14 Mar 07

Lord Adonis, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools, opened a new complex and relaunched the University of Oxford's Department of Education (formerly the Department of Educational Studies) on Tuesday 13 March.

The complex, called the Jerome Bruner Building, consists of two refurbished Victorian buildings (28 and 30 Norham Gardens) linked by a new two-storey building. The Department has named it after the influential educational psychologist Professor Jerome Bruner, a key figure at Oxford University in the 1970s, who was a special guest at the opening event.

Andrew Adonis unveiled a plaque and a portrait of Professor Bruner, painted by the artist Beth Marsden.

Professor Bruner has a particular interest in the cognitive development of children and appropriate forms of education. His books on The Process of Education and Towards a Theory of Instruction have been widely read and are recognised as classics. His work on the social studies programme 'Man: A Course of Study' (MACOS) is a landmark in curriculum development. His most recent book The Culture of Education (1996) examines the historical and social context of pupils and their schooling.

Schools Minister, Andrew Adonis, said: 'Professor Bruner's work made a significant contribution to our understanding of child development, and I am delighted that his name is associated with this new chapter in the history of Oxford University's education department.'

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Dr John Hood, said: 'For over 100 years Oxford has been involved in the training of teachers. Today we still see it as vitally important, with our PGCE course consistently rated by Ofsted and the TDA as the highest quality course in England. The Department of Education does not only train new teachers, but has grown and strengthened its research capacity over the last few years. This new complex is testament to our commitment to education and the development of the highest quality research in this field.'

The Jerome Bruner Building

The new complex costing £2 million has created more communal spaces and up-to-date research and teaching facilities for the recently expanded Department of Education. Last year, the Department appointed five new Professors and five new lectureships, as well as increasing its graduate student numbers. The Department's secondary PGCE course has an international reputation for the quality of its work, which is carried out in close collaboration with Oxfordshire schools. There is also a strong graduate and doctoral programme. The Department was awarded a 5 in the last Research Assessment Exercise and much of the research carried out at Oxford has an impact on national policy. The University recently announced a collaboration with Pearson PLC to establish an Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment within the Department, which will be launched in the autumn. Only last month a 10-year research project, carried out by Professor Kathy Sylva's team, published its findings on the impact of good quality pre-school education on later academic achievement.

Earlier, Professor Jerome Bruner gave a public lecture entitled 'Cultivating the Possible' at the Martin Wood Lecture Theatre. He reflected on his early days at Oxford University and the beginning of theories about cognitive development in children. He went on to talk about the use of story-telling as a way of 'cultivating a lively sense of the possible in the rising generation'.