Image permission: Charlotte Milner.

19 August 2025

By Charlotte Milner, Social Justice and Education MA and Geography PGCE alumna

My journey in the field of education all started at the UCL Institute of Education (IOE) six years ago, where I studied for my PGCE in Secondary Geography. Engaging in intellectual discussions around curriculum and pedagogy, the philosophies of education, and the social constructions of knowledge, and then putting these ideas into practice in the classroom was a unique and exciting experience – I knew I wanted to take it further. I returned to complete my MA in Social Justice and Education part-time while teaching. Throughout this, I developed my specialism in decolonising geography, which I have engaged with in numerous ways.

But what does ‘decolonising’ geography mean? Recognising that there are different definitions and approaches to decolonial work, decolonising geographical knowledge and pedagogy varies from increasing and improving representation within case studies in diverse classroom contexts, to introducing children to varying worldviews when learning about geographical contexts, and much more. Through studying at IOE from my beginnings as a trainee teacher to MA graduate, my work in this area has continued to evolve and develop, and I am now looking at how geography can support children to imagine alternative futures through learning about coloniality and systemic racism and, crucially, resistance to these structures. I am embarking on a new adventure to study for a PhD in Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, to explore this further.

Studying at IOE was crucial to developing my praxis and, ultimately, securing my place at UBC. Through completing the Wider Education Studies assignment for my PGCE, I had the academic freedom to explore any issue pertaining to ‘inclusion’ in geography. This is where I chose to explore the whiteness of geography and its impacts on global majority learners in London. I conducted interviews with global majority teachers to gain insight into their experiences of geography, and developed a set of classroom interventions for teachers to tackle the whiteness of geography. Developing my specialism, and embedding this in my practice as a teacher from the start, has opened doors to many opportunities. (more…)

Permission from Wendy Wen.

15 July 2025

by Yi (Wendy) Wen, Higher Education Studies MA and Education Studies BA* alumna

*From the 2024/2025 academic year onwards, this degree has been renamed the Education, Society and Culture BA

From the beginning: Feminism and gender equality

As a Chinese international student, I began my academic journey, majoring in BA Education Studies at University College London (UCL). Before entering the UK environment, I never thought about feminism or gender – which seemed nearly apart from my life. I thought, ‘Feminism is a terrible thing, and everyone considers diversity and inclusion. Can paying too much attention to women and labelling us as a marginalised group really make society equal?’

In China, knowledge about feminism and gender is primarily acquired through social media and the internet, reflecting the digital age and the fourth wave of digital feminism. On Chinese social media, feminists from varying ideologies are usually stigmatised and called ‘fists’ or ‘fist-ism’. In Mandarin, the pronunciation of feminism and fist is the same –‘quán’. Ironically, we all knew it first served as an essential symbol in communist ideologies, and China is still under this type of ideology.

When I was young, I started to explore knowledge of gender and feminism, which can be considered sensitive content that ruins students in the Chinese academic environment. That is the reason why I, and other Chinese people, learn about feminism online. During my undergraduate study, I collaborated with three other Chinese feminists to write a blog designed for all Chinese students to understand the current situation toward female students.

After creating this blog, we four established a feminist WeChat group community called Chestnut. A chestnut is encased in a spiky, thorny burr. This outer shell symbolises the resilience and protective strength that is often necessary when navigating challenging conversations around gender and feminism, especially in contexts where these topics are deemed ‘sensitive.’ It represents our community as a safe and brave space, offering protection and solidarity, allowing us to explore and express ourselves without fear.

(more…)

Credit: Drazen via Adobe Stock.

18 April 2024

By Olivia Amponsa-Gyasi and Kelly Cummins, Child Development MSc

Since our original conversation in 2022, we recognise that departments at IOE have invited non-white guest speakers to talk or promote their work and have done more to champion inclusion within the university.

It started with an assignment…

Kelly:
Being from a minority background within academic spaces is something you quickly become hyper-aware of, knowing that the way you navigate the space will be different and often more challenging. Exploring these experiences has always been something I was interested in so when I had the opportunity to choose my topic for a Master’s assignment, I knew exactly what to do.

I interviewed Olivia about her experiences as a Black Master’s student at UCL. The importance of this topic became even more apparent after researching systemic racism within higher education institutions and particularly data surrounding Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students’ progression, or lack thereof, within higher education. The statistics were both (more…)

Credit: Hurca!, generated with AI / Adobe.

2 January 2024

By Batool Wajiha Zaidi, Arts and Sciences BASc.

Climate change is one of the most significant global challenges that humanity has ever had to face. Such a complex challenge requires a collective effort across all sectors of society to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and protect the future of our planet. In particular, universities are uniquely situated to respond to the climate crisis through education and academic research. 

Students are profoundly affected by university policies and have raised concerns as to the current education system’s ability to prepare them for the uncertainty of the future. Yet, their voice and impact is almost non-existent in climate change and sustainability education policy. Students have an insider perspective and are motivated to challenge the existing practices of an institution, as such; with proper engagement, they can make meaningful recommendations for sustainable futures in higher education. 

In order to address the lack of engagement of students in policymaking for sustainability in higher education, we conducted a research project co-led by two undergraduate students to better understand students’ perceptions of climate change and sustainability education in universities and produce a collaborative policy brief.
(more…)