementary Education (WG3.5)
• International Federation for Information Processing Working Group on IT in Educational Management (WG3.7)
• British Computer Society, Member of the Education and Training Expert Panel

Don was the course director of the MRes in Innovation in School Practice (a course developed specifically for the SSAT), and also taught on the MA in Education programme (in modules EDS 801, EDS 812 and EDS 813). He has recently convened a new module (EDS 313) for the undergraduate PinE programme called 'Learning in a Digital Age', and teaches in the EDS207 module on the same programme.