Staff profile

Nadia Siddiqui joined Durham University in 2013. Her interests are school improvement by equalising opportunities, and overcoming the challenges of access to education in the developing countries (Pakistan and India). She has several hundred research publications, including four books, and an H index above 20. She has a considerable track-record of active citizenship, serving on grant assessment panels, other funding panels, and advisory boards for policy and practice. She is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. She is nominated and selected in the UPSIGN list of 75 notable British Pakistani Academics. She has successfully examined and supervised doctoral students to completion, in the UK and abroad. She received her first independent research grant from Nuffield Foundation on a study of the non-cognitive impacts of teaching Philosophy for Children in primary schools. The findings of this study were disccused on BBC radio 4: Bringing Up Britain: Critical thinking (series 10) (from15:58)

She is currently leading a British Academy GCRF funded project on examining the role of school in early childhood years of learning. She is a co-investigator in two funded research projects by ESRC. She has worked on Annual Status of Education Research (ASER) data of the intakes to and results from schools in Pakistan. She is author of several peer-reviewed journal articles on research methods, evaluations of school-based interventions, and equity in education. She is a co-investigator in the projects funded by Education Endowment Foundation, Society for the Advancement of Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education (SAPERE), Peter Sowerby Foundation.

Her research interests are to explore the stubborn patterns of poverty and inequalities through population data sets and large scale surveys such as National Pupil Database (NPD, England), Higher Education Statistics (HESA), Annual Survey of Education Report data (ASER, Pakistan), Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England (LSYPE). By using these secondary data resources she investigates the indicators of disadvantage that determine children's academic attainment, well-being and happiness, and access to pathways for successful life.

She is also interested in finding the impact of educational programmes that can break the cycle of poverty and its impact on young people’s lives. She has conducted evaluations of popular educational programmes such as Philosophy for Children, summer school during primary school transition stages, Fresh Start phonics and Accelerated Reader. She is concerned with improving the quality of social science research, and passionate about the role of schools in shaping a fairer society.

Affiliate of the

Durham University Evidence Centre for Education

Completed Supervisions

Evaluation of Metacognitive and Self-Regulatory Programmes for Learning, Pedagogy and Policy in Tertiary EFL Contexts.

A study of school attendance and exclusions in secondary schools in England.

Is Progress 8 a valid and reliable measure of school effectiveness?

Family, school and jobs: intergenerational social mobility in Next Steps.

An Evaluation of the ‘Philosophy for Children’ programme: The impact on Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills.

• Secondary data
• Understanding poverty
• Evaluation of educational programmes
• Education in the developing countries

• Durham University Evidence Centre for Education (DECE)

• Accelerated Reader
• Anglican School Partnership
• CUREE Response to Intervention
• Evaluating the use of contextual data in undergraduate admissions
• Evaluating the use of contextual data in undergraduate admissions
• Evaluation of a randomised controlled trial of ‘SAPERE: Philosophy for Children’
• Evaluation of Children's University social action trial
• Evaluation of EdTech Innovation Testbed
• Evaluation of FLASH Marking Feedback Project
• Evaluation of Literacy for Life Programme
• Evaluation of Writing about Values
• Evaluation of Youth United Social Action Trial
• Examining the role of schooling in the cognitive and wider development of children in the province of Punjab (Pakistan) and State of Gujarat (India): Establishing routes for sustainable education
• Fresh Start
• Future Foundations Summer School
• Northern Power: Making Engineering and Physical Sciences Research a Domain for All in the North of England
• Nuffield Parental Involvement Intervention
• Research into non-cognitive and KS2 attainment impacts of philosophy for children
• Research into the non-cognitive impacts of Philosophy for Children (P4C)
• Switch On
• The kinds of poverty in schools and their impact on student progress
• The research design basis for undergraduate quantitative methods (QM) teaching

• 2019: Evaluation of EdTech innovation testbed, £723K, DfE/Nesta
• 2019: Examining The Role Of Schooling In The Cognitive And Wider Development Of Children In The Province Of Punjab (Pakistan) And State Of Gujarat (India): Establishing Routes For Sustainable Education(£151170.90 from The British Academy)
• 2017: EEF Funded Evaluation Of Meols Cop High School Feedback Project (£107619.40 from Education Endowment Foundation)
• 2016: Evaluation Self-affirmation(£76485.11 from Education Endowment Foundation)
• 2016: Research into non-cognitive and KS2 attainment impacts of philosophy for children(£16856.00 from SAPERE)
• 2016: The kinds of poverty in schools and their impact on student progress(£132288.00 from ESRC)
• 2015: Evaluation of National Literacy Trust Academies Programme(£53333.33 from National Literacy Trust)
• 2015: Research into the non-cognitive impacts of Philosophy for Children(£31760.00 from The Nuffield Foundation)

• 0000: : 2023: Fellow of Academy of Social Sciences

  2023: Selected in UPSIGN list of 75 Notable British Pakistani Academics

  2022: Editorial Board Member Educational Review ;

  2022: Top cited article in Review of Education ;

  2022: ;Understanding evidence for early intervention (Keynote speech) ;World Education Summit 2022

  2021: Interviewed Ziauddin Yousafzai (Malala's father), author of 'Let her fly'

  2021: Advisory Panel Member Early Intervention Foundation (EIF)- Evidence Panel ;

  2020: Expert Panellist for The What Works Trial Advice Panel: Cabinet Office

  2020: ;Academic expert for UKRI grant funding panel for the UK Centre for Longitudinal Studies

  2019: Member Grant Assessment Panel: National Centre of Science and Technology Evaluation Centre of Science and Technology Evaluation, ;Kazakhstan

  2019: Member Grant Assessment Panel: GCRF Projects for Secondary Data Analysis

  2019: Invited speaker on ;Understanding inequalities in education using large datasets, Quantitative Methods Hub, ;University of Oxford

  2019: Presented on pupil premium for disadvantaged pupils: how to work out its effect ;in the Evidence Week held in parliament

  2018: Member ;ESRC Grant Assessment Panel D

  2018: Member ;UKRI Large Grants Assessment Panel ;

  2018: Lead Editor Review of Edcuation ;

  2018: Invited speaker on Labour Party Conference: ;Phasing out selection – what’s Labour’s problem? ;

  ;

Available for media contact about:

• Education:
• General policy:
• Subject specialists:
• Admissions & college affairs:

Authored book

• Gorard, S., See BH. & Siddiqui, N. (2022). Making schools better for disadvantaged students. Abingdon: Routledge.
• Gorard, S., Griffin, N., See, BH. & Siddiqui, N. (2019). How can we get educators to use research evidence?. Lulu Press.
• Gorard, S., See, B.H. & Siddiqui, N. (2017). The trials of evidence-based education. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
• Siddiqui, N (2013). Urdu Women’s Digests: Reading for Pleasure Behind ‘Walls and Veils’. Saarbru¨cken.

Chapter in book

• See, B.H. (2020). Why is it difficult to get evidence into use? In Getting evidence into education: Evaluating the routes into policy and practice. Gorard, S. London: Routledge. 84-99.
• Gorard, S. a & Siddiqui, N. (2018). Refining measures of poverty and their impact on student progress in England. In Understanding school segregation. Bonal, X. & Bellei, C. London: Bloomsbury. 85-102
• Gorard,S., Boliver,V. & Siddiqui,N. (2018). How can contextualised admissions widen participation? In Achieving Equity and Quality in Higher Education. Shah, M. & McKay, J. London: Palgrave MacMillan. 307-326.
• Boliver, V., Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2017). How can we widen participation in higher education? The promise of contextualised admissions. In The University as a Critical Institution?. Deem, R. & Eggins, H. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. 95-110.

Edited book

• Siddiqui, N. & Gorard, S. (2022). Making Your Doctoral Research Project Ambitious: Developing Large-Scale Studies with Real-World Impact. Routledge.

Edited Journal

• Siddiqui, N, Gorard, S & Wiliam, D (2022). Special issue: Evidence use in policy and practice. BERA, Wiley.
• Siddiqui, N. & Gorard, S. (2019). Special Issue 2: Using multiple methods to investigate complex educational issues (Editorial). Review of Education, 1 (2): Wiley.

Journal Article

• Morris, R., See, B., Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2023). Literacy for Life: Evaluating the National Literacy Trust’s bespoke programme for schools. Educational Studies 49(2): 369-387
• Gorard, S., Chen, W., Tan, Y., Gazmuri, C., See, B.H., Tereshchenko, A., Demie, F. & Siddiqui, N. (2023). The disproportionality of ethnic minority teachers in England: trends, patterns, and problems. Routledge Open Research
• Siddiqui, N. & Gorard, S. (2023). Is household income a reliable measure when assessing educational outcomes? A Jigsaw of two datasets (Next Steps and National Pupil Database) for understanding indicators of disadvantage. International Journal of Research & Method in Education 46(2): 118-132
• Lu, B. & Siddiqui, N. (2022). The more selective, the more effective? The geographical difference of the effectiveness of selective education. Educational Review
• Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S. & See, B. H. (2022). Can We Teach Non-Cognitive Outcomes? A Quasi-experimental Study of Philosophy for Children. Education Sciences 12(5): 322.
• See, B. H., Morris, R., Gorard. S., Siddiqui, N., Easterbrook, M., Nieuwenhuis, M., Fox, K., Harris, P. & Banerjee, R. (2022). A conceptual replication study of a self-affirmation intervention to improve the academic achievement of low-income pupils in England. Educational Research and Evaluation
• Boliver, Vikki, Gorard, Stephen & Siddiqui, Nadia (2022). Who counts as socioeconomically disadvantaged for the purposes of widening access to higher education? British Journal of Sociology of Education 43(3): 349-374.
• See, Beng Huat, Gorard, Stephen, Lu, Binwei, Dong, Lan & Siddiqui, Nadia (2022). Is technology always helpful?: A critical review of the impact on learning outcomes of education technology in supporting formative assessment in schools. Research Papers in Education 37(6): 1064-1096.
• Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N. & See, H. B. (2022). Assessing the impact of Pupil Premium funding on primary school segregation and attainment. Research Papers in Education 37(6): 992-1019.
• Zelinsky, T., Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2021). Increasing understanding of the aspirations and expectations of Roma students. British Journal of Sociology of Education 42(4): 588-606.
• Siddiqui, Nadia & Shaukat, Sadia (2021). Teacher Mobility in Punjab, Pakistan: Stayers and Movers within the Public and Private Schools. Education Sciences 11(7): 358.
• See,B.H., Gorard,S., El Soufi, B., Lu, B., Siddiqui, N. & Dong,L. (2021). A systematic review of the impact of technology-mediated parental engagement on student outcomes. Educational Research and Evaluation 26(3-4): 150-181.
• Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N. & See, B. H. (2021). The difficulties of judging what difference the Pupil Premium has made to school intakes and outcomes in England. Research Papers in Education 36(3): 355-379.
• Boliver, V., Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2021). Using contextual data to widen access to higher education. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education 25(1): 7-13.
• Gorard, S., See, B.H. & Siddiqui, N. (2020). Can we help improve wider school outcomes through youth social action? Impact: The Journal of the Charters College of Teaching
• Martínez-Garrido, C., Siddiqui, N. & Gorard, S. (2020). Longitudinal Study of Socioeconomic Segregation Between Schools in the UK. REICE. Ibero-American Journal on Quality, Effectiveness and Change in Education 18(4): 123-141.
• Gorard, S. (2020). Commentary on “Diving in where angels fear to tread”. The Psychology of Education Review (PER) 44(1): 18-21.
• Gorard, S., See, B. & Siddiqui, N. (2020). Context and implications document for: what is the evidence on the best way to get evidence into use in education? Review of Education 8(2): 611-613.
• Gorard, S., See, B. & Siddiqui, N. (2020). What is the evidence on the best way to get evidence into use in education? Review of Education 8(2): 570-610.
• Siddiqui, N. & Wardle, L. (2020). Can users judge what is ‘promising’ evidence in education? Research Intelligence 144: 20-21.
• See, Beng Huat, Morris, Rebecca, Gorard, Stephen & Siddiqui, Nadia (2019). Evaluation of the impact of Maths Counts delivered by teaching assistants on primary school pupils' attainment in maths. Educational Research and Evaluation 25(3-4): 203-224.
• Siddiqui, N. (2019). What do we know about children’s access to school and learning outcomes in Pakistan? Analysis of the risk factors to children’s proficiency in literacy and numeracy assessments. Journal of International Development 31(8): 752-763.
• Boliver, V., Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2019). Using contextualised admissions to widen access to higher education: a guide to the evidence base. DECE Research Briefing (1).
• Siddiqui, N. Gorard, S. & See, B.H. (2019). Can learning beyond the classroom impact on social responsibility and academic attainment? An evaluation of the Children’s University youth social action programme. Studies in Educational Evaluation 61: 74-82.
• Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2019). How trajectories of disadvantage help explain school attainment. SAGE Open 9(1): 1-14.
• Siddiqui, N., Boliver, V. & Gorard, S. (2019). Reliability of Longitudinal Social Surveys of Access to Higher Education: The Case of Next Steps in England. Social Inclusion 7(1): 80-89.
• Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S. & See, B. H. (2019). Can programmes like Philosophy for Children help schools to look beyond academic attainment? Educational Review 71(2): 146-165.
• Siddiqui, N. (2019). Using secondary data in education research. Social Research Update Spring(68).
• Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N., See, B.H., Boliver, V. & Wardle, L. (2019). Let’s make education fairer. Research Intelligence Autumn 2019(140): 12-13.
• Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2018). There is only research: the liberating impact of just doing research. International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches 10(1): 328-333.
• Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S. & See, B.H. (2018). The importance of process evaluation for randomised control trials in education. Educational Research 60(3): 357-370.
• Siddiqui, N. & Ventista, O.M. (2018). A review of school-based interventions for the improvement of social emotional skills and wider outcomes of education. International Journal of Educational Research 90: 117-132.
• Gorard, S.A.C. & Siddiqui, N. (2018). Grammar schools in England: a new analysis of social segregation and academic outcomes. British Journal of Sociology of Education 39(7): 909-924.
• Siddiqui, N. (2017). Parental education as a determinant of school choice: A comparative study of school types in Pakistan. Research in Education 99(1): 3-18.
• Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N. & Boliver, V. (2017). An Analysis of School-Based Contextual Indicators for Possible Use in Widening Participation. Higher Education Studies 7(2): 79.
• See, B.H., Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2017). Can explicit teaching of knowledge improve reading attainment? An evaluation of the core knowledge curriculum. British Educational Research Journal 43(2): 372-393.
• Siddiqui, N. & Gorard, S. (2017). Comparing government and private schools in Pakistan: the way forward for universal education. International Journal of Educational Research 82: 159-169.
• Siddiqui, N. (2017). Socio-economic segregation of disadvantaged children between schools in Pakistan: comparing the state and private sector. Educational Studies 43(4): 391-409.
• Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N. & See, B.H. (2017). Can ‘Philosophy for Children’ improve primary school attainment? Journal of Philosophy of Education 51(1): 5-22.
• Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N. & See, B.H. (2017). What works and what fails? Evidence from seven popular literacy ‘catch-up’ schemes for the transition to secondary school in England. Research Papers in Education 32(5): 626-648.
• Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N. & See, B.H. (2016). An evaluation of Fresh Start as a catch-up intervention: A trial conducted by teachers. Educational Studies 42(1): 98-113.
• Siddiqui, N, Gorard, S & See, B H (2016). Accelerated Reader as a literacy catch-up intervention during primary to secondary school transition phase. Educational Review 68(2): 139-154.
• Boliver, V., Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2015). Will the Use of Contextual Indicators Make UK Higher Education Admissions Fairer? Education Sciences 5(4): 306-322.
• Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N. & See, B. H. (2015). How effective is a summer school for catch-up attainment in English and maths? International Journal of Educational Research 73: 1-11.
• Gorard, S.A.C., Siddiqui, N. & See, B.H. (2015). An Evaluation of the ‘Switch-on Reading’ Literacy Catch-up Programme. British Educational Research Journal 41(4): 596-612.
• See, B. H., Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2015). Best practice in conducting RCTs: Lessons learnt from an independent evaluation of the Response-to-Intervention programme. Studies in Educational Evaluation 47: 83-92.
• Siddiqui, N. (2014). Women's magazines in Asian and Middle Eastern countries. South Asian Popular Culture 12(1): 29-40.
• Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S. & See, B.H. (2014). Is a summer school programme a promising intervention in preparation for transition from primary to secondary school? International Education Studies 7(7): 125-135.
• Gorard, S., Hordosy, R. & Siddiqui, N. (2013). How stable are 'school effects' assessed by a value-added technique? International Education Studies 6(1): 1-9.
• Siddiqui, N. (2012). Who reads Urdu women’s magazines and why? An investigation of the content, purpose, production and readership of Urdu women’s digests. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics 8(2-3): 323-334.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

• Gorard,S & Siddiqui,N (2021). Sats – why bringing back tests for 14-year-olds could help disadvantaged students. The Conversation
• Smruti,B, Siddiqui,N, Saeed,S & Sarfaraz,H (2020). Adapting to the new normal in survey research. BERA: Blog post

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• Siddiqui, N. (2022). Why schools matter? Invited Twitter Space discussion organised by CPDI. Twitter.
• Gorard, S., Boliver, V. & Siddiqui, N. (2019). Fair access means admitting more applicants with lower grades. Blog.
• Gorard, S., See, B.H. & Siddiqui, N. (2013). A Randomised Controlled Trial (or ‘Fair Test’): Evaluating an Educational Innovation. SAGE Research Methods Cases

Other (Print)

• Rizk, Rita, Summerbell, Carolyn D., Siddiqui, Nadia, Obeid, Omar & El-Obeid, Tahra (2022). Conference Poster: Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies for Preschools in Lebanon and Qatar.

Presentation

• Siddiqui, N (Published), Understanding inequalities in education using large datasets, Quantitative Methods Hub, University of Oxford.
• Siddiqui, N (Discussant) Sally, R, Joplin, M, Morris,R & Perry,T (Accepted), The causes and effects of educational disadvantages: what should we do? Symposium BERA, BERA 2021 (Symposium).
• Siddiqui, N, Saeed, S & Hamza, H (2021), Deploying virtual assessments for Early Years in Global South settings during COVID-19, Comparative International Education Society (CIES).
• Siddiqui, N (2021), Assessing Children’s Development and Cognitive Learning, Teacher Quality and School Improvement.
• Ventista, O.M. & Siddiqui, N. (2016), Which school interventions are beneficial for the development of non-cognitive skills of primary school students? A review of existing evidence, The European Conference of Educational Research (ECER) 2016, Leading Education: The Distinct Contributions of Educational Research and Researchers. Dublin, Ireland.

Report

• Morris, R., Gorard, S., See, B.H. & Siddiqui,N. (2022). Flash Marketing Evaluation Report. Education Endowment Foundation.
• Siddiqui, Nadia, Gorard, Stephen, Bulsari, Smruti, Saeed, Saba, Sarfaraz, Hamza, See, Beng Huat, Dixon, Pauline & Pandya, Kiran (2022). Does school matter for early childhood education? Assessing cognitive and wider development of children in the Province of Punjab, Pakistan and State of Gujarat, India. School of Education. Durham, Durham University Evidence Centre for Education.
• Cramman, Helen, Gray, Helen, Siddiqui, Nadia & Tudor, Jenna (2021). Evaluation of Inclusion Matters - Northern Power: Making Engineering and Physical Sciences Research a Domain for All in the North of England: End of Programme Report. School of Education. Durham University.
• Robinson-Smith, Lyn, Menzies, Victoria, Cramman, Helen, Wang, Yuqian (Linda), Fairhurst, Caroline, Hallett, Sarah, Beckmann, Nadin, Merrell, Christine, Torgerson, Carole, Stothard, Sue & Siddiqui, Nadia (2019). EasyPeasy: Learning through play. Evaluation Report. Education Endowment Foundation.
• Siddiqui, Nadia, Towl, Graham, Matthewson, Jennifer, Stretesky, Christine & Earnshaw, Melanie (2019). Religious and Race Hate Experience Survey: Report Findings. Durham University Office for Students.
• Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S. & See, B.H. (2017). Non-cognitive impacts of Philosophy for Children. School of Education, Durham University.
• Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S. & See, B.H. (2017). Children's University and Youth Social Action, Evaluation Report and Executive Summary. School of Education. London, Education Endowment Foundation.
• Gorard, S., See, B.H., Siddiqui, N., Smith, E. & White, P. (2016). Youth Social Action Trials: Youth United Evaluation report and executive summary. School of Education. London, Education Endowment Foundation.
• Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2016). Grammar schools in England: a new approach to analysing their intakes and outcomes. School of Education. Durham University.
• Gorard, S., See, B.H. & Siddiqui, N. (2015). Word and World Knowledge: Curriculum Centre. EEF.
• See, B H, Gorard, S & Siddiqui, N (2015). Evaluation of the Curriculum Centre Word and World Reading programme. Education Endowment Foundation.
• Gorard, S, Siddiqui, N & See, B H (2015). Philosophy for Children: SAPERE, Evaluation Report and Executive Summary, EEF.
• Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S. & See, B.H. (2014). Accelerated Reader: an aggregated trial. Educational Endowment Foundation.
• Siddiqui, N., Gorard, S. & See, B.H. (2014). Evaluation of Future Foundations Summer School Programme. Educational Endowment Foundation.
• See, B.H., Gorard, S. & Siddiqui, N. (2014). Evaluation of Anglican Schools Partnership Enhanced Feedback Pilot. Educational Endowment Foundation.
• Gorard, S., See, B.H. & Siddiqui, N. (2014). Process and summative evaluation of the Switch-On literacy transition programme. Educational Endowment Foundation.
• Gorard, S., See, B.H. & Siddiqui, N. (2013). Process and summative evaluation of the Switch-On literacy transition programme. Education Endowment Foundation.

Working Paper

• Siddiqui, Nadia, Bulsari, Smruti, Gorard, Stephen, Saeed, Saba, Saeed, Sahar See, Beng Huat, Dixon, Pauline & Pandya, Kiran (2020). Interim project report on ECE project in India and Pakistan.
• Siddiqui, Nadia, Bulsari, Smruti, Gorard, Stephen, See, Beng Huat, Dixon, Pauline, Pandya, Kiran, Saeed, Saba & Saeed, Sahar (2020). Pilot study report 2020 Assessing Early Years Schooling, Access and Student Outcomes (AESAS): Establishing routes for sustainable education in Pakistan and India.
• Morris, Rebecca, See, Beng Huat, Gorard, Stephen & Siddiqui, Nadia (2019). The ‘Write Across’ Project: Evaluation Report.
• Gorard, Stephen & Siddiqui, Nadia (2018). Different kinds of disadvantage and school attainment. Education Working Paper Series, 4.
• Gorard, S., Siddiqui, N. & Boliver, V. (2017). An analysis of contextual and other indicators of HE students for possible use in widening participation. (Working Paper 3).
• Gorard, S., Boliver, V., Siddiqui, N., Banerjee, P. & Morris, R. (2017). Which are the most suitable contextual indicators for use in widening participation to HE? Education working paper series