Conflicts near and far have left lasting direct and indirect impacts on us all. With the food, fuel and the cost of living crisis, it feels like we’re in uncharted waters, with everyone trying to stay afloat.

Conflict has always been a source of mass migration and as people move, labels tend to blur so we thought it's important to understand the differences between refugees and asylum seekers as those labels will impact their experience of receiving support, care and legal representation.

In this preview of Season 17 of Research for the Real World we'll hear from:

• Dr Caroline Oliver on asylum seeker reception, integration and the role of local communities
• Dr Bernardita Muñoz Chereau on how we can support children from refugee backgrounds who have found themselves in underperforming schools
• Professor Mette Berg on listening to the experiences of those navigating the UK asylum seeker system
• Dr Rachel Rosen and two young researchers who came to the UK as children and sought asylum on unpacking the complexities of immigration and welfare through participatory and creative research.

More episodes of Research for the Real World: bit.ly/researchfortherealworld

The IOE Podcast: bit.ly/ioepodcast

James Stubbs is a mentor in a secondary school in Durham.

James talks to us about how he collaborated with his ECT to ensure the work of the programme has never become overly burdensome. He speaks passionately about his own role as mentor, about how he himself wants to keep on developing, so he can – as he puts it – stay in the game.

Full show notes, links and transcript: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2022/aug/games-always-changing-so-keep-playing-it-keeping-focus-professional-learning-s01e01

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ECF Staffroom speaks to Early Career Teachers, mentors and participants at all levels of the UCL Early Career Teacher Development programme.

There’s a current crisis of confidence in exams and other methods of testing, but why? As Professor Mary Richardson tells us, there’s no such thing as a perfect test, so how can public confidence be rebuilt?

With results days coming up next month for students who sat the first in-person A level and GCSE exams since before the pandemic, and proposals by the government to put GCSE exams online from 2025, we discuss what changes might be possible to make sure the nation’s assessments continually evolve to reflect high standards of learning.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2022/jul/putting-educational-assessment-test-rftrw-s16e04

In this podcast we hear about research that seeks to improve interest and engagement in learning about science for primary school students through personal experience and identity.

Dr Meghna Nag Chowdhuri is part of the team behind the Primary Science Capital Project - applied action research working in partnership with teachers to develop a science capital-informed pedagogical approach for use in primary schools.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2022/jul/what-does-social-justice-inspired-science-education-look-rftrw-s16e03

In this podcast we hear about how UCL aims to support students, their parents and teachers in understanding the climate crisis through the curriculum and where history education fits in learning about these issues.

Dr Alison Kitson’s background and expertise in history education places her in an important position - Emily MacLeod finds out how this has led to her interest in the environment and her current role as Programme Director of the UCL Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education. The centre has hit the ground running to explore how schools are dealing with climate change and sustainability.  

Inspired by the model of the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education, Dr Kitson demonstrates how they are working with teachers to find meaningful and constructive ways through professional development. Dr Kitson also explains why history, together with geography, is such an important subject to teach through an environmental lens.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2022/jul/how-looking-back-can-help-us-move-forward-fighting-climate-change-rftrw-s16e02

In this podcast we learn about the concept of ‘translational research’ and hear examples of projects where it has supported the successful move from research to practice.

Our presenter Emily MacLeod is joined by Dr Sinéad Harmey to discuss what translational research looks like in action.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2022/jun/bridging-gap-between-research-and-practice-rftrw-s16e01

This roundtable discusses major themes at the intersection of culture, education and society. It variously covers the changing status of language, art and other cultural subjects in education, the rise of digital making, the impact of technology on learning and society, and inequality in cultural representation.

Segments:
(0:00:00) - Introduction
(0:02:29) - Language learning and language use (Professor Andrea Révész)
(0:12:33) - Communication and health (Professor Jeff Bezemer)
(0:27:48) - Learning and technology (Professor Kaska Porayska-Pomsta)
(0:48:36) - Technology and music (Professor Evangelos Himonides)
(1:05:58)- Digital media (Professor John Potter)
(1:23:22) - Teacher education and classroom research (Professor Caroline Daly)
(1:47:53) - Outro

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/ioe120/ioe120-shaping-education-and-society-through-culture

Season 16 of Research for the Real World is focusing on how IOE research is addressing very important current issues related to teacher education, teachers and teaching itself.

In this preview you'll hear from:

• Dr Sinéad Harmey on the research to practice gap
• Dr Alison Kitson on responding to the climate crisis through education
• Dr Meghna Nag Chowdhuri on how science education benefits from a social justice approach
• Professor Mary Richardson on improving and evolving educational assessment.

Hear more episodes of Research for the Real World: https://bit.ly/researchfortherealworld

In this podcast we’ve got doctors in the house! Specifically, a medical general practitioner with a Doctorate in Education (EdD) and an IOE academic who’s also got an EdD - we’ll hear how they’ve been able to turn the research experience into real-world practice.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2022/may/heres-situation-doctoral-education-rftrw-s15e04

Many people find themselves in difficult situations where they have to flee and seek sanctuary in new and unfamiliar places. When settling in, one challenge refugees face is seeking higher education - we hear about research and words working to bring down barriers.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2022/may/how-poetry-plays-part-reconnecting-refugees-education-rftrw-s15e03