IOE insights

In this podcast we take a closer look at international development and global health research that shapes the way we respond during times of crisis.

Dr Mukdarut Bangpan and Dr Kelly Dickson's work with governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) includes research on the impact of mental health and psychosocial support programmes to inform their policy and practice.

You’re not dreaming! There’s so much going on in the field of sleep and research right now. We take a closer look at how things have crossed over into tech and AI, cancer and our wellbeing.

Professor Dagmara Dimitriou leads a lab that takes a multi-disciplinary approach to examine sleep’s role in affecting our cognitive, behavioural and academic abilities and has also been working with the likes of the NHS and the US Army on a wide variety of projects.

This season of Research for the Real World is all about mental health, and we’ll be hearing from researchers whose work encompasses such wide-ranging areas and offer solutions to address these challenges.

• Professor Dagmara Dimitriou on the role of sleep on neurodevelopmental disorders and cancer
• Dr Mukdarut Bangpan and Dr Kelly Dickson on humanitarian emergencies and the impact it has on mental wellbeing
• Dr Amy Harrison on social-emotional functioning and cognitive skills in eating disorders

In this podcast, Mark Quinn and Dr Polly Glegg talk about what makes great professional learning for teachers and leaders.

Polly and Mark, the masterminds behind UCL’s High Quality Outcomes for Great Professional Learning, explain how their thinking about professional learning has been influenced by research and practice.

They also let us into some of their secrets about how they, as seasoned facilitators, make sure participants encounter these high quality outcome in their professional learning sessions.

In this podcast, we discuss how eating disorder symptoms affect men. We cover what our guests have learned about how to ask for help and care for themselves. We speak about how eating disorders affect friendships and sexual relationships, and reflect on what our guests have learned through their experiences about how to cope with challenges in life.

Content warning: this podcast contains information about eating disorders, experiences of mental health difficulties and sex and sexual experiences. There is some language that may offend.

This podcast hears about the impact of the UK's School Meals Service on schools and their communities since its inception in 1906, and how it can adapt to the challenges of food insecurity and the impact of the economic crisis on children's learning.

Nancy Karmali-Belmonte and Farzana Akther respond to our ECTs' questions, and remind us that looking after wellbeing and being a good teacher are two sides of the same coin.

"It is up to the induction tutors, I think, to set the school culture so that those more challenging feedback conversations are couched in a framework of support and everyone moving forward and growing."

Mark and Elaine hear Nancy and Farzana discuss the importance of Induction Tutors, and the important role of ensuring ECTs find their advocates in the staffroom and are able to build their supportive communities.

They discuss building a culture that is open and filled with a willingness to share advice and listen – which includes listening to ECTs and knowing what they need.

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.

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 cost-of-living crisis.

Full show notes and links: coming soon

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 2024.

This season's guests:

• Dr Jake Anders - the links between food poverty and hunger with academic attainment
• Professor Alice Bradbury - educational responses to the cost of living crisis and in particular how schools are doubling up as food banks for their local communities
• Professor Gary McCulloch - the history of school meal provision and nutritional standards.

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.

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 till you make it” is not acceptable in education.

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 can take advantage of personalized learning? There's also all that chat about AI… well, we’re going to provide some examples on how this technology improves lives.

We'll hear from:

• Professor Manolis Mavrikis on artificial intelligence's role in education
• Professor Alison Clark-Wilson on the intersections between industry and research in EdTech
• Dr Laura Outhwaite on all things educational maths apps, and how we can look for high-quality learning content.

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 setting.

We hear about Audrey's background in postdoctoral research and her decision to change course into a new industry. She weighs in on the question, 'Is the grass really greener on the other side?' and talks about the benefits of the work cultures both inside and outside academia.

Audrey also talks about networking with individuals outside of academia through informal coffee chats, and discusses the many transferable skills she developed as a researcher that she now uses in her job at Duolingo.

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 policymakers?

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.

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 of the Early Career Framework has revealed.

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.

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 recruitment and retention.

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 other sectors.

Together, this low teacher recruitment and retention lead to larger class sizes, and a higher number of teacher vacancies.

So, how can we address these teacher shortages, and therefore improve education for young people in England and elsewhere?

In this season of Research for the Real World we'll hear from:
- Dr Asma Benhenda on the root causes of teacher shortages in different countries, and the impact of the pandemic and pay has on the workforce
- Professor Caroline Daly on how those new to teaching can be supported to develop their careers
- Emily MacLeod on her doctoral research tracking young people’s teaching aspirations.

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 leaderships, through mentors, and through the teacher standing in front of the classroom with the students that they've got to work with.

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 Les Back (Glasgow University)
• Prof Ann Phoenix (UCL, Thomas Coram Research Unit)
• Dr Sivamohan Valluvan (Warwick University)

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.

Being an ECT cheerleader and a facilitator of their pedagogical progress.

Haili Hughes is a writer, expert on mentoring and facilitator on the UCL ECF programme. 

Haili took us through the ‘long, winding road’ of her career, and shared with us her passion for mentoring. She says that mentors have a huge job on their hands to be conversant with the research behind the ECF, arguing that mentor development programmes such as ours are therefore really important.

This podcast aims to bring the latest academic research on the Holocaust into the classroom. ‘Survivors’ is a conversation between Dr Rebecca Clifford of Swansea University and Dr Tom Haward of the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education about her book ‘Survivors: Children’s Lives After the Holocaust.’

Aimed at educators who are teaching about the Holocaust, it’s also fascinating for anyone just curious about the past and the intriguing stories of child survivors of the Holocaust.  It explores issues of memory and of working with and interpreting historical sources, particularly those based on the memories – or absence of memories – of children, which has implications for teachers and students working with primary sources in the classroom. It also thinks about the role of narrative in history, and ideas of trauma, testimony, and family. Finally, Rebecca reflects on what this history means for us today.

Siobhan Goffee is co-host of the podcast series and coaching programme for educators, ‘Joyblockers – and how to get rid of them’.

Siobhan talked to us about when teaching can feel like being in a bad relationship. Living off the adrenaline of teaching, being constantly in survival mode, and struggling to admit you are struggling. And she talked about joy, creativity, community: the things that bring us into teaching in the first place but which can be the casualties of toxic productivity. Her answer? Look to take advantage of the tiny moments in school, and listen to your body when it’s telling you it needs something.

Why the ECF programme needed to be adapted for teachers in special schools

Melanie Hogan is the deputy headteacher at Castlebar Special School in Ealing. Melanie invited us into her school to talk to us about the specific needs of ECTs in special education, how the ECF programme supports them, and what more we can still do to make the programme really work for this important group of teachers.

Our guest Professor Douglas Bourn is aware that “hope” can often be considered an idealistic and utopian term, but if it is grounded in real-life issues and challenges, then it can provide a valuable approach to learning about global issues.

Emanuele Frascadore is in his first year of the ECF Programme at Rosedale College, in Hayes. He talks with us about how we can create an inclusive environment for LGBT+ students and staff.

It’s widely acknowledged that more climate change or sustainability education is needed. What’s probably missing is the kind of learning, aims and agendas required to be at the heart of teaching.

Dr Laura Outhwaite hears from Dr Stuart Tannock about his work linking academic research to engage communities to achieve social, economic and environmental justice. 

We hear about the challenges facing climate education, what educators need to get right and how they can help students think through what radical changes are necessary and how they can make it happen.

Tayaba Chaudhry, Celeste Leonard and Liv Moran are in their second year of their ECF Programme at Burnage Academy in Manchester. They are joined by Erin Brown, their induction tutor, and talk to us about how the practitioner inquiry approach has shaped professionals.

This podcast features work that helps highlight the role of children and the duty of adults in raising awareness of this crisis and caring for the environment, so that the burden and responsibility does not fall solely on young people.

Our presenter Dr Laura Outhwaite is joined by Dr Lizzie Rushton to discuss the importance of providing opportunities for teachers, teacher educators and young people to work together in the context of climate change and sustainability education.

Dr Rushton also describes the need to provide meaningful opportunities to engage with and contribute to policy making in relation to climate change and sustainability in general and especially education, and shares her thoughts and hopes for COP27 - the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

[PREVIEW] With students and young people increasingly aware of the impact of climate change and wanting to do something about it, in this season of Research for the Real World we're focusing on how education systems can be reimagined to embed sustainable development principles and practices to bring about positive change and climate justice.

In this season of Research for the Real World we'll hear from:

• Dr Lizzie Rushton on professional development for teachers and the student voice when it comes to climate change and sustainability education
• Dr Stuart Tannock on the call for not just more, but what kind of climate change education is needed
• Professor Doug Bourn on a "pedagogy of hope" to equip global citizens to make an active contribution to society.

Kate Atkin is a Deputy Headteacher at Balby Central Primary Academy in Doncaster. As a facilitator on Year 2 of the Early Roll Out Programme, she shares with us how she made practitioner inquiry come alive for Early Career Teachers (ECTs) and mentors, and the positive impact this has had.

Jill Whitehouse is a Deputy Headteacher in South Gosforth First School. She is a mentor and a facilitator on the ECF programme. She talked to us about her many years’ experience working with new teachers, and what it has taught her about how to make best use of our resources.

For separated child migrants - or unaccompanied minors in legal terms - ‘care’ is ambiguous: they may receive care because of their ‘child’ status or be excluded from provision because of their ‘migrant’ status. We start from the premise that care is not limited to what can be provided by an adult or the state, but can come from other separated children themselves.

This episode's presenter Dr Keri Wong finds out how participatory and creative research can help researchers like Dr Rachel Rosen to unpack the complexities of contradictory and changeable immigration and welfare systems. Dr Rosen co-leads Children Caring on the Move (CCoM), a project investigating separated child migrants’ experiences of care and caring for others as they navigate these systems in England.

The discussion features relflection and experiences from two peer researchers, Mika and Gulli, who came to the UK as children and sought asylum here.

"Stories too big for a case file: Unaccompanied young people confront the hostile environment" will be shown to public audiences during 'An evening of sensory film' at the Bloomsbury Theatre on 10 October 2022.

This podcast hears about research that centres the perspectives of asylum seekers in the UK and challenges existing arrangements to support them as they navigate the system.

Stephanie Bingham is the Regional Lead for ECF for Newcastle University and the North-East Teaching School Partnership.

Stephanie works with dozens of schools and school induction leads, and she shares her insights about successful implementation of the ECF programme.