IOE Insights

In the context of a cost-of-living crisis and increased child poverty, this podcast hears about the growing use of food banks, how they operate and the impact this has on children whose families use them. Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/dec/what-impact-do-food-banks-schools-have-childrens-learning-rftrw-s21e02

This podcast hears how mental health and life chances of young people and their parents are being dramatically affected by post-pandemic cost of living pressures. Not only is there an elevated risk of psychological distress, the research also found food bank use and long-term poverty is associated with lower GCSE attainment. This sparks additional concerns about the long-term impact of the current...

In January 2023, the Food Foundation estimated that 24% of UK households with children were living in food insecurity. This staggering figure brings to light issues affecting their life chances. We’ll hear about how IOE research is raising awareness and informing policies and efforts in the midst of a new school and academic year now underway, another challenging winter and a general election in 2...

Alison Wiggins, a PGCE and anti-racist lecturer, emphasises the need for teachers to develop their racial literacy – 'naming it changes the power of it.' She talks about building positive relationships and the connection she forges with mentees and students. One of her highlights, she explains, is they joy of being able to pass on her experiences of teaching, and the opportunity to see mentees' pr...

Hilary talks about her journey as an educator and doles out some advice for early career teachers (ECTs): find the joy, discover your own teacher persona, and be unapologetically yourselves. "We want our new teachers to train and stay and thrive in our classrooms." Mark and Elaine speak to Hilary, the Programme Director of the Early Career Framework (ECF), and she talks about her role at the UCL C...

Tapping into the experience of induction tutors, facilitators and an ECF lead to learn about ensuring high-quality mentoring and cultures of professional learning. Elaine and Mark attend an Induction Tutor conference, which emphasises working with and learning from peers. They speak to Saiqua Zaneb, Tessa Blair and Lara Boyer, who are part of the East London Teaching School hub. They discuss what...

This podcast hears about research evidence focused on the role of apps in early education. A key part of Dr Laura Outhwaite’s work includes examining claims of many products on Google and Apple’s app stores to be “educational” and having an impact on young children’s learning. Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/sep/how-find-maths-learning-app-you-can-count-your-kids-rft...

Jan shares her wisdom from decades in teaching and teacher education. She reminds us why teaching can be a great – and still greater – profession to join. She talks about her commitment to the importance of teaching, and the ways in which the profession can transform people and fill them with confidence. Full show notes, transcript and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/sep/what-teaching-d...

This podcast explores how artificial intelligence (AI) has grown over time and whether it can be used as a tool to support education, rather than as a replacement for human thinking. Professor Manolis Mavrikis talks about the role of technology in schools and the obstacles that can prevent further integration, like infrastructure, teacher workload and professional development. He discusses the pot...

Professor Alison Clark-Wilson has a wealth of experience breaking down barriers between research communities and industry through her work with educational technology entrepreneurs, experts, and end users all over the world. We hear about some of the projects she’s led and collaborated on, how nurturing humility in EdTech might be possible in a world of “tech bros” and big egos, and why “fake it t...

This roundtable is the second event in the TCRU@50 programme of activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Thomas Coram Research Unit. The speakers offer perspectives on the benefits of engaged fatherhood for men, for children, for families and for gender equality. Speakers - Professor Esther Dermott (University of Bristol) - Professor Paul Hodkinson (University of Surrey) - Professor Marg...

In this season of Research for the Real World, we're highlighting IOE research that provides insights on finding ways for technology to play a meaningful role within education. We know that parents, teachers and students have concerns about the way in which society reacts with technology, but how can we improve our relationship with it? Maximise the use of high-quality content? Is there a way we c...

In this episode, we talk about what it's like to return for a career in academia, the fluidity of career trajectories, and the importance of supporting neurodiversity in universities. Drs Keri Wong and Alina Pelikh are joined by Brian Irvine for a discussion on his personal career path and work experience over the years, which include his roles as a childminder, a teacher of Religious Education, a...

In this episode, we talk about what it's like to work for the Office for National Statistics and the differences between life in academia and life outside of it. Dr Alina Pelikh is joined by James Robards to talk about applying for jobs once you make a decision to change careers and the different factors that may influence that decision, including workload, logistics and responsibilities. James ta...

In this episode, we talk about pursuing a career outside of academia and discuss the many transferable skills we have as researchers that can be applied to other contexts. Dr Keri Wong is joined by Audrey Kittredge for a discussion on discovering what pursuing a career outside academia looks like, and how to successfully enter a new industry despite how daunting it feels to leave the research sett...

In this podcast we hear about whether or not young people who aspire to teach actually become teachers. Most research into teacher recruitment surveys existing teachers to retrospectively find out why they went into teaching. Emily MacLeod’s research seeks to track young people from childhood and into adulthood. What has Emily learned from her research so far? What recommendations are there for po...

Liam Anderson has packed a huge amount into his 8 years and, when you hear how he fills his days, you will understand how. Fortunately, he is also a mentor on the UCL ECF programme. Here, he tells us how he makes each mentor meeting specific to his ECT’s curriculum and how – together – they boost their subject and pedagogical knowledge.  Full show notes, transcript and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk...

In this podcast we hear about whether more pay and fewer working hours should be prioritised to address teacher shortages, and what can be done to support the retention of new teachers. In outlining the challenges current teachers face, and how might that have changed over time, Professor Caroline Daly also shares her thoughts about the idea of flexible working, and what research into the benefits...

Elaine and Mark add their mere 42 years of classroom experience to the 58 (and counting) of Annie Powell and Helen Lugger, meeting in the staffroom to answer questions put by ECTs on Twitter. When will it start to get better? How do you recover from a tough lesson observation? These, and other questions, answered by teachers who have seen it all before. Full show notes, transcript and links: ⁠http...

We know that teacher shortages are an issue in most developed countries. How has the pandemic and pay played a role, and what can be done to address this? Research for the Real World welcomes back Dr Asma Benhenda to talk about the issue of teacher shortages and how England compares to other countries. Emily MacLeod also finds out what policy and non-policy measures could do to improve teacher rec...

It’s widely reported that there are ongoing and severe teacher shortages around the world. But what do we mean by teacher shortages? In terms of causes, teacher shortages are driven partly by low teacher recruitment, meaning that not enough new teachers join the profession each year, and low teacher retention, meaning that a high proportion of existing teachers leave the profession to work in othe...

Kate Hill, a first year ECT, is an Art teacher at Chosen Hill School near Cheltenham. She talks about having ‘to be like a swan’, projecting calm when nothing seems to be going right. She described the benefits of our Wellbeing Charter – especially how her mentor and facilitator have given peer support when she most needed it. Full show notes, transcript and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2...

Sofia Eleftheriadou and Lisa Baines are post-doctoral researchers at UCL’s Centre for Educational Leadership. Sofia and Lisa came into the ECF Staffroom to share the initial findings of their longitudinal study, ‘The impact of the ECF programme on the work engagement, wellbeing and retention of teachers.’ They talked to us about how the research of the ECF is always mediated – through school leade...

This roundtable is the first event in the TCRU@50 programme of activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Thomas Coram Research Unit. Following an introduction to TCRU’s history, the speakers reflect on race, multiculture, and conviviality in the shadow of Brexit, COVID, and the Windrush scandal, three events that have each exposed and exacerbated racialised inequalities.  Speakers: Prof L...

Join Dr Michael Spence (UCL President & Provost) and Professor Li Wei (IOE Director & Dean) as they discuss their shared love of languages: from raising bilingual children and language learning mishaps, to preserving heritage languages and the importance of supporting language teaching in schools. [BONUS CONTENT] You can also watch Dr Spence and Professor Li Wei speaking in Chinese about t...