Brian, a Rhodes scholar from Kenya, doctoral research explores teachers’ identities and professionalism under the influence of performance-based accountability systems. He holds an MSc in Education (Comparative and International Education) from the University of Oxford (UK), Honours in Education from the University of Cape Town (South Africa) and Bachelor of Education from Chuka University (Kenya). His research interests are in the areas of teacher education and professional learning, teacher beliefs and practices, teacher identity and professionalism.
Shuyan is a doctoral student in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. She has strong research interests in the sociocultural perspective of learning, teacher education and teaching English as a second language.
Her doctoral research explores the processes of professional learning and identity development with the aim of strengthening the quality and agency of teachers. She focuses on offering empirical evidence to understand how language teacher identity is embedded in discursive practices and how the societal, cultural and institutional issues are played out in teacher education.
Prior to her doctoral study, she has taught English as a foreign language in China and received her M.A. degree in English Education with distinction at the Institute of Education, University College London (UCL).
Pierre is using quasi-experimental quantitative methods to gauge the effects of participating in college and career pathway programs in Massachusetts, under the supervision of Ariel Lindorff and Steve Strand.
Originally from Les Cayes, Haiti, he most recently lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he was working as a Research Analyst at Harvard University and later as a Policy Analyst at the Massachusetts Department of Education.
Pierre earned a Bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University and Master’s degrees from the Ohio State University and Brown University, respectively.
Kexin is a Doctoral student in higher education at the Department of Education.
Kexin’s research interest lies in the global scientific system and the internationalisation of social sciences, with a special focus on international research collaborations and epistemic injustice.
Prior to her Doctoral study, Kexin obtained her M.Sc degree (Higher Education) with Distinction at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. In her master’s project, Kexin explored the patterns and dynamics in the China-UK collaborations in education research through bibliometric analysis and interviews. Under the supervision by Dr. Xin Xu, Kexin’s master study demonstrated the development trajectory, external and internal motivations, and the potential challenges in China-UK collaboration practices.
Kexin will further the master’s project in her doctoral studies under the supervision of Professor Simon Marginson and Professor Alis Oancea. She will investigate the internationalisation of social sciences in China and Europe through a comparative lens.
Oscar is an experienced school leader and teacher educator at Fundación Educación Católica (Spain) and was granted a Judge Scholarship by the Department of Education of the University of Oxford to read for a part-time Dphil.
Before joining the DPhil programme, Oscar graduated with a distinction at the University of Oxford (MSc in Teaching and Learning) and completed the Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is one of the leaders of the K2 Erasmus+ Programme TALENTinTBL, which replicates at international level (Ireland, UK, the Netherlands, and Spain) a professional development programme already piloted across his organisation.
Oscar is interested in the design and evaluation of teacher education programmes aimed at improving school effectiveness and driving educational change towards active and competence-led learning at secondary level and, particularly, in the Sixth Form. His research draws on the findings of his Master dissertation, focusing on the evaluation of the effectiveness and the transformative potential of teacher coaching in the Spanish Baccalaureate from a longitudinal and mixed-method approach.
Abismrita has been exploring the field of education by stepping into multiple roles of that of a fieldworker, teacher and administrator. Her key areas of research are in alternative learning spaces especially the domain of craft and apprenticeship-based learning.
Abismrita has a bachelors and masters degree in Sociology from University of Delhi. She also holds a Masters degree in Education and Development from the University of Sussex. She has worked as a teacher at alternative school in India under the Krishnamurti Foundation.
Publications
Chakravarty, A. (2018) Curricular Concerns and Practices in a Krishnamurti School. In Thapan, M. (ed) J. Krishnamurti and Educational Practice. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 98-128
Szilvi’s main research interest lies in student religiosity. She completed her BA in Theology in Budapest (summa cum laude). After working in a number of ministry and teaching settings, she completed her PGCE in Religious Education at the Department, followed by an MSc in Research Design and Methodology (distinction).
She has been working as a project manager on a large-scale science-religion project at the University of Oxford before starting her DPhil. Szilvi lives in Oxford with her husband and 3 children.
Benjamin Hart is a Doctoral student in the Department of Education conducting research in the field of English Higher Education.
His research focusses on evaluation within a widening participation setting and his interests lie primarily in the field of higher education and the philosophy of education.
Following his B.A., and MSc in Sociology, Benjamin completed his MSc Education (Research Design and Methodology) at the University of Oxford. Prior to his Doctoral studies, Benjamin worked in Evaluation at the University of Oxford
Prior to arriving at Oxford, Brooks was a Member of Parliament in UK Government and Minister of Civil Society. Before entering politics Brooks was a Senior Partner at Apollo Management LP a leading Private Equity Firm.
Brooks was educated at Oxford University where he received an MSc in Education and Harvard University where he received a BA in History at Harvard College and an MBA in Finance at Harvard Business School.
Brooks founded an education charity in Rwanda ten years ago called A Partner in Education (www.apartnerineducation.org) and has built a school for 300 children and a teacher training centre in Kigali.
Brooks Masters dissertation focused on Fine Motor Proficiency in Seven Year Old Children in Rwanda as a predictor of academic achievement. His doctorate will be focusing on seeking to explore the drivers of education policy in Rwanda through the lens of politicians with a view to better understanding the formal and informal influences on policymaking.
Publications
- Housing First: Housing-led Solutions to Rough Sleeping and Homelessness, Centre for Social Justice (2017); The Hidden Debt Bombshell (CPS, 2009); The Price of Irresponsibility (CPS, 2008); Simply Red – The True State of the Public Finances (CPS, 2006) Direct Democracy – An Agenda for a New Model Party (2005).