Credit: Pahis via Adobe Stock.

16 September 2025

By Jaren Yeung, Citizenship PGCE

Reflections from a Citizenship student teacher

‘We must do something about the environment because we all live in this world!’ has been echoing along school halls ad nauseam since even my time as a student. At this point, sustainability is something we all know about, but few actually care. The UK Department for Education aims to become a leader in sustainability and climate education, and it has made a commitment for both teachers and students across multiple disciplines in the primary, secondary and tertiary level to bolster educational opportunities for sustainability. Yes, we have positioned our educational institutions as one of the chief interlocutors in climate justice but only symbolically. Over 80 thousand tonnes of food waste are produced by the education sector annually. Roughly 20% of a school’s energy is wasted, with the percentage rising to 30% on holidays and weekends. Paper, water and plastics are also wasted, producing more annual waste than a household does throughout its entire lifetime. How can we expect our students to care about sustainability if the institution teaching them to be sustainable is not?

Yet in the classroom, we are told the four Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle and repair. And while doing your part helps, a realisation creeps in: that your contribution to the cause, if not practiced by most, will not stop the threat of climate change and global warming, so why bother? If individual action does so little, it is much easier to be defeatist about the whole planet dying fiasco. In reality much of the onus is really on the government, corporations, and institutional leaders on top of our market hierarchy to follow those four Rs. They have the highest ability to change things around but ironically profit the most from climate change while being the least affected by its consequences. A double injustice we call that. And so, as citizens, as teachers and as students, we actually have a lot that we can do.

Citizenship is the subject of people and our relationship with each other in society. Officially becoming a part of the national curriculum in 2002, Citizenship began with the UK government recognising that its brand of democracy is fragile, dependent on a well-educated population with strong values for the betterment of their community (difficult thing to come by nowadays). Hence, the subject was the government’s solution to safeguarding a healthy community underpinned by shared values. At its core, it is the subject of social cohesion and development. Admittedly I hadn’t heard much about Citizenship before applying for the PGCE. My education career has been international from the start, so I was cautious with how the UK’s form of citizenship education reconciles itself within the context of its country—colonial past, liberalism, difficulties with multiculturalism and all. Turns out there is room for a global citizenship, especially evident for global issues such as climate change, and the academic and public discourses for citizenship education reflect that. Citizenship is key to equipping young people with the proactive attitude and the legal, political and media literacy to tackle the climate crisis through informed action.

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Credit: Syda Productions via Adobe Stock.

24 July 2025

By Anna Duncan, Education Studies BA*

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

When I was invited to write about being queer at university, I initially felt that it would be difficult to think of any notable experiences specific to being queer as a student at the UCL Institute of Education (IOE, my faculty at UCL). However, through reflection and discussion with other LGBTQ+ students, I have brought together a description of some individual and shared experiences and how they feel. I will mention a lack of coverage, alongside the welcoming attitude of the queer community, particularly the students, as well as queer activities I know of, or have participated in.

My hesitation in being able to think of anything likely comes from what I would consider to be underrepresentation or lack of discussion around queer topics. It wasn’t until discovering the IOE LGBTQ+ Advisory Group (ILAG) that I even began thinking about how the IOE might impact our experience as queer students. Queer topics such as sexuality and gender (relating to being transgender or non-binary) were usually not covered in detail, with lecturers preferring to focus on race, class and gender (relating to gaps between females and males). The students I spoke with agreed on this. Zainah, an undergraduate student at the IOE, added that the little representation that was discussed was “quite supportive of non-heteronormative ideas […] but it’s not covered enough”.

Within my own experience, the teaching staff have rarely prompted discussions about queer topics but have always been encouraging when these topics are brought up by students. Therefore, I don’t feel uncomfortable talking about being queer or discussing LGBTQ+ topics around the staff that I have been taught by. I would however appreciate if they were to start such conversations themselves.

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17 June 2025

By Gayathri Kumar Rajeev Mullath, Education, Gender and International Development MA

On 5 March 2025, Master’s students on the module Feminist Approaches to Knowledge and Pedagogy and Gender, Sexuality and Education were joined by undergraduate students on the module Gender, Sexualities and Feminisms in Everyday Lives for a visit to The Feminist Library in Peckham, South London.

Dr Hanna Retallack and Dr Sara Bragg were joined by a group of students to visit the collection of feminist materials and literature, and for a ‘zine making’ workshop.

I recently came across the Spoon Theory, which is often used to explain the experience of living with chronic illnesses or conditions. The theory uses “spoons” as a metaphor for units of energy. It’s a helpful way to visualise and communicate the limited capacity disabled or chronically ill people have for handling daily tasks, and it highlights the importance of prioritising and conserving energy.

It was on a one-spoon day that The Feminist Library trip had been scheduled. Contrary to my expectations, I had woken up with no energy or tolerance for inconveniences. I decided to not go alone but to meet the team at IOE, grab a sandwich, and travel with them so that I wouldn’t have to worry about navigating alone and could rely on the safety of being in a group.

The Spoon Theory. Credit: Burning Nights CRPS.

I’ve come to realise that there’s something about community that a city like London often lacks. The kind of community where someone notices when you’re crouching or frowning and pops around to check on you, where someone understands when you just need a bit of rest, and where someone gives you a gentle nudge to do the right thing on a tough day. This “someone” isn’t always the same person, it could be anyone within a network of care. But this is something that spaces built on independence and individuality as liberation often miss out on. The West is rooted in ideals of individualism and independence, framing them as freedom, which stands in stark contrast to the values of interconnectedness found in many communities across the globe. Capitalism, in particular, thrives on this hyper-independence, using it to fuel consumerism, sell products, and often prey on people’s insecurities. (more…)

Students and community leaders across London primary schools and UCL campaigning for housing action. Credits: Rui Zhang.

6 August 2024

By Sophie Ho, Education Studies BA*

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

Hermit crabs, 39 UCL students, a professor, eight London schools, and a national community organising group—what connects them all? A shared commitment to community action for change. As one of the fortunate students on the Educating and Organising for Social Justice module, I had the incredible opportunity to embark on a transformative journey that fundamentally reshaped my understanding of education, social justice, and the power of collective action.

What makes the Educating and Organising for Social Justice module so unique is how seamlessly it integrates different components across two terms. Over the first ten weeks, we engaged in fascinating lectures and interactive seminars, delving into the theories and history of educating for change and community organising. This foundation laid the groundwork for the second part of the module–the community organising placement in collaboration with Citizens UK. In teams of five, we brainstormed, designed, and ran a series of workshops in specific schools, culminating in a final action. This hands-on experience allowed me to witness firsthand how theory can bridge into practice, highlighting the importance of educating oneself before educating others.

This year, the module focused on the pressing issue of the housing crisis, aligning with the London mayoral election. This is a part of Citizens UK’s national Housing and Homelessness campaign, which calls on the UK Government to make change on three key demands:

1. End child homelessness.
2. Unlock the potential for more affordable housing across the UK.
3. Publish a national home upgrade strategy to make existing homes safe, healthy and energy-sufficient. [1]

Too many Londoners live in mouldy, damp, and overcrowded homes despite rising rent prices. With at least 168,000 children in the UK living in temporary accommodation, and 1.3 million households in England on waitlists for social housing [2], it is clear that housing instability is a significant issue currently facing millions of people up and down the country. The magnitude of the housing crisis became clear as we learned about the dire conditions faced by many students we worked with, including mold, dampness, overcrowding, and the alarming number of children in temporary accommodation.

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