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Fear and amazement: Writing a queer history dissertation
By IOE Blog Editor, on 23 June 2023
Molly giving a tour. Image permission: Molly Edwards.
23 June 2023
By Molly Edwards, Education Studies BA
*From the 2024/2025 academic year onwards, the Education Studies BA has been renamed the Education, Society and Culture BA.
I realised over the past year that a lot of my academic outputs have involved me holding my breath, either out of amazement or fear. In the two blog posts I wrote for the UCL Student’s Union last September, I reflected on my Education, Practice and Society Research Fellowship, which involved researching the queer history of UCL under the supervision of Professor Georgina Brewis as a small part of her Generation UCL project. In my first post, I discussed my amazement of the UCL Special Collections archive. In my second post, I noted my fears of sharing my queer history tour of UCL with historians.
After my experience with the archives and my plea to others to research them further to create a more comprehensive queer history, I was drawn to write my dissertation on UCL’s queer history. This is not because I was fully confident in my abilities (hence my prior plea), but because I know the importance of this history from my personal experience. While writing the rationale for this, I realised that others felt the importance of this history in creating community and belonging. However, I was still worried that I would not be able to accurately represent the history, even after I had narrowed the time frame down to the 1970s. An added pressure was that I also decided to include the history of LSE, so my topic became, ‘Queer student political and social organization at University College London and London School of Economics from 1970 to 1979.’ I found the only way to resolve my worries about representation was to draw on the lessons of established queer scholars and continually question my motives for writing this history. I had to do this before I could begin to accept that I could be the right person to approach my topic. Read the rest of this entry »
Make the most out of UCL: My EPSURF fellowship experience
By IOE Blog Editor, on 15 May 2023
15 May 2023
By Jianuo Vivian Yang and Yuvin Lawela Kim, Education Studies BA*
*From the 2024/2025 academic year onwards, the Education Studies BA has been renamed the Education, Society and Culture BA.
The Education, Practice and Society Undergraduate Research Fellowship (EPSURF) is a research opportunity for undergraduate students in the Department of Education, Practice and Society at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society. It gives students the chance to collaborate with a member of academic staff on an ongoing research project that interests them. Read the rest of this entry »
Why go into teaching?
By IOE Blog Editor, on 5 May 2023
Image credit: Angelov via Adobe Stock.
5 May 2023
By Johnny Farrar-Bell, History PGCE, class of 2023.
There was an article in a well-known magazine last September that, just for a moment, made me panic. ‘Why I’ve quit teaching’ was the headline. Not great timing. I’d just resigned from my secure civil service job in the Department of Transport to start a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in secondary level History at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society. My thoughts raced. Have I made a serious blunder? What if I’m not cut out for this teaching gig after all? Will I end up an emotional wreck and go crawling back to Whitehall? Read the rest of this entry »
My visit to William Tyndale Primary School: A dyslexia-friendly school
By IOE Blog Editor, on 28 April 2023
(Image source: Elisabeth Herbert).
28 April 2023
By Eleni Kanta, Special and Inclusive Education (Specific Learning Difficulties) MA
The Special and Inclusive Education (Specific Learning Difficulties) MA at UCL is a must for all teachers who are keen to have a more in-depth knowledge of specific learning difficulties with a focus on Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a phenomenon teachers around the world come across often.
The sessions are delivered by specialists in the field of literacy difficulties, which makes the course rich in knowledge and gives an extra point-of-view. In addition to lectures, students attending this programme have the opportunity to attend a school visit at William Tyndale Primary School in Islington.
This was organised by UCL and our programme leader, Associate Professor Elisabeth Herbert. As this MA course encourages both international and home students to apply, the school visit was something particularly beneficial for international students, who had the chance to see how a “dyslexia-friendly school” works in the national context. Read the rest of this entry »
Experience, Exchange and Learn – a student’s reflection on a student-staff exchange with the University of Porto
By IOE Digital, on 22 December 2022
(Image source: Paula Santos via Wikimedia Commons).
22 December 2022
By Arthur Sun, Education Studies BA
*From the 2024/2025 academic year onwards, the Education Studies BA has been renamed the Education, Society and Culture BA.
In September 2022, I took part in the first student-staff exchange between IOE and the Education Science programme at the University of Porto (UPorto) in Portugal. The visit was supported by IOE’s International Office and my department Education, Practice and Society, with the aim of fostering international relationships and piloting a possible short exchange scheme. I was extremely lucky to be selected with four other peers as student representatives from the BA Education Studies. We spent three days in Portugal that included a seminar with Porto staff, leading a day of activities with Porto students and taking a walking tour of the university’s historic campus.
We students were given the autonomy to develop a seminar to be shared with the students in Portugal on the second day of our trip.
As students, we didn’t need to teach, but wanted to share things with the Portuguese students. We knew the engagement of the students would be essential, so we created many engaging games: one guessing song titles and a truth or lie activity taking inspiration from the different colonial histories. We also shared some concrete knowledge with the students such as introducing the colonial histories of the UK and Portugal to demonstrate the different impacts of modern university education.
I personally learnt a lot and have been very inspired by this trip. The following are two key ideas that I want to share:
‘African Apocalypse’: Unveiling the trail of colonial violence and its enduring legacy
By IOE Digital, on 22 December 2022
Film screening and debate at University College London, 15 December 2022
22 December 2022
By Sabina Barone, Social Science MPhil/PhD
‘This film is about ghosts. Ghosts of the past that even while they slumbered have continued to influence the present’ wrote Rob Lemkin, the director of the docu-drama ‘African Apocalypse’ screened at UCL on December 15th 2022. The ghosts are those of the victims of the 1899 French mission in what is now Niger, the uncountable men, women, and children brutally assassinated, whose obliteration broke the continuity with the ancestors and whose pain still troubles their descendants. But those ghosts are also the spectres of the perpetrators’ evil conscience, the ruthless inhumanity at the core of the so-called civilising mission of colonialism.
Learning about “Community Music”
By IOE Digital, on 20 December 2022
Image by Jason Ilagan for IOE
20 December 2022
By Amy Ellis, Music Education MA
The Music Education MA offers a varied view of music education, splitting two of its modules ‘The Disciplines of Music Education’, into three strands, one of which is Sociology. Over the course of term one we have covered many varying topics, including multiculturalism and gender, and a lecture about ‘Community Music’ led by guest lecturer Tim Palmer.
Tim Palmer is Head of Education at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, with 25 years’ experience as an orchestral musician, a community musician, and in outreach work. His passion for community music is inspiring, and Tim describes music education as a tool for ‘communal change.’
Lessons from a Laidlaw Scholar
By IOE Digital, on 26 October 2022
(Image source: BullRun via Adobe Stock).
Do you want to research topics that you are passionate about? Do you want to be a better leader?
Perhaps the Laidlaw Undergraduate Research and Leadership Scholarship is for you!
26 October 2022
By Princess Emeanuwa, Education Studies BA, Laidlaw Scholar 2022-23
*From the 2024/2025 academic year onwards, the Education Studies BA has been renamed the Education, Society and Culture BA.
It is pretty unusual to have the opportunity to work with researchers and experts in their field as a first-year undergraduate; therefore, the Laidlaw Scholarship programme is exceptional. What I have enjoyed so far is not only undertaking a research project (which I will talk about later) but also improving my leadership skills and personal development. Over the course of the scholarship, research projects are completed in the first summer over 6 weeks, and in the second, a Leadership-in-Action experience takes place in challenging environments.
Before I tell you about my experience as a first-year Laidlaw scholar, I want you to know that it’s okay if you are unsure whether you’re a fit for the programme because initially, I wasn’t even planning to apply. I only considered it because Gemma Gronland, who was my incredible tutor and Module lead for Education in an Age of Globalisation, encouraged me to check it out. I looked at the research project titles, and when I saw the ASPIRES project and their passion for social justice, I was convinced to apply. And here is my first lesson, have an open mind. An open mind, for me, is the precursor to taking risks that could pay off in the end. After all, I had I not been open to Gemma’s suggestion; I would never have got the opportunity to work with the awesome ASPIRES team.
Now about my experience on the programme:
Bouncing Back: Building Community and Fostering Belonging
By IOE Digital, on 10 August 2022
(Image source: Faceless via Adobe Stock).
10 August 2022
By Alex Wong, Social Sciences BSc
Starting my university journey in the middle of a global pandemic was not what I had in mind as I touched down (on a mostly empty flight) at Heathrow. I had never felt more out of sync in my life, lugging around my suitcases like a lifeline. The sharp contrast between reality and my ideal university life only served to magnify what I felt was missing from this new chapter – meeting new people, exploring a foreign place, while immersing myself in an academically rigorous program. Instead, the year passed by in a blur of lockdowns, zoom classes and monotony. One thing I did learn is that it is difficult to feel upbeat when the sun sets at 4pm as you’re watching from your window waiting for a takeout.
My Work Experience Placement at Green Schools Project
By IOE Digital, on 5 August 2022
(Image source: wavebreak3 via Adobe Stock).
5 August 2022
By Sakura Goto, Education Studies BA
*From the 2024/2025 academic year onwards, the Education Studies BA has been renamed the Education, Society and Culture BA.
Have you ever wondered if undergraduates on a three year course can get enough work experience before graduation? The BA Education Studies has got this covered with a new module, the Education Studies Placement Module.
