IOE Insights

In this episode, we talk about what it's like to return for a career in academia, the fluidity of career trajectories, and the importance of supporting neurodiversity in universities.

Drs Keri Wong and Alina Pelikh are joined by Brian Irvine for a discussion on his personal career path and work experience over the years, which include his roles as a childminder, a teacher of Religious Education, and balloon modelling.

We hear about Brian's decision to return to academia, his love of education, and why students need to see how passionate their teachers are about the subjects they teach.

Brian also talks about the importance of inclusive education - prioritising student wellbeing to facilitate learning, in addition to empowering neurodiverse people so they can flourish in the university setting.

Full show notes: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/jul/academia-after-all-academia-et-al-s02e03
Transcript: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/about-ioe/ioe-life/digital-and-social-media/podcasts/academia-et-al/transcript-academia-et-al-s02e03

In this episode, we talk about what it's like to work for the Office for National Statistics and the differences between life in academia and life outside of it.

Dr Alina Pelikh is joined by James Robards to talk about applying for jobs once you make a decision to change careers and the different factors that may influence that decision, including workload, logistics and responsibilities.

James talks about the differences between working in a research setting and in the civil service, and discusses how his interest in UK demography led him to working with and later for the ONS.

He also shares the importance of finding a mentor to guide you along your early career path.

Full show notes: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/jun/careers-civil-service-academia-et-al-s02e02

Transcript: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/transcript-academia-et-al-s02e02

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.

 Full show notes: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/jun/grass-greener-other-side-academia-academia-et-al-s02e01
Transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/about-ioe/ioe-life/digital-and-social-media/podcasts/academia-et-al/transcript-academia-et-al-s02e01

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?

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/may/why-do-people-aspire-become-teachers-rftrw-s19e03

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. 

Full show notes, transcript and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/may/making-mentoring-meaningful-not-just-ticking-box-ecf-staffroom-s02e07

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

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.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/may/whats-going-help-recruit-and-retain-teachers-rftrw-s19e02

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.

Full show notes, transcript and links: ⁠https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/apr/one-hundred-years-gratitude-4-old-teachers-walk-staffroom-ecf-staffroom-s02e06⁠

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

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.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/apr/why-there-worldwide-shortage-teachers-rftrw-s19e01

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.

More episodes of Research for the Real World: bit.ly/researchfortherealworld
The IOE Podcast: bit.ly/ioepodcast

Kate Hill, a first year ECT, is an Art teacher at Chosen Hill School near Cheltenham. She talks about having ‘to be like a swan’, projecting calm when nothing seems to be going right. She described the benefits of our Wellbeing Charter – especially how her mentor and facilitator have given peer support when she most needed it.

Full show notes, transcript and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/mar/everything-everywhere-all-once-life-year-1-ect-ecf-staffroom-s02e05

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