Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
Allen's research interests include improving learning in schools and research methods. His school based work looks at how to raise attainment for those students from socio-economic disadvantaged backgrounds. He predominantly uses randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and is currently running four-large RCTs on improving literacy levels for students in schools. His pedagogic expertise lies in the area of cooperative/peer learning. He has published extensively in this area.
Achievements
Allen is Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Educational Research Open (IJEDRO). He is on the Editorial Board of Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Pakistan Journal of Special Educational Needs, British Journal of Educational Research Journal and Educational Psychology. He was awarded the 2013 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Cooperative Learning SIG award for 'Outstanding Research Contribution in the Field of Cooperative Learning'. He served as Secretary/Treasurer of the AERA Cooperative Learning SIG from April 2014 until April 2017, was Chair of the SIG awards committee 2019-21, and is currently Chaor of the SIG (2021-25). He is a member of the ESRC Peer Review College and has Reviewed Grant Applications for Social Science Research Councils in Canada, Portugal, Oman and the Netherlands. Allen was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Academy of Globalization and Education Policy, Zhengzhou University, China (2017-2021) and is currently a Visiting Professor at Laboratorio de Economia de la Educacion, Pontifica Universidad Javeriana, Colombia (2020-onwards). Allen was a member of the REF2021 Unit of Assessment Panel for Education. He was elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2023.
Interests
Allen is a member of The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission Academic Adviser Panel. He is also a mentor for the Council for At Risk Academics helping mentor academics who have been displaced by war or persecution. He is currently working with a group of Syrian academics who have country of safety status in Turkey. He is a Governor for a local cross-commity post-primary school. Before retiring from active service he was a member of mountain rescue teams in Scotland and Northern Ireland for over 33 years, completing over 450 rescue missions, being both Team Training Officer and Team Leader for North West Mountain Rescue Team (NWMRT), initiating call-outs when requested by PSNI/Garda. He was also a trustee of the NWMRT mountain rescue charity. His past times these days take place closer to the ground and he enjoys riding his bicycle/tricycle and walking his dogs.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R1823SES: AHRC IAA: For the love of Reading! Using Paired Reading with vulnerable children across Chile
Cockerill, M. (PI), O'Keeffe, J. (CoI) & Thurston, A. (CoI)
27/01/2025 → …
Project: Research
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R2859SES: Improving Reading Comprehension in Primary Schools in England
Cockerill, M. (PI) & Thurston, A. (CoI)
30/06/2022 → …
Project: Research
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R3218SES: Using paired reading in Colombia to improve reading
Thurston, A. (PI), Cockerill, M. (CoI) & MacKenzie, A. (CoI)
14/09/2020 → …
Project: Research
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An exploratory study on engaging parents in a cooperative learning reciprocal reading intervention to improve attainment for disadvantaged pupils
Holland, J., Cockerill, M. & Thurston, A., 25 Apr 2025.Research output: Contribution to conference › Other contribution to conference › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
A Phase-2 RCT to evaluate the impact of Vocabulary for Reading (VfR) on student reading attainment in English elementary schools.
Cockerill, M., Thurston, A., O'Keeffe, J. & Chiang, T.-H., 26 Apr 2025. 4 p.Research output: Contribution to conference › Other contribution to conference › peer-review
Open AccessFile8 Downloads (Pure) -
Mediation analysis investigating the mechanisms of two school-based smoking prevention interventions in adolescents from Northern Ireland and Bogotá
Murray, J., Sánchez-Franco, S., Sarmiento, O. L., Kimbrough, E. O., Tate, C., Montgomery, S., Kumar, R., Dunne, L., Thurston, A., Gildea, A., Ramalingam, A., Krupka, E. L., Montes, F., Zhou, H., Moore, L., Bauld, L., Llorente, B., Kee, F. & Hunter, R., 06 Apr 2025, SSRN, 552 p.Research output: Working paper
File5 Downloads (Pure) -
Results from a Phase 3 definitive trial of reciprocal reading in English high schools
Cockerill, M., Thurston, A., O'Keeffe, J. & Chiang, T.-H., 29 Jan 2025, In: International Journal of Educational Research. 130, 16 p., 102546.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Downloads (Pure) -
The development of a Train-the-Trainer approach in Reciprocal Reading instruction in England’s primary schools
Cockerill, M., O'Keeffe, J., Thurston, A., Ozkaya, C., Holland, J. & Taylor, A., 05 Feb 2025, In: Education Sciences. 15, 2, 17 p., 183.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile15 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
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Data set for "Assessing the Differential Effects of Peer Tutoring for Tutors and Tutees"
Thurston, A. (Creator), Cockerill, M. (Creator) & Chiang, T.-H. (Creator), Queen's University Belfast, 2021
Dataset
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Prizes
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AERA Outstanding Research Award
Thurston, A. (Recipient), 2013
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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23rd European Conference on Literacy and the 7th Panhellenic Literacy Conference 2024
Cockerill, M. (Presenter), Thurston, A. (Contributor) & O'Keeffe, J. (Contributor)
25 Jun 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting 2024
Cockerill, M. (Presenter), Thurston, A. (Contributor) & O'Keeffe, J. (Contributor)
13 Apr 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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This Doctoral Life Symposia (School of Social Science, Education, and Social Work)
MacKenzie, A. (Member of the organising committee), Birch, M. (Member of the organising committee), Thurston, A. (Invited speaker), Uddin, M. S. (Member of the organising committee), Ozkaya, C. (Member of the organising committee), McGregor, K. (Member of the organising committee), Kilgallon, C. (Member of the organising committee), Mattingly, M. (Member of the organising committee), Nughara, D. (Member of the organising committee), Osekita, D. (Member of the organising committee), Begum, G. (Member of the organising committee), Wang, A. (Member of the organising committee), Bond, C. (Member of the organising committee), Celik, P. (Member of the organising committee), Nic Roibeaird, F. (Member of the organising committee) & Cricuk, E. (Member of the organising committee)
05 Oct 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting 2023 (Event)
MacKenzie, A. (Advisor), Thurston, A. (Advisor), O'Keeffe, J. (Advisor) & Cockerill, M. (Advisor)
13 Apr 2023 → 30 Apr 2023Activity: Membership types › Membership of network
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Reading for Meaning: Reciprocal Reading Secondary for struggling readers in KS3:Dissemination Event 2nd February 2023
Cockerill, M. (Presenter), O'Keeffe, J. (Presenter) & Thurston, A. (Presenter)
02 Feb 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Press/Media
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BBC Education Report: Texting parents boosts maths grades, study suggests
Miller, S., Robinson, J., Sloan, S., Gildea, A. & Thurston, A.
15/07/2016
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
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Article in The Economist: How to Make Children do Their Homework
Miller, S., Robinson, J., Sloan, S., Gildea, A. & Thurston, A.
15/07/2016
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other