This roundtable is the second event in the TCRU@50 programme of activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Thomas Coram Research Unit.

The speakers offer perspectives on the benefits of engaged fatherhood for men, for children, for families and for gender equality.

Speakers
- Professor Esther Dermott (University of Bristol)
- Professor Paul Hodkinson (University of Surrey)
- Professor Margaret O’Brien (UCL, Thomas Coram Research Unit)
- Chair: Professor Alison Koslowski (UCL, Thomas Coram Research Unit)

More info: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/events/2023/jun/tcru50-roundtable-families-fatherhood-and-future

Transcript: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/about-ioe/ioe-life/digital-and-social-media/podcasts/transcript-tcru50-roundtable-families-fatherhood-and-future

In this season of Research for the Real World, we're highlighting IOE research that provides insights on finding ways for technology to play a meaningful role within education. We know that parents, teachers and students have concerns about the way in which society reacts with technology, but how can we improve our relationship with it? Maximise the use of high-quality content? Is there a way we can take advantage of personalized learning? There's also all that chat about AI… well, we’re going to provide some examples on how this technology improves lives.

We'll hear from:

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

The IOE Podcast: https://bit.ly/ioepodcast

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.

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