Category: Students

Welcome to the School of Education: From an international student at the University of Bristol

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

By Chidinma Ibemere, MSc Education (Leadership and Policy), School of Education

Dear SOE Student,
My name is Chidinma Ibemere. I had the privilege of studying Education Leadership and Policy (MSc.) as a 2022/2023 Think Big Scholar. It is my pleasure to write you this informal piece to welcome you to the prestigious School of Education, at the University of Bristol.

Firstly, I would love to humbly congratulate you on achieving this milestone. You have done well for yourself, and you should be proud of being a part of an exceptional community with a proven track record of academic and social achievements.

As you begin this new phase, it is not unusual to have mixed emotions. This may be the first time leaving your family or your comfort zone and it is absolutely normal to be anxious or uncertain. Well, I am here to assure you that you will be fine.

I have decided to share some tips that may be useful as you navigate this new experience. I hope it meets you well! (more…)

Engineering education – the importance of learning from failure

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Kevin ChowBy Kevin Chow, Doctoral Researcher,  School of Education, University of Bristol

Despite the growing popularity of STEM and engineering education in recent years, it has been noticed that there is generally a lack of understanding of the engineering profession amongst the general public as well as parents and students. Additionally, the engineering industry has observed a decline in the quality of engineering students.1 When being asked to describe a good student, the most common terms are hardworking, being good in academics, submitting work on time, being regular, participating in-class activities, and achieving high grades, etc. However, However, these qualities do not guarantee success in becoming a good engineer.

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Designed by Students for Students: Skills Workshops for our PGR community

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By Antonia Voigt and Deepti R Bhat; PhD students, School of Education

A generous grant under the “Enhancing Research Culture” scheme at the University of Bristol enabled us to provide our postgraduate research community with a unique and much needed learning experience.

Over three months, from February to April 2023, we ran four workshops under the heading “Learning to connect: Building our research community through effective communication”. These included a session on learning how to write an impactful conference abstract, how to design a captivating presentation, and deliver it in a memorable way, and lastly, how to build relationships through networking.

We are excited to know that we were able to make a difference to our postgraduate research community through this project. In this blog, we want to share our experience and three take-away messages. (more…)

You’ve Got This!

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

By Chidinma Ibemere, PG, Education (Leadership and Policy) (MSc)

At the start of TB-2, a lecturer shared that there would be so much work for students to do after the Easter break; from battling with deadlines for assessments to getting the dissertation process in motion. I feel strongly that even if she had spent an hour explaining this fact that day, it would not be enough to describe the current realities.

Everything seems to be happening at the same time and the demands need equal attention. There are moments when I have to remind myself that it was my personal decision to advance my education, no coercion brought me here. Therefore, it has become imperative for me to keep pushing till I achieve my set goals. Is this as easy as it sounds? The answer is NO!!!!! (more…)

Dancing our way to Tackling Diversity in Teaching

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By Dr Lorna Smith, Senior Lecturer in Education (PGCE English), School of Education

It is a truism that English is a humane subject and hence that all humanity should be represented and celebrated. Yet there are, in practice, significant hurdles that mean that Black, Asian and minority ethnic students are marginalised in English classrooms. These students rarely see themselves represented in literature; if they are, racial stereotypes are perpetuated; and lessons on these texts are mostly taught by white teachers. This blog focuses on positive action happening in the PGCE English programme to ensure that all students can feel engaged and visible in all English lessons – and that includes learning from some global majority students themselves. (more…)

Another Year, Another Baseline: the case against ‘schoolification’ in the Early Years

Posted on by School of Education University of Bristol

By Maxime Perrott BA, MSc, MRes  PhD Researcher in the School of Education, University of Bristol

What is it?

The Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) is a new assessment of the early literacy and numeracy skills of 4-year-old children, administered by teachers, teaching assistants and other early years practitioners within the first 6 weeks of the child joining reception class. The cohort’s attainment scores will be used as the new starting point for which progress will be measured at the end of Key Stage 2 (Standards Agency 2020). The RBA and Key Stage 2 SATS will be compared across the cohort, regardless of whether the cohort in Year 6 is made up of the same pupils from the original reception class. (more…)

Open Day 2022: School of Education undergraduate student Q & A

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Kiera Stevens BSc Psychology in Education studentName: Kiera Stevens | Degree Programme: BSc Psychology in Education

Hi there, would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Kiera, I’m British/South African but I grew up all over the world. My family is currently based in Singapore and has been for the last 7 years, so when I’m not at uni, I’m at home in the tropics! I’m a huge book nerd and love musical theatre. When I’m at uni, you can mostly find me in a coffee shop or running the Education Society. When I’m not at uni, I work in equine assisted psychotherapy which has been a life-altering experience and makes me want to own every horse I see! I am my happiest when I’m travelling with my friends and my family though or by the pool! (more…)

Cultural shocks and surprises as a UoB MSc Education international student

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My name is Emmanuella Henshaw and I am a 2021 Commonwealth shared scholar at the University of Bristol. I am studying for an MSc in Education (Policy and International Development).

In September 2021, I began my studies at the School of Education. In this article I will be sharing my academic shocks I have experienced studying at University of Bristol. (more…)

Creative methods unlocked my lockdown research

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By Sarah McLaughlin, BA(Hons), MSC. PGCE, School of Education, University of Bristol (Doctorate in Education student)

I commenced my Doctorate in Education journey in September 2018 – pre Covid! Little did I know that a pandemic would join me along the way and threaten to hinder my research.

When Covid rules put a halt on face-to-face data collection, I had big decisions to make. Should I wait it out until restrictions lift? After all, this would blow over after a few months, right?! Or do I change my methods? I needed to find a way of giving my participants a voice and allowing them to tell me their stories and reflections so that I could ask questions and understand how they constructed their return to education as mature students. (more…)

From ‘hearing’ to listening – In conversation with policymakers on students’ lived experiences of access

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Blog post by Dr Jennifer Jomafuvwe Agbaire , Research Associate at the School of Education, University of Bristol

“Those young students can just talk anyhow. If you really want to know about university admission in Nigeria, ask those in charge.”  Just before I set out to begin my doctoral research, I got strong forms of this proposition from colleagues.

It was not surprising that previous research on the topic scarcely included students.

Fast-forward to several years and a PhD award later, I was organising an ESRC-funded exploratory impact event to share my doctoral research findings from students with ‘those in charge’.  Yes indeed, I had defied the popular convention and gone ahead to explore Nigeria’s university access system through the lived experiences of students who are subjected to it.

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