Debating the Evidence

Wednesday 14 December 2011

On October 10 the ESU launched ‘Debating the Evidence’. This is a piece of independent research which was jointly funded and commissioned by the ESU and CfBT (Campaign for British Teachers) Education Trust. The company which undertook the research, having won the bid to do so, is EdComs which is a leading education research charity.
 
The original brief was to assess all existing evidence from around the world which looked into the effects that learning speech and debate skills have on young people. Collating and assessing the evidence was a major undertaking with a number of very useful reports from large studies coming from the USA and supporting evidence from countries including Canada, France, Israel, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. An expert panel was established of leading debate and speech practitioners from around the world.
 
The 37 page final report says everything we hoped it would say. This report illustrates that the many positive aspects of debating that we promote have been proven to develop the confidence and analytical ability of school children. Some of the most interesting outcomes from this piece of research are that many children reported “becoming more objective and enjoy[ing] being able to challenge our teachers” including a heightened interest in current affairs and their wider social impact. Debate was also found to “engender a sophisticated discussion among a class of 10 to 11 year old pupils when used as an exercise in perspective-taking”. Debating also encourages the skills to “develop and present their ideas with greater imagination and fluency” as well as sensitivity to precise language which are invaluable life skills for any child hoping to pursue a successful career. Academically, the report shows a 25% increase in GPA (Grade Point Average – from a US study) for debaters above that of the control group.
 
Most particularly we were pleased with the qualities the young people identified in themselves after experiencing competitive debating; many reported feeling a stronger desire to engage and question than before and, perhaps the most successful quality of all, it has helped to build confidence amongst otherwise more retiring pupils.
 
The report is also valuable in highlighting where we might go next with further research. Although all of the existing evidence points in the right direction there are limits to the size of some of the studies and a lot of very positive material had to be omitted as the evidence base was not sufficiently robust. Despite these notes of necessary caution the overall picture is very encouraging and we are in no doubt that further studies will reinforce the findings of this initial report. In a time of tightening budgets and increasing time pressure this report is a valuable tool to support teachers who are working so hard to establish and maintain debating clubs and activities.
 
The report is available to download by clicking here, and a limited supply of hard copies are available from Dartmouth House.