It's Just Research

In this episode of It’s Just Research , hosts Sara Black and Liam Cini O’Dwyer are joined by Dr Christina Richardson and Professor Yvonne Foley to discuss Communicating Sanctuary and Care , a collaborative project between NALDIC (the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum) and the University of Edinburgh. Bringing together education, healthcare, linguistics, and contempora...

In this episode of It’s Just Research , hosts Dr Sara Black and Liam Cini O’Dwyer speak with Dr Simon Gibbons about child-centred approaches to teaching English and the importance of making education meaningful to students’ own lives and experiences. Simon discusses the history of progressive English teaching and also reflects on his own journey from studying science to specialising in English edu...

In this episode of It’s Just Research , hosts Dr Sara Black and Liam Cini O’Dwyer are joined by Dr Carla Finesilver to explore how students learn mathematics, and how the way we represent maths shapes that learning. While children often encounter maths through everyday experiences like sharing and problem-solving, classroom maths can quickly become formal and procedural. Carla discusses how this s...

Dr Sara Black speaks with Professor Chris Winch about informal education and the ways we learn outside formal schooling. Drawing on his recent book Civil Society’s Education , Chris explains how children develop language, behaviour, values, and practical skills through participation in family and community life, learning through experience, imitation, and shared activity rather than formal teachin...

In the first episode of Season Three, hosts Dr Sara Black and Liam Cini O’Dwyer speak with Dr Billy Holzberg about his award-winning book Affective Bordering: Race, Deservingness and the Emotional Politics of Migration Control . Drawing on his research in Gender Studies, Billy explores how emotions are not simply private feelings but powerful forces that shape political life. Introducing the conce...

In the final episode of Season Two, hosts Dr Sara Black and Dr Pippa Sterk speak with Dr Panos Theodoropoulos about his upcoming book ' The Precarious Migrant Worker ,' which explores how migrant workers come to internalise precarity in the UK’s low-wage economy. Drawing from his own experience working in factories, warehouses and restaurant kitchens, Panos blends theory with vivid ethnography to...

In this episode, hosts Dr Sara Black and Dr Pippa Sterk speak with Dr Tania de St Croix and Louise Doherty about their research into how youth work is being reshaped by impact measurement and policy reform. Having started off as youth workers, both Tania and Louise journeyed into academia through their desire to research the field within which they worked, which has been the subject of continual b...

In this episode, hosts Dr Sara Black and Liam Cini O’Dwyer are joined by Dr Sarah Steadman to explore her research into the emotional and complex journey of becoming a teacher. Dr Steadman, a lecturer in English Education and Programme Director for PGCE courses at King’s College London, shares how her doctoral research unexpectedly led her to a deeper exploration of teacher identity—an area often...

On this episode of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically Questioning the world we live in,’ In this episode, hosts Dr Sara Black and Dr Pippa Sterk are joined by Dr Antonia Dawes to discuss her critical research into the presence of the military in the UK and its enduring imprint on the national psyche. We delve into how military power is normalised in public life, through everything from Remembrance Da...

On this episode of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically Questioning the world we live in,’ hosts Liam Cini O'Dwyer and Dr Sara Black discuss Sara's PhD research into critical geography and the sociology of trust. This conversation explores how education is deeply tied to social justice through the lens of time and space. Dr Black explains how schools act as a microcosm of our relationship with the stat...

We kickstarted Season 2 of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically Questioning the world we live in,’ with our hosts catching up. And on this episode we have our first guest of the season, Dr Sophie Perry. Hosts Dr Pippa Sterk and Liam Cini O'Dwyer are joined by Sophie Perry, a Lecturer in the School of Education, Communication and Society. Sophie shares with us her research into transformative educationa...

Our Season 2 launches with our hosts, Pippa Sterk and Liam Cini O'Dwyer, catching up. Pippa shares a milestone achievement with us all... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically Questioning the world we live in,’ is our summer special and season finale. Hosts Dr Sara Black and Liam Cini O'Dwyer are joined by John Owens, a Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy and Melissa Glackin, a Reader in Science & Environmental Education. Both are based in the School of Education, Communication and Society. In a group discussio...

In this episode of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically Questioning the world we live in,’ hosts Dr Sara Black and Liam Cini O'Dwyer are joined by Christine Harrison, a Professor of Science Education in the School of Education, Communication and Society. Christine reminisces on her pivotal collaborations with Professor Paul Black, who is very notable and at the forefront of physics and science educatio...

This episode of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically questioning the world we live in’, hosts Dr Sara Black and Liam Cini O'Dwyer are joined by Dr Richard Brock, a Senior Lecturer in Science Education in the School of Education, Communication and Society. Richard shares insights from his journey through physics to education, highlighting his shift towards exploring the dynamics of learning an...

For the fifth episode of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically questioning the world we live in’, hosts Dr Sara Black and Liam Cini O'Dwyer are joined by Dr Maren Elfert. Maren is a Senior Lecturer in International Education in the School of Education, Communication and Society, and reflects on her previous career with UNESCO which inspired her doctoral work. Maren has a keen eye on education's global d...

For the fourth episode of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically questioning the world we live in’, we are talking to none other than the team who create the podcast. Dr Sara Black, Pippa Sterk, Liam Cini O'Dwyer and Sylvie Carlos are sharing their research topics and interests. Expect Sara to nostalgically look back into her PhD research on social inequality in South Africa. Pippa focuses on her current...

For the third episode of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically questioning the world we live in’, hosts Dr Sara Black and Pippa Sterk are joined by Dr Clare Coultas. Clare is a lecturer in Social Justice at the School of Education, Communication & Society, and shares her work on comprehensive sexuality education in Eastern Africa and her use of social psychological concepts to understand how young p...

For the second episode of ‘It’s Just Research: Critically questioning the world we live in’, hosts Dr Sara Black and Pippa Sterk are joined by Dr. Mel Cooke, a Senior Lecturer in ESOL & Applied Linguistics. They are conversing about Dr Mel's language teaching practice and research and how language is often used as a weapon in immigration policy. Glossary terms ESOL - English for Speakers of Ot...

It’s Just Research has officially launched. In the very first episode, the hosts, Dr Sara Black and Liam Cini O'Dwyer, are joined by Dr Arthur Galamba, a Senior Lecturer in Science Education, to discuss his work investigating the links between science education and ideology. Alongside exploring ways of decolonising education and the need for climate change education. Click here to access the links...