Plus: rankings, respect, and a data-driven Brexit lowdown. View this email in your browser. Did someone forward you this? You can sign up here. RESEARCH NEWS SPRING 2020 Seven years in a row The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) maintains its position as the world number one for Education for the seventh year running in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject.
Speaking on the result, Interim Director Professor Sue Rogers said:
IOE RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Equal opportunities to succeed The Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) is a brand new research centre at the IOE. It is working to ensure everyone has equal opportunities to succeed, throughout early years, school, tertiary education, and adulthood. Understanding the social and cultural bases of Brexit Was the 2016 EU Referendum result symptomatic of a resurgence in English nationalism? Was it actually a revolt of the 'economically left-behinds'? Professor Tak Wing Chan assesses the empirical evidence behind two prominent Brexit narratives. Watch the Professorial Public Lecture, or stream and download the audio. Links between wealth and health evident from age 9 A new study has linked low socio-economic status with immune system over-activation, which leads to wear and tear on the brain and body known as inflammation. The research examined data collected from children during their first 9 years of life.
IOE NEWS Nature is nurturing Spending more time in nature can improve children's confidence, sense of wellbeing, and interpersonal relationships. But things like urban living and time-poor parents can throw up barriers for many children to connect with the outdoors (not to mention modern safety sensibilities, tarmacked playgrounds, and anything with a screen). The authors of this report argue that taking the curriculum outdoors may be the most sure way for all children to reap nature's benefits. A bit like school milk. No satisfaction with SATs 'Pressure, anxiety, and collateral damage' are the words summing up headteachers' verdicts on the much-criticised Key Stage 2 assessments. Over 80% of headteachers agreed that SATs have a negative effect on pupils’ wellbeing. The report also reveals various strategies schools have employed in response to the tests, from focusing the curriculum to concentrating teacher talent into Year 6. IOE student nominated for international education award Akuja Mading de Garang MBE, who is studying the IOE's Education and International Development MA, leads a programme that aims to break down barriers to education in South Sudan. The programme has a particular emphasis on equitable and accessible education for girls, and has earned Akuja a nomination for the 2019 WISE Prize for Education.
IOE EVENTS What if... we wanted more effective school improvement? An IOE Debate featuring Leora Cruddas, Tim Brighthouse, Lucy Heller, Jennese Alozie, and chaired by Tes' Ed Dorrell. Teachers and teaching: the politics of respect Martin Mills delivers his Professorial Public Lecture on respect and the 'ideal teacher'. Celebrating 50 years of the 1970 British Cohort Study This conference will showcase the latest cutting-edge research using cohort data from the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS). Not sure if you know, but...
IOE OPINION More places to podcast You can find IOE Insights podcasts - featuring lectures, debates and insights from the IOE community - on more platforms than ever before. Stream or download the latest from our academics, alumni, students and thinkers. Closing class gaps in political awareness: it's all about Citizenship Education 16-year old Harry wants "to grow up in a country where the people are more powerful than the government.” And Hans Svennevig, subject leader of the IOE's Citizenship PGCE, wants all young people to have this strength of political engagement. He argues that the key lies in more high quality specialist training for Citizenship teachers. Shaping a 'socially just' school system Do you know your 'social justice' from your 'social mobility'? Often referred to in vague terms, a recent IOE debate grappled with how future education policy might embark on a more conscious pursuit of social justice. Read the IOE Blog digest and find links to watch or listen to the debate again here.
*What's this? This issue's banner features the UCL Knowledge Lab Polytope, a model of 4-dimensional geometric space represented as a 3-dimensional shape. Consisting of 21,360 pieces, the polytope was built by a group of mathematicians at the Bridges London Mathematics and Art Conference. |