On 9th September 2020, Senior Research Fellow Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson was invited by Emma Hardy MP, convenor of the Oracy All Party Parliamentary Group, to share her research into oracy, rhetoric and citizenship education. The evidence session centred on international approaches to classroom talk and Dr Holmes-Henderson spoke alongside three other experts: Andreas Schleicher (OECD), Prof Lauren Resnick (Institute of Learning, University of Pittsburgh) and Dr Sandra Berkowitz (US debate team coach).
She shared evidence from comparative international research conducted in the Australian state of Victoria where oracy is a formally assessed element of both the Victoria Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) and the Victoria Certificate of Education (VCE).
You can watch her testimony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viF7UkApnNo
As the Speaking Citizens project’s research strands continue to develop, the team looks forward to further opportunities to share findings with policymakers and all those involved in educational reform.
