Staff profile

Maria Katsipataki is a Research Associate in the School of Education since 2012. She is involved in the development and updating of the Sutton-Trust Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Teaching and Learning Toolkit. The Toolkit is an accessible summary of educational research which provides guidance for teachers and schools on how to use their resources to improve outcomes for learners. This works focuses on evidence synthesis of educational interventions, including systematic reviews and meta-analysis of existing randomised and non-randomised studies.

Her research interests focus on the use of evidence-based research in education to support policy and practice. In addition to the work with the EEF, she is also interested in the fields of developmental psychology and learning difficulties.

After achieving a Bachelor in Psychology, she gained an MSc in Reading, Language and Cognition from the University of York. Following that, she was awarded a Social Science & Health Interdisciplinary Scholarship from Durham University, where she completed her PhD. Her PhD thesis investigated the relationship of a newly developed motor skills intervention with academic performance in the early years.She has also worked as a literacy-support tutor in various areas of London helping children with learning difficulties. 

• Making educational policy accessible
• Impact of Early Years interventions on cognitive and academic outcomes
• Relationship between academic and motor skills
• Developmental changes in childhood
• Developmental psychology and learning difficulties
• Evidence-based educational interventions

• 2000: 2013 Inspiration for Government award: Dr Katsipataki received the Inspiration for Government award (awarded by the Institute for Government) for her work on the Sutton Trust - EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit.

Chapter in book

• Kay, J., Higgins, S., Villanueva Aguilera, A., Dobson, E., Gascoine, L., Katsipataki, M., …Blausten, H. (2022). The extent to which education interventions have been studied and the range of effects typically observed. In J. Mercier (Ed.), Data and Evidence in Reimagining Education: The International Science andEvidence based Education Assessment. UNESCO MGIEP
• Kokotsaki, D., & Katsipataki, M. (2014). Motor Skill Acquisition. In W. Thompson (Ed.), Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An Encyclopedia (713-714). SAGE Publications

Journal Article

• Higgins, S., Katsipataki, M., Villanueva Aguilera, A., Alaidde, B., Dobson, E., Gascoine, L., …Uwimpuhwe, G. (2022). The Teaching and Learning Toolkit: Communicating research evidence to inform decision‐making for policy and practice in education. Review of Education, 10(1), Article e3327. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3327
• Higgins, S., & Katsipataki, M. (2016). Communicating comparative findings from meta-analysis in educational research: some examples and suggestions. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 39(3), 237-254. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727x.2016.1166486
• Katsipataki, M., & Higgins, S. (2016). What Works or What's Worked? Evidence from Education in the United Kingdom. Procedia: social & behavioral sciences, 217, 903-909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.02.030
• Higgins, S., & Katsipataki, M. (2015). Evidence from meta-analysis about parental involvement in education which supports their children’s learning. Journal of Children's Services, 10(3), 280-290. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcs-02-2015-0009

Report

• Higgins, S., Katsipataki, M., & Coleman, R. (2014). Reading at the Transition. [No known commissioning body]
• Higgins, S., Katsipataki, M., Kokotsaki, D., Coleman, R., Major, L., & Coe, R. (2013). The Sutton Trust - Education Endowment Foundation Teaching and Learning Toolkit. [No known commissioning body]
• Higgins, S., Xiao, Z., & Katsipataki, M. (2012). The Impact of Digital Technology on Learning: A Summary for the Education Endowment Foundation. [No known commissioning body]