What does supporting teacher wellbeing look like? And how can school leaders create a culture of wellbeing? Samantha O'Sullivan's research finds that teacher wellbeing is found in authentic recognition of their work, appropriate CPD, time to do the job well, good colleague relationships, and autonomy to make decisions for themselves. In other words, all things that leaders can influence for the better. "Good leadership is what's supporting wellbeing... The core, the centre of it, is a culture of...
Jul 04, 2025•40 min
Professor Gill Wyness shares her expertise on the intricacies of university funding, the student finance system, and the ongoing efforts to ensure equitable access and attainment. Discover why the current funding model is under strain, how it impacts students from all backgrounds, and what urgent reforms are needed to secure the future of this vital sector. We also hear about the role higher education plays in fostering economic growth and social mobility. Full show notes and links: http://uclio...
Jun 30, 2025•29 min
Professor Eileen Kennedy shares her experiences regarding the ethical dilemmas encountered in the co-design context, where research participants are actively involved. What unforeseen ethical challenges might surface as the research progresses? Could there be situations where obtaining participant consent is not enough? How should one proceed in such cases? In this podcast episode, Eileen and Hakan aim to explore these questions together. Full show notes: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2025/jun/...
Jun 20, 2025•31 min
We explore the growing financial pressures on UK universities and what they mean for the future of higher education. From frozen tuition fees to the reliance on international students, the system is reaching a tipping point. But alongside the challenges, we highlight the research-driven solutions already emerging. Through expert insights and real-world stories, we uncover how universities are adapting and what sustainability could truly look like. Guests: Professor Gill Wyness Hend Aly and Heath...
Jun 15, 2025•3 min
Dr Michelle Cannon joins Dr Hakan Ergül to explore the ethical dilemmas that arise when using digital technologies for creative work in the classroom. How do we strike a balance between guiding students in their storytelling while preserving their agency? What strategies can researchers employ to navigate the complexities of confidentiality, privacy, and consent in digital production? In this episode, they discuss how digital tools can empower students, fostering creativity and amplifying their ...
Jun 13, 2025•31 min
Evelyn Forde shares her lived experience, from not feeling she mattered in school to becoming headteacher of the year. Evelyn tells Mark and Elaine about finding her way back into education, after feeling like she didn't belong and was disillusioned with school. She talks about the importance of making both children and adults feel like they matter – which is shaped by one's actions, behaviour and attitudes. Cultivating this sense of belonging is integral to Evelyn's practice as an educator and ...
Jun 06, 2025•51 min
Dr Sara Young reflects on her experiences collaborating with children in the context of migration. How feasible is it to uphold ethical principles amid the uncertainties of the field? Taking the participants' vulnerability into account, what ethical considerations should be made both before and during fieldwork to ensure that children are actively included as co-researchers? Sara shares her valuable suggestions and insights on ethics, in conversation with Dr Hakan Ergül. Full show notes: https:/...
May 30, 2025•26 min
Sarah and Phoebe from Freshwater Theatre show how drama builds creativity and empathy... and can improve wellbeing for teachers too. Sarah and Phoebe explore how drama can be a vehicle for teachers to enhance lessons and deepen learning – but also a way to inject fun into the classroom, for both students and the teachers themselves. They talk about how drama can enable teachers to have more agency over what they teach and how they teach it, especially when it comes to adapting their curriculum t...
May 23, 2025•41 min
What ethical questions does working with young children raise? A conversation with Dr Karen Wilkes. How should researchers approach collaborating with children in creative ways to ensure the research is beneficial for all involved? In this conversation, Karen discusses her thoughts and experiences on research ethics, offering advice to researchers working with children on ethics preparation prior to fieldwork. Karen shares insights from her recent research on the societal repercussions of rapid ...
May 16, 2025•24 min
Julie Dockrell talks to us about how oral language is the foundation for all other learning and what the implications of this are for teachers. Julie talks about how her research aims to help children develop a flexible use of language across different contexts, for instance through a programme that supports children's conversational skills. She explores the importance of developing children's inference skills and oral comprehension by encouraging children to talk about and understand the texts ...
Feb 14, 2025•40 min
There is no form of culture or society without music – it's something that's part of us all. We take a look at the power of music, and how it intersects with technology, health and wellbeing. Show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2025/mar/we-are-all-musical-rftrw-s24e03
Feb 10, 2025•35 min
In this episode, Guy Claxton takes us beyond simplified conceptions of the learning sciences and explains why teachers are sometimes vulnerable to fads and trends. "We undersell ourselves as educators, educating young people for the future and for life, if we lazily assume that all we mean by learning is the kind of thing that leads to good grades in schools." Guy shares his hopes as an educator – to help young people develop beyond just the periodic table, the Tudors and examination technique, ...
Jan 31, 2025•58 min
Those in creative sectors have made it loud and clear that there’s been a lack of funding and a disregard for the arts in the school curriculum. We hear about why media, arts and play is so important from an educational perspective. Full show notes: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2025/jan/state-arts-and-media-education-and-whats-play-here-rftrw-s24e02
Jan 27, 2025•37 min
The IOE Podcast is delighted to share with you an episode from the UK Data Service's ‘Experts’ Expert Podcast’ series . Professor Jennifer Symonds, Director of CLOSER, Robin Flaig, Co-Director of the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration and Chief Operations Officer for Generation Scotland, and Dr Nigel de Noronha, Research Associate at the University of Manchester, discuss their personal data journeys and what they have found so rewarding about working with data. This episode was first released...
Jan 20, 2025•13 min
We look at the potential power of learning and understanding other languages to take on the challenge of bridging cultural differences in an increasingly divided world. Show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2025/jan/how-do-you-improve-language-learning-and-intercultural-understanding-rftrw-s24e01
Jan 13, 2025•33 min
It won’t come as a surprise to realise that the arts are struggling right now. This is certainly not just a UK-centric issue. When you look at how the cost of living crisis has impacted society, usually policies around the arts are slashed or go unnoticed. In this season of Research for the Real World, we’re exploring the contribution of IOE research on Language, Culture and Arts Education to turbo-charge this much-needed reset. Joining us will be experts from the IOE to unpack the key issues at...
Dec 20, 2024•5 min
In this episode, Sally Adams tells us about her new role leading adult learning – and the ways teaching can be a great stepping stone for a host of different careers. Sally talks about the complexities of leading professional learning and the barriers teachers sometimes face. She recommends that teachers schedule a little bit of time every now and then to take a step back from day-to-day tasks and really find time to think, reflect and focus on professional development. "I think teachers really ...
Dec 13, 2024•34 min
Mark and Elaine hear from researcher Emily Macleod, who says that if we want more people to try out teaching, we have to stop thinking of it as a vocation. "These trajectories into teaching, they're not linear. They're multi-directional, they're complex... No one's trajectory into anything is going to be straightforward." Not a vocation? For Emily Macleod teaching is an expert profession – nobody is 'born' to do it. One in three young people consider teaching at some point. What happens to the ‘...
Nov 29, 2024•47 min
As human beings, how do we learn? In this episode, Dr Rebecca Gordon explores how educational neuroscience can be used in the classroom. Rebecca reminds us how complex and fascinating the human brain is and cautions us about the dangers of oversimplifying research. She urges us to question ‘how we know what we know’ and evaluate the research for ourselves. Full show notes and transcript: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2024/nov/beware-anyone-who-claims-know-it-all-ecf-staffroom-s04e04...
Nov 07, 2024•57 min
Emily Taylor, ECT in Airdale Academy in Castleford, talks about how her strong bond with her mentor has supported her personally and professionally, and how she in turn builds strong relationships with her pupils. Emily talks about her relationship with her ECF mentor Rachel. She details the professional, practical, and emotional support she received. Emily shares how her mentor helped her to make a good start in her school, imparted pedagogical content knowledge, and supported her wellbeing as ...
Oct 11, 2024•43 min
In this episode, Cesc Masdeu discusses how mentoring and professional development can transform school cultures and contribute to institutional change. Barcelona teacher Cesc, an associate at UCL, explains how schools in Catalonia are learning from the mentoring experiences of the ECF programme. He discusses his hopes for increased investment in education – particularly in terms of professional development programmes and support for novice and experienced teachers. Cesc hopes their programme can...
Sep 27, 2024•52 min
Step out of your bubble: Raf Alleyne, Assistant Principal at London Screen Academy, tells us about the importance of reflecting on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. In this podcast, Raf talks about why playing a role in students’ lives is exciting – and most importantly, why EDI is not a ‘nice to have’ but an ‘essential to have’. He discusses why it's important to create spaces to talk, listen, and break down misunderstandings. He also kindly shares with us The London Screen Academy’s’ Equity D...
Sep 13, 2024•46 min
In this podcast, Jason Ilagan hears from Dr Benjamin Abrams about a theory on how and why movements such as the 1789 French Revolution, the Arab Spring as well as Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter take place, his policy work looking at ‘coping strategies’ against populism and preventing violence in mass protest, and what might happen during and after the elections in the United States this November. Production note: This episode was recorded on Monday 8 July 2024, before the assassinatio...
Jul 29, 2024•29 min
In this episode, hosts Dr Keri Wong and Dr Alina Pelikh dive into the particular and sometimes daunting process of job interviews within academia. Let's face it, while we all aim to secure job interviews, the process itself can be a nerve-wracking experience. Keri and Alina share their personal experiences and insights, having been on both sides of the interview table. What are the key differences between interviewing for academic positions and industry roles? In a world where remote interviews ...
Jul 23, 2024•33 min
What changes would benefit the UK early years education system? And what’s it like dealing with government and parliament to make funding and policy changes possible? Dr Claire Crawford’s research focuses on childcare and education and is particularly interested in understanding inequalities and how policy can help reduce these gaps. She also has a strong track record of high-impact research, including giving evidence to select committees on education, social mobility, and diversity and inclusio...
Jul 15, 2024•27 min
Is being a PhD researcher just a continuation of being a university student? No! This episode's guest, Dr. Jenny Chanfreau, shares advice on how to treat your PhD like a full-time job. Drawing from her experience of embarking on a PhD after working at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), the UK's largest independent social research institute, Dr Chanfreau offers valuable insights. Join hosts Alina and Keri as they and Jenny compare their journeys into PhD life, think about how to ma...
Jul 10, 2024•56 min
The winners of elections in the UK and abroad need to ensure the right conditions are in place to allow cutting-edge ideas developed by experts in our universities to meet today’s policy challenges, and vice versa. Dr Laura Outhwaite talks to our guests, Professors Marc Stears and Huw Morris about their approaches to undertaking research that informs policy, their experiences working across the academic/political divide, and what they’d do if they had a direct line to the next UK government. Ful...
Jul 01, 2024•30 min
Academia et al is back with three new episodes exploring life as an early career academic! Today we're thinking about how to use media engagement as a vehicle for making an impact. Dr Alina Pelikh speaks to in-house media relations expert Chris Lane, who works in UCL's central press office team. We discuss the ins and outs of communicating research and expertise to the wider world via the media. Where do the media headlines about research come from? As an early career researcher, how do I write ...
Jun 24, 2024•38 min
Did you know that in 2024, more voters than ever in history will take part in elections across the world? In this season of Research for the Real World, it’s all about how research evidence informs policy. How could we not cover it when we know that policies implemented by the winning parties will prove consequential for years to come, shaping the future of democracy around the world? Guests: Professor Marc Stears and Professor Huw Morris on how policymakers can meet the challenges of modern Bri...
Jun 17, 2024•5 min
In this podcast we hear about research that seeks to understand the causes of eating disorders and develop innovative treatments and support. Dr Amy Harrison talks in detail about a project funded by the Medical Research Council looking into how decision-making skills in childhood is associated with eating disorder symptoms in adolescence. Full show notes and link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2024/jun/whats-link-between-decision-making-and-eating-disorders-rftrw-s22e03...
Jun 10, 2024•50 min
