IOE Insights

We officially welcome our presenters Dr Keri Wong and Dr Sam Sims to the Research for the Real World podcast !  Hear a little bit about them as well as our guests for Season 8, who will be sharing insights about these aspects of the world of work: Dr Lynne Rogers - the transition to higher and further education Professor Francis Green - employment prospects, job quality, the intensification of wor...

Girls’ access to education was already precarious in many parts of the world prior to COVID-19: around 130 million girls of school age were not in class. Many factors contributed to this picture, from cultural attitudes that don’t prioritise the education of girls, to the threat of gender-based violence in schools. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target to eliminate gender disparities in ed...

Discussing home-schooling and play, home-working, parenting - and how to juggle them all. With the latest announcement that schools won’t be reopening until at least the 8th March, Coronavirus: The Whole Story speaks to three UCL experts to explore how home-schooling is affecting children and parents, and some practical tips and tricks for listeners. UCL experts: Dr Sandra Leaton Gray, Institute o...

*This episode includes audio of a video shown during this event, some of which is not in English. You can access captions and subtitles with this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfGTiB11qNA Ranjitsinh Disale has been bridging barriers for girls' education in rural India by innovating with QR coded textbooks. School attendance can be as low as 2% for girls in some parts of rural India,...

Dr Jennie Golding joins the podcast to discuss how her experiences in mathematics education informs views on the ways the curriculum may change over time. Dr Rob Webster hears from Dr Golding about the book series she has co-edited, “What Should Schools Teach? Disciplines, subjects and the pursuit of truth”, part of the “Knowledge and the Curriculum” series published by UCL Press. Using mathematic...

Do we gain something in particular from reading fiction as well as non-fiction? And what about the role of digital technology, including audiobooks, in our reading habits? Children have always been encouraged to read widely in order to progress their learning and development. The benefits are many and varied, yet not all children – or adults – regularly find time to read for the sake of it. From t...

This episode explores the debate around school curriculums and the value and nature of the knowledge that is gained by learners. Dr Keri Wong is joined by Dr Alex Standish to discuss the relationship between disciplinary knowledge and school subjects in the curriculum, which is also a key focus in a book he has co-edited, “What Should Schools Teach? Disciplines, subjects and the pursuit of truth”,...

We explore the central role that subject knowledge plays in education and hear why we need new thinking about how we understand knowledge and knowledge-building. Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2021/jan/why-do-we-need-focus-knowledge-and-curriculum If you'd like to ask our presenters or guests a question for future episodes, you can record a voice message: https://speakpi...

The immediate impact of COVID-19 on the education system was profound; it heavily disrupted classroom teaching, across all phases, and upended school leaving examinations, with significant knock-on effects for further and higher education. In what ways have the past months opened up education policy and practice to new possibilities, and how have those debates evolved in different countries? In pa...

The immediate impact of COVID-19 on the education system was profound; it heavily disrupted classroom teaching, across all phases, and upended school leaving examinations, with significant knock-on effects for further and higher education. In what ways have the past months opened up education policy and practice to new possibilities, and how have those debates evolved in different countries? In pa...

And we're so lucky and grateful to have you back for another year to share stories that shape our everyday lives. This season we're sitting up and paying close attention to the curriculum and examining the relationships between knowledge disciplines in schools and beyond. Dr Arthur Chapman, Dr Alex Standish and Dr Jennie Golding will be joining us to talk about what this means for subjects like hi...

To kick off the new year, UCL Minds takes a look back at 2020 and the lessons we've learned throughout the pandemic. In this episode, we revisit some of the exemplary work happening at UCL - work that has been as interdisciplinary as it has been instrumental to combating the virus, as cutting edge as it has been community-minded, and as world-leading as it has been lifesaving. This episode feature...

IOE's Dr Tamjid Mujtaba joins this Coronavirus: The Whole Story episode (listen from 13:22) to discuss her work exploring how ethnic minority women in higher education are coping during the pandemic. But first up, Dr Daisy Fancourt (Institute of Epidemiology & Health) explains the findings of her study exploring the differing impacts of Covid on the UK population over the past 33 weeks - from...

The Research for the Real World production team reveal their favourite episodes of the whole series. The team share why each research story resonates with them, and discuss why they think everybody should know about these research stories. Full show notes and links to the episodes featured: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2020/dec/producers-cut-research-real-world-s06e04 Take our 2-minute survey to...

Play is typically defined as ‘activity for enjoyment and recreation’, but in many respects, it serves a very serious and purposeful role in our lives. It’s vital to our early development and supports wellbeing throughout the lifespan. In education, though, play has seemed to carry less respect, squeezed out by curriculum reforms and shrinking break times.  We’ve brought together experts from a ran...

The narrative of education as an investment in a better future is as compelling at a national level as it is at the individual one, and Professor Moses Oketch aims to find the key to making this work in practice. Dr Humera Iqbal discovers how Professor Moses Oketch’s career has been building a compelling connection between human capital theory and education policy. Full show notes: https://www.ucl...

What has the experience of the past few months taught us about leading through a crisis – about the skills required and the impact on individual leaders? And how can the research literature help us navigate this difficult terrain? Throughout the lockdown, school leaders were on the frontline: suddenly interpreting large volumes of evolving national guidance, supporting staff in adapting to new way...

Less is more? The back and forth over class sizes has been an enduring debate amongst many in the teaching profession. Professor Emeritus Peter Blatchford calls for a fresh look at the issue. An IOE veteran of three decades, Professor Blatchford shares with Dr Humera Iqbal his early experiences cutting his teeth in longitudinal research at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, teacher training, and his...

How has the pandemic affected local schools and communities? UCL does an enormous amount of work locally to make its research accessible and to reduce inequalities in the education system. Professor Louise Archer joins this Coronavirus: The Whole Story episode alongside host Vivienne Parry and experts from the Faculty of Engineering Science to explore why now, more than ever, supporting schools an...

You would expect straightforward answers to what seems to be such a straightforward question. Dr Keri Wong finds out from Dr Rebecca O’Connell as to why this may not be the case. For almost two decades, Dr Rebecca O’Connell has dedicated her career investigating the impact of food practices and policies in the UK and internationally. From 2014 to 2019 she led the ‘Families and Food in Hard Times’...

New digital processes are changing how garments are designed and developed. From wearable electronics to motion capture, to crafting a pattern on a virtual mannequin, what does rapid digitisation in fashion education and industry mean for touch? Has the role of touch and tactile material engagement in the garment design development process been fully understood yet? How does one go about studying...

We're almost there. 2020 has been incredibly challenging, to say the least. But we're glad you're still here with us. This season we'd like to give a very warm welcome to our newest member of the team, Dr Keri Wong! We've got her kicking things off with a chat with Dr Rebecca O'Connell about food poverty and free school meals in the UK, which has been front and back page news, largely thanks to th...

For several decades, ‘school improvement’ and ‘raising standards’ have been high on the education policy agenda. The prescriptions have evolved – from national initiatives to school-led efforts, and from a mantra that teacher quality is all, to a greater acknowledgment that leadership and management (and funding, and an evidence base for practice) also matter.   Are we any closer to these goals, a...

Professor Elaine Unterhalter joins our podcast to discuss gender equality in education in Africa and beyond with Dr Humera Iqbal. We begin by hearing about Professor Unterhalter’s fascinating personal and academic journey, raised in an activist family in apartheid South Africa, working with the ANC (African National Congress) and forming a vision of the country post-apartheid through the lens of e...

Professor Julie Dockrell speaks to Dr Rob Webster about how speech, language and communication are foundational to learning and achievement. What happens when a child struggles with these skills? Slow progress can be hidden by the logistics and pressures of the current school system, making oral language delay a less well-recognised disorder, which is in turn less supported as children move up thr...