Deanery Digests

Oxford University · ox.ac.uk

The University of Oxford Education Deanery’s mission is to empower educators worldwide to understand, use, and co-produce high-quality research evidence in education. In this podcast series, we explore the latest research from the Department of Education at the University of Oxford and discuss the real-world implications for teachers, parents and policy makers. Each podcast is accompanied by a Deanery Digest, a short, plain language summary of the research, which can be downloaded from our website.

17 episodes

2mo ago latest

monthly cadence

English language

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Episodes 18

The NESTL project: supporting neurodivergent-inclusive teaching and learning
2d ago · 27:18
Xin Xu, Laura Seymour and Cressida Ryan discuss the NESTL project and its co-created toolkit for more neurodivergent-inclusive teaching and learning. How can higher education create more neurodivergent-inclusive teaching and learning? In this episode, Laura Molway talks with Dr Xin Xu, Dr Laura Seymour and Dr Cressida Ryan about the NESTL (Neurodivergent Education for Students, Teaching & Learning) project. They discuss how neurodivergent students and staff helped co-create a practical toolkit through workshops, focus groups, interviews and feedback. The conversation introduces four areas for
Creating an inclusive languages policy for Coventry city
2mo ago · 35:58
Languages specialist Eowyn Crisfield talks about her involvement in a project with Coventry City Ethnic Minority Achievement Service to create a languages policy for the city’s schools School language policy - do you have one? In this episode Hamish Chalmers talks with language specialist Dr Eowyn Crisfield about why language policies are central to inclusion, and how the Coventry Language Policy for schools is being developed. Grounded in both research and reality, the collaborative process Coventry Ethnic Minority Achievement Services (EMAS) has engaged in will provide a strong policy base f
Hope for Oxford: British Pakistani and Bangladeshi aspirations as intergenerational, relational and collective
4mo ago · 24:26
Exploring the hopes and aspirations of British Pakistani and Bangladeshi families toward elite higher education. In this special edition of the Oxford Education Deanery podcast, Dr Stephanie Nowack is joined by Mitu Khan and Sadaf Yasir to explore how hope towards higher education is collective, intergenerational, and relational. The podcast draws on research from the Oxford Hope Project, led by Dr Aliya Khalid (PI), Dr Stephanie Nowack, Dr Md Sahariar Rahman, Nadia Talukder. It explores how British Pakistani and Bangladeshi students and their families hope and aspire towards higher education
The role of songs in languages learning
5mo ago · 21:57
Teachers love using songs with foreign language learners. But do songs help with learning a new language? We explore the evidence. Singing songs with young learners is a classroom technique beloved by many teachers, especially languages teachers. Many teachers say that songs offer something special to the job of learning a new language, and that singing songs can improve foreign language learning outcomes. In this podcast Dr Cate Hamilton talks about her research exploring these assumptions. She describes her journey through the literature, which revealed poor theorising and a lack of well con
Playful Pedagogies: Critical thinking, Creativity, Constructing Meaning
5mo ago · 27:52
Exploring how play-based pedagogies can deepen thinking, spark creativity, and help children construct meaning. In this special extended edition of the Oxford Education Deanery podcast, Professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek joins Dr Faidra Faitaki and Jasen Booton to explore how playful pedagogies can transform education. Beginning with a light-hearted exchange about climbing trees and jumping in puddles, the conversation unfolds into a compelling discussion of “active, playful learning” (or guided play) — a research-informed approach grounded in how brains learn best: actively, meaningfully, socially,
Bullying or Counter Connecting – Two inclusive definitions for schools
7mo ago · 23:58
In conversation with Dr Julia Badger and assistant headteacher Simon Fox about new research that explores definitions of bullying and coins a new, complimentary, term: counter connecting. About 40% of children and young people are exposed to bullying, but this rate has been reported to be as high as 69% for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Sadly, bullying involvement (either as a perpetrator and/or as a victim) can lead to detrimental effects on mental health in the short- and/or long-term and can be heightened for children with SEND who often experience bullyin
Raised by Relatives – Kinship Carers from Black and Asian Communities
9mo ago · 23:01
Priya Tah from the Rees Centre discusses a study that focuses on the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers. Priya explains the challenges that racially minoritised kinship carers face and the implications of the study for policy and practice. More than one in five of the 120,000 kinship children in England live with minority ethnic kinship carers. However, little is known about their experiences. In this episode, Priya Tah speaks with Laura Molway about a study commissioned by Kinship and funded by the KPMG Foundation to better understand the experiences, needs, and challenges of Black
The Confident Questioner’s Guide - Assessing Claims in Education
11mo ago · 21:51
David Schley from the charity Sense About Science discusses a series of guides to help teachers become confident questioners in the face of claims about new educational initiatives. Schools, teachers and parents are regularly introduced to new measures designed to improve education. However, education is a zero-sum game. The introduction of a new initiative inevitably comes at the expense of something else, be that time, effort, another part of the curriculum, or money. It is important to understand whether adopting a new educational initiative is worth it. In this episode, David Schley of the
The benefits of coaching as part of Early Years Continued Professional Development
1y ago · 21:33
Professor Kathy Sylva OBE speaks to Engagement and Partnerships Lead Joe Bullough about research which she was co-investigator for, which points to the benefits of coaching as part of Early Years' Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The 'Expert and Mentors' programme, which was funded by the Department for Education's £180 million Early Years' Recovery initiative, provided on-site coaching for up to six hours per term to Early Years' settings, with a focus on improving the way the setting supported personal, social, and emotional development (PSED) and communication and language skills.
What do clinician-educators really think about assessment?
1y ago · 10:26
Dr Nici Simms discusses her research exploring the different ways clinician-educators experience and understand assessment. Assessment in the field of health professions, such as medicine, is of critical importance because it has implications for the public; for example, certification of health professionals as equipped for patient care. However, within health professions, little attention is paid towards the many health professionals who are involved in assessment – most of which are unlikely to have formal educational qualifications. In this episode, Dr Nici Simms discusses findings from int
Adult-child interactions while using touchscreen apps
1y ago · 16:23
Dr Sandra Mathers discusses her research exploring how adults and children interact while using touchscreen apps. Millions of children around the world use mobile touchscreen devices – tablets or smartphones – every day. Although young children can learn from solo media use, research shows that they learn more when an adult joins them. In this episode, Dr Sandra Mathers discusses a survey of more than 1,000 caregivers of children aged between 3 and 7 that sought to understand the nature and extent their interactions with their children when using these kinds of app. She describes fostering a ‘
Who Influences the Career Choices of Young People in Care?
1y ago · 15:51
Dr Mariela Neagu discusses her research exploring the experiences young people who grew up in care when it comes to making education and career choices. Young people who grow up in care constitute one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Many of them enter care during adolescence, a critical time for development, when they form their identities, set their future aspirations and make education and career choices, usually with support from their family. In the absence of family support and influence, the risk of young people leaving care to end up not being not in education, employment or t
What we can learn from England, Northern Ireland, and Wales' Performance in PISA 2022
1y ago · 19:53
In this episode, Professor Jenni Ingram and Dr Stuart Cadwallader discuss their analysis, undertaken with Pearson for the OECD, of England, Northern Ireland and Wales' performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022. In doing so, they discuss some of the key findings and headline takeaways of their analysis for parents, teachers, and for policy. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study of 15-year-old students. Primarily, it assesses students' knowledge and skills in mathematics, reading and science, but, in 2022, it also gathe
A model to understand assessment practice in medicine
1y ago · 9:42
Dr Nici Simms discusses her research on the assessment behaviours of clinician educators charged with assessing in undergraduate medical programmes. Assessment in medicine and the health professions includes theoretical and clinical (practical) assessments to determine student competency – their knowledge, skills and attitudes. Assessment is therefore of critical importance, because graduates are certified as ‘safe’ for public patient care. In this episode, Dr Nici Simms discusses a study exploring the assessment behaviours of clinician-educators, using a theoretical model called ‘Health Behav
Developing Oral Language through a Drama-based Intervention
1y ago · 18:35
Dr Faidra Faitaki discusses her research on using a drama-based intervention to help develop oral language proficiency among primary school learners. Oral language refers to the linguistic skills needed to understand and produce spoken discourse. Children’s oral language and communication skills at the earliest stages of education are good predictors of their later success at school. In this episode, Dr Faidra Faitaki discusses a pilot study she conducted explore the possibilities offered by drama-based activities in helping to support development oral language proficiency among primary school
Demystifying the A-level grading process
2y ago · 46:43
Associate Professor of Educational Assessment, Michelle Meadows and local teacher, Jonny Tridgell discuss the A-level grading process and how grade boundaries are set for these important national exams. This podcast is released on the eve of A-level results day. We thought it would be an ideal moment to reflect on the grading process. Michelle Meadows, Associate Professor of Education Assessment, and Jonny Tridgell, a local teacher with wide experience of exam marking and supporting young people as they receive their A-level results, chat with Deanery co-director Hamish Chalmers. How are grade
Setting research priorities for English as an Additional Language.
2y ago · 18:05
Hamish Chalmers discusses his study asking teachers what kinds of research they think should be prioritised to help inform policy and practice in teaching pupils for whom English is an additional language (EAL). People who do research are not usually the people who use research. Therefore, if research is to be meaningful, relevant and useful to research users (in this case, teachers and other educators), it is important that those people are given a voice in telling researchers what questions they should try to answer. In conversation with Laura Molway, Hamish Chalmers from the University of O
What can we learn from asking students directly about their experiences of French lessons?
2y ago · 14:21
Laura Molway discusses her research on students’ attitudes and experiences of learning French in secondary schools. She explores the value of teachers seeking direct feedback from their students and how this can help develop policy and practice. To develop their practice, languages teachers need detailed feedback about the quality of their classroom teaching. Students have extensive, first-hand experience of their languages lessons and they can offer direct feedback to their teachers that is cheap and easy to collect. In conversation with Hamish Chalmers, Laura Molway from the University of Ox