Institute of Education London

National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NRDC)

Joint Directors:

Helen Casey - Executive Director
John Vorhaus - Research Director

NRDC is the national research and development centre for adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL. Originally established by the UK government as part of its Skills for Life strategy that aimed to improve the literacy, numeracy and language skills of adults in England, NRDC is now an independent centre working to improve practice and inform policy through research and development. Widely recognised for its expertise in adult literacy, language and numeracy (LLN) within England, the centre has also engaged in research and development projects in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Europe, New Zealand and the United States.

Based at the University of London's Institute of Education (IOE), NRDC benefits from dynamic partnerships with a wide range of research centres and academics, both at IOE and at national and international level,  in addition to partnership working with national agencies such as NIACE, LSN and LLU+.  In 2008, the London Strategic Unit for the Learning and Skills Workforce (LSU) joined NRDC, further strengthening its development expertise and links with the teacher training sector.

NRDC carries out research and development projects for a range of different funders, including LLUK, LSIS, TDA and MOD, and ran a major research and development programme on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) from 2002-08. NRDC projects to date have included:

• a longitudinal study of adult literacy, language and numeracy teachers and learners
• investigation of effective practice in the teaching and learning of reading, writing, and numeracy, ESOL and ICT
• Maths4Life, encouraging effective numeracy and mathematics literacy education programmes for adults across the UK
• improving the literacy and numeracy of young offenders and disaffected young people
• longitudinal analysis of cohort studies (British Cohort Study 1970 and the National Child Development Study)
• ethnographic research into adult learners' lives
• the development of a national postgraduate continuing professional development (CPD) programme through open distance learning and practitioner consultations.

For more information visit the NRDC website