IOE Insights

IOE Public Lectures:

On Tuesday 20th February the IOE hosted a public lecture by Professor Claire Cameron – ‘Responding to children in the 21st century: education, social pedagogy and belonging.’

As a society we want our children and young people to thrive and fulfill their potential. How then, can we best identify and respond to their needs in order to achieve this?

In this lecture, Professor Claire Cameron takes the case of children in state care and the longer term impacts on those young people of having been in care. She argues that to make substantial progress for all young people we need to expand our understanding of the scope of ‘belonging’ to give children in care a ‘rich’ life.

Speakers include:

- Claire Cameron, Professor of Social Pedagogy and Deputy Director of the Thomas Coram Research Institute (TCRU), UCL Institute of Education (IOE)

- Becky Francis, Director, UCL Institute of Education

- Mark Smith, Professor of Social Work, University of Dundee

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IOE Public Lectures:

On Thursday 15 February 2018 the IOE hosted a public lecture by Professor Martin Doel – ‘Defining further education: does it matter?’

There is no commonly accepted definition of further education. Professor Doel argues that while this diminishes the agency of institutions and organisations classed as FE providers, seeking an all-encompassing definition is not the answer. Instead, these providers need to set out their own distinct agenda as part of their local educational and social ecosystems.

Speakers include:

- Martin Doel, FETL Professor of Leadership in Further Education and Skills, UCL Institute of Education

- Becky Francis, Director, UCL Institute of Education

- Dame Ruth Silver, founding President of the Further Education Trust for Leadership

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IOE Public Debates:

Some schools have made a name for themselves in performing ‘against the odds’, their pupils chalking up impressive achievements in national tests and exams. But still there remains a link between schools’ circumstances and their performance, and some glaring geographical disparities.

Breaking that link has been a focal point for education policy and many high profile organisations in education over the past two decades. There are occasional signs of progress, but they have often been modest and faltering. How far can we get with school-based interventions, and are there any such interventions, existing or hypothetical, that we should pursue with greater vigour?

Speakers include:

- Sir David Carter, National Schools Commissioner, Department for Education

- Vic Goddard, Headteacher of Passmores Academy, Harlow

- Lucy Heller, Chief Executive, Ark

- Sam Freedman, Executive Director of Participant Impact and Delivery, Teach First

- Chair: Becky Francis, Director, UCL Institute of Education

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IOE Public Debates:

There’s been a big push to get classroom practice shaped by evidence of ‘what works’. This has been largely inspired by advances in healthcare, where the use of research trials and national guidelines to improve patient care and outcomes is more established.

But this approach has not gone uncontested in education (or health) and ‘evidence-informed practice’ is still to be firmly embedded across all schools. Why is this, and do we even have a shared understanding of what we’re aiming for when it comes to teachers’ engagement with and use of research?

Speakers include:

* Daniel Muijs, Head of Research, Ofsted

* Sir Kevan Collins, Chief Executive, Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)

* Ann Mroz, Editor, Tes

* Gert Biesta, Professor of Education and Director of Research, Brunel University London

* Chair: Becky Francis, Director, UCL Institute of Education

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Professor Martin Doel discusses the latest cabinet reshuffle and the issues surrounding the lack of definition for FE.

More: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news-events/events-pub/feb-2018/defining-further-education-does-it-matter

About the speaker:

Professor Martin Doel joined the UCL Institute of Education (IOE) in 2016 as the first Further Education Trust for Leadership Professor of Leadership in Further Education and Skills, prior to which he was Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC) from 2008.

IOE Public Debates:

How can we combat the continuous challenge surrounding teacher retention? Let’s explore how technology and best practice from other professions can be used to transform teaching. Join us in the debate.

Speakers include:

- Mary Bousted is the general secretary of ATL and AMiE

- Jonathan Simons is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Varkey Foundation

- Lucy Crehan is an International Education Consultant at Education Development Trust

- Martin Mills, incoming Director of the Centre for Research on Teachers and Teaching, UCL Institute of Education

- Chair: Professor Becky Francis is the Director of UCL Institute of Education

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IOE Public Debates:

It’s time to address the latest issues surrounding the stubborn academic-vocational divide.

Speakers include:

- Mary Curnock Cook is the former Chief Executive of UCAS

- Tony Little is the Chief Academic Officer at GEMS

- Sir Michael Wilshaw is the former Chief Inspector of Schools In England and Head of Ofsted

- Alison Fuller is Professor of Vocational Education and Work and Pro-Director for Research and Development at the UCL Institute of Education.

- Chair: Professor Becky Francis is the Director of UCL Institute of Education.

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IOE Public Lectures:

Prof Simon Marginson draws on and integrates a range of social science disciplines in his work, primarily political economy and political philosophy, historical sociology and social theory. His work focuses on globalisation and higher education, international and comparative higher education, and higher education and social inequality. He is currently researching the implications of the worldwide trend to high participation systems of higher education.

Respondent: Professor Stephen Ball's main areas of academic interest are in sociologically informed education policy analysis, especially concerning, social inequalities, the role of the state and the market in education. Most recently his work has addressed changing modes of governance in education, as well as offering a comprehensive application of the work of Michael Foucault to education [in Foucault as Education, 2017].

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IOE Public Lectures:

African governments and donor partners have long regarded investment in education as being central to economic growth in the region – but this investment is yet to achieve rapid economic improvement. Why is that? And what should be done to better realise that goal? In this lecture, Professor Oketch addresses the compelling narrative of human capital theory – the doctrine, underpinning public policy world-wide, that investment in education is instrumental for economic growth – and what we can learn from its application in sub-Saharan Africa. In this, he draws on evidence from across different aspects of education policy, including (i) the provision of universal basic education, (ii) the focus on Technical Vocational Education and Training, and (iii) the financing of higher education. He highlights the impediments to growth from wider factors in the region, not least rampant corruption and civil war, but also poor implementation of an otherwise necessary focus on building the skills-base. However commanding human capital theory is, he argues, it remains tacit if the actual implementation of policies isn’t effective.

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IOE Public Debates:

On 31st October we held the first in our ‘What if…’ events series, which challenges thought leaders to bring some fresh and radical thinking to key debates in education. We kicked off with the issue of education’s role in relation to social mobility, asking the panel ‘What if… we really wanted to further social mobility through education?’.

Speakers included:

Kate Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York; co-author, The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone.

Lord David Willetts, Executive Chair of the Resolution Foundation.

Diane Reay, Professor of Education at Cambridge University.

James Croft, Chair, Centre for Education Economics.

Becky Francis, Director, UCL Institute of Education.

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