IOE Insights

In public health, we often refer to 'hard to reach' groups, but are we doing enough to listen to them? Hear from the co-founders of Five X More, and UCL academic Dr Carol Rivas, to explore the role of discrimination and structural disadvantage in the health inequalities experienced by different marginalised groups in the UK, and the incredible work they are doing to change this.  Black women in th...

This season we'll be hearing from IOE experts covering incredibly interesting and important areas of research that involve communication and linguistics. Dr Keri Wong and Dr Sam Sims will be chatting with: Dr Ruanni Tupas about discovering different audiences with different languages, Professor John Potter about digital communication and creativity, Professor Chloë Marshall about language, linguis...

Environmental degradation is the global challenge of our times. As demonstrated vividly by the climate strikes among school pupils, many young people feel passionate about ‘saving the planet’, but this cause is also a source of anxiety and even helplessness. Is the National Curriculum and the knowledge and skills it seeks to develop fit-for-purpose? Our IOE academics are joined by Laura Kravac (Ac...

Jamie Frost created and runs the hugely influential and ground-breaking website for maths tuition Dr Frost Maths, which provides an online learning platform, teaching resources, videos and a bank of exam questions to practise on, all for free. When the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools, Dr Frost Maths became a lifeline for students around the world. This talk between Dr Jamie Frost and the IO...

Answering your questions about how children learn to read and how to nurture their interest in reading in and out of school, in IOE Coffee Breaks. There is growing evidence to show the wide-ranging benefits of reading for young children’s learning and wellbeing. In particular, research suggests that the more time children (and adults) spend reading, especially fiction, the greater the advantage. B...

A data-driven discussion with Professor Alex Bryson about the ways women and ethnic minorities experience discrimination in the labour market and what can be done to mitigate this. Dr Sam Sims hears about Professor Bryson’s work, including investigations into discrimination in the workplace across characteristics such as gender, race and sexuality, as well as wage and employment dynamics across pr...

As children across the UK start heading back to the classroom, Vivienne Parry speaks to Dr Amelia Roberts (UCL Institute of Education), and Professor Monica Lakhanpaul (UCL Population Health Science), whose work focuses on children and education. With a focus on vulnerable children, our guests tell us more about the projects they're involved with to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic.  First...

Dr Keri Wong hears from Dr Antonina Tereshchenko about the study she led investigating issues facing Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) teachers’ employment. We find out whether there are differences in the pattern of employment between types of schools, the factors that affect retention, and recommendations for stakeholders such as school leaders, trade unions and policymakers. Full show not...

IOE Coffee Breaks reviews the contemporary debate on the school curriculum. The past decade has seen a strong push towards a ‘knowledge-led’ curriculum for schools in England, as reflected in reforms to the National Curriculum. Nevertheless, polarised discourse that pits ‘Gradgrind’ against child-centred learning continues, with each variously presented as the route to ‘twenty-first century skills...

How’s work going for you? Do you feel like you’re working harder than ever before and have little to show for it? We delve into the quality of a number of professions today. Dr Sam Sims is joined by Professor Francis Green to talk about his interest and academic journey covering labour economics, education economics and political economy. Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2...

Hear from Professor Carey Jewitt and doctoral researcher Lili Golmohammadi (UCL Institute of Education) on digital touch technologies and touchy vocab, student Alessia Qiu (Natural Sciences BSc) who joined UCL Volunteering to help a vulnerable group during the pandemic, and Dr Helge Wurdemann’s (UCL Engineering Sciences) robotic limbs that make the feeling of touch possible. This episode is repost...

This season’s exploration of the world of work begins with a discussion about the transitions and trajectories available to teenagers. Dr Lynne Rogers is the Co-Director of the Centre for Post-14 Education and Work and has long-standing interests in teacher and lecturer training and learning in further and higher education and other professional settings. She joins Dr Keri Wong to share her own jo...

Wherever you find culture, you find Caroline Marcus. She creates innovative programmes in museums and heritage settings, from the Royal Opera House to UCL. While Caroline teaches MA students on the IOE’s Museums and Galleries in Education programme, she is also an advisor, producer, and programmer for many cultural organisations across the UK. The National Gallery London, The Jewish Museum and the...

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...