Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

The Faculty of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Architecture, is launching the Hannah Arendt Consortium on Crises and Political Transformation, an initiative dedicated to the work of renowned political theorist Hannah Arendt.

The consortium will serve as a research hub to enable better understanding of our contemporary political landscape and its associated risks and threats to the future of democracy. Hannah Arendt is considered one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century and her scholarship on totalitarianism, nationhood, and human rights continues to influence our understanding of these concepts. In recent years, rising authoritarianism and refugee numbers have made Arendt’s philosophy increasingly relevant. The consortium will be a space for people to come together and discuss how Arendt's thinking applies to the modern world.

We are launching the consortium with a conference on 26th and 27th September. Our speakers include academics from Cambridge, Brown University, and Open University of Cyprus, and subjects will include Classical literature, architecture, working-class history, and q***r studies. Find out more and register to attend:
https://content.educ.cam.ac.uk/news/2409-hannah-arendt-consortium

In August we were joined by a group of students as part of the Sutton Trust Summer School for 2024! 🎉

They spent the week looking how education can help us adapt to living in a changing climate, as well as living in Kings College and getting a taste of university life 🎓️

As always we loved getting to show off what we do here in the Faculty of Education and some really fascinating conversations with the students 🌍️

Registration is open for the Cambridge Generative AI in Education Conference, 16-17 October, 2024.

This Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI), Cambridge and University of Cambridge Faculty of Education event will explore the state of generative AI in education, teaching and learning, as well strategies for integrating generative AI into educational practices, and for developing generative AI literacy.

Keynote speakers include Professor Wayne Holmes (UCL) and Mairead Pratschke (The University of Manchester).

We'll be exploring questions such as how to overcome legitimate concerns among educators and learners regarding how to use AI safely, ethically and effectively; how to integrate it into educational practices that remain human-centred; and whether AI can be used to address pressing challenges around inequalities in education, at a global and local level.

Deadline for abstracts: 16 September 2024.

Cambridge Generative AI in Education 2024 - DEFI Cambridge Generative AI in Education Conference 2024 Event title: Cambridge Generative AI in Education Conference 2024Human-machine collaboration and the expansion of the dialogic space:Addressing the challenges of generative AI integration in education Host: Faculty of Education, University of Camb...

An analysis of a short programme teaching empathy to school students has found it had a positive impact on their behaviour and increased their emotional literacy within 10 weeks. The findings come from an evaluation of the “Empathy Programme”: a term-long course developed by the UK-based company, Empathy Studios. The research was supported by University of Cambridge specialists in empathy education.

Read the full report: https://www.empathystudios.com/research2024

A new study by University of Cambridge researcher Nomisha Kurian proposes a framework for “Child Safe AI” following recent incidents which revealed that many children see chatbots as quasi-human and trustworthy, even when they were putting them at potential risk. https://content.educ.cam.ac.uk/facultyweb_content/news/2407-chatbots

Just over 100 years ago, L M Montgomery, of Anne of Green Gables' fame, introduced readers to a new heroine, Emily of New Moon.

Now a new book, co-edited by two University of Cambridge academics, explores why Emily was ahead of her time.

https://content.educ.cam.ac.uk/facultyweb_content/news/247-Emily-of-New-Moon

As it seeks to bring early education into the wider school system, the new government must cherish, not lose, what makes early childhood special; Sally Hogg of the University of Cambridge's PEDAL research centre, writes in TES.

How Labour can put learning at the heart of its nursery plan Avoiding the ‘baby blindspot’ and recognising the value of early years educational theory could ensure that Labour’s plan for more nursery spaces has wider educational impact, says this academic

New research by Riikka Hofmann (University of Cambridge) and colleagues from Hughes Hall, Cambridge & TU Eindhoven proposes a new approach to analysing and evaluating how frontline clinician develop leadership skills.

Clinical leadership – the leadership skills of frontline doctors - is an important component of sustainable healthcare and is closely associated with quality of care, healthcare efficiency, lower rates of staff burnout and, potentially, improved patient outcomes. Although professional development courses in clinical leadership abound, however, how leadership training supports the acquisition of competencies and characteristics that are likely to lead to clinicians becoming innovative agents of sustainable healthcare has not been thoroughly studied. As a result, it is difficult to evaluate leadership training in this area, because there is no clarity on the learning mechanisms through which it produces the desired leadership skills.

The new study provides a conceptual tool to address this gap, enabling course designers and healthcare managers to look under the hood of their own training programmes and analyse how well these are supporting professional development in clinical leadership. Hofmann and colleagues propose the concept of “leadership learning patterns” as a theoretical basis for analysis. The concept combines an understanding of how students manage their learning, process subject matter, and their overall disposition towards learning.

The research goes on to show how this can be measured to assess the extent to which doctors are acquiring leadership skills that support continual improvement and innovation. Using data from eight cohorts of participants of a year-long professional development course for early career doctors in the East of England, the researchers found that their conceptual framing can be used to study two aspects of leadership learning: meaning oriented learning (understanding how and why different approaches work) and problematic learning (the extent to which students problematise learning and find new approaches challenging).

In their proof of concept analysis of data from the East of England programme, they showed that the year-long course led to a positive change in students’ meaning-oriented learning, which is precisely the kind of professional learning that enables sustained innovation. As a result, the study shows that leadership learning patterns provide a useful basis for capturing and characterising the deep quality of learning that is achieved through leadership courses in clinical settings. In the long-term, this could lead to improvements in such training, leading to more sustainable healthcare.

The study is reported in a new special issue of the journal Sustainability:

Patterns in Clinical Leadership Learning: Understanding the Quality of Learning about Leadership to Support Sustainable Transformation in Healthcare Education Frontline doctors’ clinical leadership (CL) is key to addressing healthcare sustainability challenges. Research shows CL requires professional learning. Significant investments into CL development notwithstanding, little evidence exists of how frontline clinicians learn leadership, highlighting an...

New research by Riikka Hofmann and colleagues from & proposes a new approach to analysing and evaluating how frontline clinician develop leadership skills.

Clinical leadership – the leadership skills of frontline doctors - is an important component of sustainable healthcare and is closely associated with quality of care, healthcare efficiency, lower rates of staff burnout and, potentially, improved patient outcomes. Although professional development courses in clinical leadership abound, however, how leadership training supports the acquisition of competencies and characteristics that are likely to lead to clinicians becoming innovative agents of sustainable healthcare has not been thoroughly studied. As a result, it is difficult to evaluate leadership training in this area, because there is no clarity on the learning mechanisms through which it produces the desired leadership skills.

The new study provides a conceptual tool to address this gap, enabling course designers and healthcare managers to look under the hood of their own training programmes and analyse how well these are supporting professional development in clinical leadership. Hofmann and colleagues propose the concept of “leadership learning patterns” as a theoretical basis for analysis. The concept combines an understanding of how students manage their learning, process subject matter, and their overall disposition towards learning.

The research goes on to show how this can be measured to assess the extent to which doctors are acquiring leadership skills that support continual improvement and innovation. Using data from eight cohorts of participants of a year-long professional development course for early career doctors in the East of England, the researchers found that their conceptual framing can be used to study two aspects of leadership learning: meaning oriented learning (understanding how and why different approaches work) and problematic learning (the extent to which students problematise learning and find new approaches challenging).

In their proof of concept analysis of data from the East of England programme, they showed that the year-long course led to a positive change in students’ meaning-oriented learning, which is precisely the kind of professional learning that enables sustained innovation. As a result, the study shows that leadership learning patterns provide a useful basis for capturing and characterising the deep quality of learning that is achieved through leadership courses in clinical settings. In the long-term, this could lead to improvements in such training, leading to more sustainable healthcare.

The study is reported in a new special issue of the journal Sustainability: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/10/4165

We are excited to announce that the annual David Whitebread Memorial Lecture is being held on June 11th, to coincide with the first International Day of Play.

We think it's only fitting that this year's lecturer is Dr Erum Mariam, Executive Director of BRAC Institute for Educational Development, who has led the way in Bangladesh's creative play movement. The lecture will discuss her role in Bangladesh's Play Labs, and how she integrates creative play with climate change.

Go here to learn more and register:

https://www.pedalhub.net/news-events/events/item/using-play-to-help-the-worlds-children-to-heal-learn-and-thrive/

This year’s CaNDER Research Showcase is now open for people to register.

This showcase will explore disability research, within the themes of Conflict and Climate, Critical Reflections on Inclusive Education, Researching Inclusion, and the role of evidence in disability and international development. It promises to be an excellent opportunity for researchers to share research and build networks.

📍Donald McIntyre Building
⏰10:00-17:00

Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2d_gNAwoE_lXkoKuDlSPNFqTrmxZyTDyjr-GuE5fOVJiC8A/viewform?pli=1

Do you work in or around academia? This event, the first in a series of creative workshops, will reflect on the positives, negatives & realities of academic life.
29 May, 14.00-16.00 BST. In person/online. Book: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/academic-glimmers-the-recovering-academic-tickets-893588395947?aff=oddtdtcreator

Our annual Kaleidoscope Conference is coming up!

This year's theme is about multiverses of learning. We will explore the forces currently reshaping education, such as technology in classrooms, and new narratives and practices in teaching. We will discuss their implications, and how they could create a more diverse and inclusive education system.

Find out more here: https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/events/conferences/kaleidoscope2024/

📍- Faculty of Education

⏰- 10:00-16:00 (UK Time)

Do you believe in creating equal opportunities for all educators?

🔍Our recent study titled "Being a teacher with disabilities: perspectives, practices and opportunities" explores this topic and sheds light on the experiences of teachers with disabilities, providing insights about the challenges, opportunities, policies, current practices and support network that teachers with disabilities encounter.

📚Download a copy if you would like to know more! https://eu1.hubs.ly/H08SfmV0

🎓 Considering applying to Cambridge for Education?
🏫 UK state school student?

Applications to Apply: Cambridge, our applicant support programme for students from underrepresented backgrounds and areas, are open now until 1 May 2024!

Find out more: www.cam.ac.uk/apply-cambridge

Our previous post presented Safwat Elsenossi's poem "Solo be Thy Destiny", as an example of Poetic Justice Access, the spoken-word project which includes us as collaborators.

As part of this project, we also spoke to the poet and project creator Dita N Love, and her partners in Young Identity. They discussed working with the dancer-choreographer Jonzi D, what dance theatre can add to spoken word, and what young people want their creative work to achieve.

https://www.cdh.cam.ac.uk/media/blog/respect-is-a-recurring-choice-award-winning-poet-saf-s2e-reflects-on-the-burdened-integrity-of-artistry/

“Respect is a Recurring Choice” | Award-Winning Poet SAF-S2E Reflects on the Burdened Integrity of Artistry - CDH Join the Conversation If you wish to learn more on ways to get involved or engaged as co-facilitator in the upcoming creative workshops from the Poetic Justice Access project at Homerton College please get in touch (an564). The workshops are planned as a space to speak with undergraduate and graduat...

What do we mean when we talk about contemporary artists as worldbuilders? Whose imagination do we see as legitimate when we ask for change, in a society haunted by legacies of colonialism and racial capitalism? And what burdens do such calls for change place on young people’s artistry?

These are the questions tackled by Safwat Elsenossi in his poem “Solo be Thy Destiny” live as a short film on AndWhat TV. It was created as part of Poetic Justice Access, our collaborative project with Homerton College, Cambridge Digital Humanities and Manchester arts charity Young Identity. Together, we aim to link the creative youth community with universities. The film builds on the ESRC-funded Conference Going Places with the Spoken Word Community inspired by poet Lemn Sissay OBE who opened the event at the Faculty of Education and Homerton College.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XofmEeEGio

SAF- S2E - Solo be thy destiny 🎥 SAF- S2E - Solo be thy destiny This poem is an imaginative response to a research partnership between Young Identity and the Poetic Justi...

We are proud to announce a new film of research poetry “Making Peace to a Song”, a product of our Creative Encounters Partnership as part of our ESRC-funded project Poetic Justice Values. This project centred young people’s use of spoken word, to imaginatively engage with justice in education on their own terms.

The film celebrates the relationship of the spoken word and the body’s response. It brings the ‘truth of the body’ to life, honouring the truth of experience, resist stigma, and inspire care for young lives. Theatre practitioner Rachel Ellis and her students at CSVPA created a film weaving movement and soundscape with the poetry and research by Dr Dita N. Love. The partnership includes CSVPA MA graduates Lois Fordham and Razaq Bolarinwa.

Watch the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlFqoQ68ri8

The film and partnership highlight the healing power of creative community. Both draw from Dita’s doctoral work of mutually transformative arts programmes with imprisoned young men. Find out about the results of the research in a published book chapter:

Nikolova, A. (2023) 'What’s ‘Good’ about Artography from prison? Poetic lives as peaceable lives', in T. Archer, B. Hajir and W. McInerney (eds.) Innovations in Peace and Education Praxis: Transdisciplinary Reflections and Insights, 1st edn, Routledge.

Making Peace to a Song: A Spoken Word Movement Researchers: Dr Dita N. Love, Faculty of Education (Humanities and Social Sciences)CSVPA creative partners: Rachel Ellis – Head of Drama, Lois Fordham – MA...

The mentors delivering CAMFED - Campaign for Female Education's learner guides programme in Tanzania have become agents of change, challenging harmful gender social norms in their wider communities, new University of Cambridge research shows: https://content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/mentors-under-privileged-girls-tanzania-are-challenging-harmful-gender-social-norms

We still have a (very) small number of tickets left for tonight's Cambridge Festival open discussion on who can fix the teacher recruitment and retention crisis? Do join us at the Faculty at 5.30pm. Book your place at

Who can fix the teacher recruitment and retention crisis? This Question Time-style discussion will ask educators, policy experts and academics not just how to fix the crisis – but who can do it?