Cindy works at the intersection of learning, design, and technology, with a keen interest in the orchestration of future-ready tech-enabled learning.
She is curious how the deployment of adaptive learning systems to schools will impact classroom learning and hopes to learn more about the human-machine partnership in education. Specifically, her research is concerned with the implications that the use of such systems has on teacher-student interactions, as teachers grapple with balancing personalised learning and learning in community, as well as curriculum demands and student interests. These are some tensions which could potentially be exacerbated by affordances of adaptive learning systems.
Prior to embarking on the DPhil in Education at Oxford, Cindy worked as the Lead Specialist in Technologies for Learning at the Educational Technology Division of Ministry of Education, Singapore. She had previously completed graduate studies at the National University of Singapore and Stanford University where she was awarded Master of Arts in English Studies and Master of Arts in Education.
Alexa Muse is a DPhil student in the Education Department. With eight years of English teaching experience (ages 11-17) both in the United States and abroad (Turkey and Russia), Alexa is interested in the intersection of equity-oriented education, teacher agency, and subversive curricular techniques. Other interests of hers include Cultural Historical Activity Theory, Figured Worlds, and narratology. Her undergraduate degree (BS Middle/Secondary English Education) is from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). Her Master’s degree (MSc Learning and Teaching) is from Oxford University; her dissertation has since been abridged and published in the English in Education journal.
Publications
Alexa Muse (2019): “Whilst I learn and live”: a comparative case study analysing the identity formation of seventh grade Turkish and International students via self-narratives in an English class, English in Education, DOI: 10.1080/04250494.2019.1621160
Abdul Karim has completed a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering and Computational Medicine (Imperial College London), a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (Queen Mary University of London), and Master of Science in the Philosophy of Science and Economics (The London School of Economics).
He has delivered lectures on the Philosophy of Human Nature and the History of Metaethics at the University of Cambridge and for Health Education East Midlands. This, in addition to the current positions he holds as a Hospital Doctor and Health Policy and Management Advisor at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
Abdul Karim’s current areas of interest include the biological definition of psychological states relevant to the learning environment, and the influence of language on the variable interpretation of a particular social context. For the latter of which he has published primary research.
Another is the appraisal and deployment of physiological measurement devices in learning environments as a means of quantitatively evaluating psychological states. Such research areas hold promise in enhancing the questionnaire-based evidences of contemporary theories in education, such as those regarding motivation, self-determination and engagement. This will to contribute to the evidence-based public policy optimisation in education and social care.
Publications
Ismail, A.K. 2017. A Cross Sectional Study to Explore the Effect of the Linguistic Origin and Evolution of a Language on Patient Interpretation of Haematological Cancers. Advances in Biological Research. 11 (4): 225-232.
Ismail, A.K. 2017. The Origin of the Arabic Medical Term for Cancer. Advances in Biological Research. 11 (4): 198-201.
Ismail, A.K. 2018. The Impact of da Vinci’s Anatomical Drawings and Calculations on Foundation of Orthopaedics. Advances in Biological Research. 12 (1): 26-30.
Yushan Xie is a Doctoral student in education and a Clarendon scholar at the University of Oxford. Her research is fully funded by the Clarendon Fund and Brasenose College.
Her research focuses on the self-formation of students of rural backgrounds in universities in China, against the backdrop of higher education massification, urbanisation and digitalisation.
Prior to Oxford, Yushan worked as a social entrepreneur in rural Hunan Province and educational policy researcher which enabled her to conduct health and education intervention research in the rural west of China, including Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces. She also gained professional experience in working as a youth culture researcher in a leading Chinese consulting firm.
Yushan completed her MPhil in Education from Cambridge University where she was awarded a ‘Best Dissertation Award’ from the Faculty and the ‘Special Commendation Award’ from the British Council ELT Master’s Dissertation Competition. She holds a BA in Translation from Nankai University in China during which she was awarded the National Scholarship from the Ministry of Education.
Publications
Xie, Y. & Liu. Y. (2021). Who do you hand out with? How Chinese students’ social networks relate to perceived oral proficiency gains during study abroad experiences. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education, 6(1), 59-90.
Bhabesh’s research Inquire into the systemic practices in a school to understand the implications of already existing classification of roles, and regulations based on power and control dynamics within the school. Also, focusing on the systemic apparatuses existing in a schooling system, wherein there is a categorical divide between the students
that are the academically poor and the administrative personnel who pose authority.
Prior to starting his DPhil, Eddy worked as a primary school teacher in Bristol, where he also completed his MSc in Educational Research.
He is particularly interested in the culture of high stakes, standardised testing, and how this might perpetuate existing inequalities in schools. His research focuses specifically on the interaction between knowledge, policy and pedagogy in the context of Literacy education.
Amanda is completing a part-time DPhil, alongside working in Initial Teacher Education at Leeds Trinity University.
Her research is focused on understanding tensions, contradictions and conflicts that teachers in disadvantaged schools may experience when they engage in research activity. Her research focus is influenced by her own experiences of working as a research-active teacher in disadvantaged schools, and recent work in teacher education to support experienced and beginning teachers in developing their own research activities.
One of the aims of Amanda’s research is to construct a framework to support teachers in pursuing research activity and critical scholarship work which articulates with wider social movements to address issues of poverty and disadvantage in schools.
Title of Thesis
Teachers’ perspectives on tensions between policy, practice and research in disadvantaged schools
Publications
Beckett, L. and Nuttall, A. (2017) A ‘usable past’ of teacher education in England: history in JET’s anniversary issue. Journal of Education for Teaching: International research and pedagogy, 43 (5), pp.616-627.
Nuttall, A. (2016) The ‘curriculum challenge’: Moving towards the ‘Storyline’ approach in a case study urban primary school. Improving Schools, 19 (2), pp. 154-166.
Nuttall, A. (2016) Learning {Re}imagined: A review. Primary First, 15, pp. 17-18.
Nuttall, A. and Doherty, J. (2014) Disaffected boys and the achievement gap: the ‘wallpaper effect’ and what is hidden by a focus on school results. The Urban Review, 46 (5), pp.800-815.
Conference Papers and Presentations
Beckett, L. and Nuttall, A. (2018) “No child is pre-ordained to fail” Teachers questioning policy assumptions. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association, Newcastle, 11-13 September.
Nuttall, A. and Tobbell, C. (2017) Trainee teachers’ perspectives on practitioner enquiry. Paper presented at the 8th TEAN Conference: Thinking Deeply about Education, Birmingham, 11-12 May.
Nuttall, A. (2017) Assessment at primary level: quality, comparability and improving secondary readiness. A perspective from ITE. Speech at the Westminster Education Forum Keynote Seminar: Next steps for reforming primary education: effective teaching practices, assessment and accountably, London, 18 January.
Nuttall, A. (2016) Deficit narratives and lived realities: whose poverty is it? Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Melbourne, 27 November – 1 December.
Nuttall, A. (2016) Disenfranchised boys’ reflections on their urban schooling experience: “What a Waste!”. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association, Leeds, 13-16 September.
Nuttall, A., Philpott, C., Beckett, L. and Wrigley, T. (2016) Collaborative practitioner inquiry: making a difference to urban schools. Innovation session (school visits and symposium) presented at the Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association, Leeds, 13-16 September.
Nuttall, A., Finn, B. and Beckett, L. (2015) Teachers’ constructions of poverty effects: Their research evidence. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association, Belfast, 15-17 September.
Nuttall, A. (2014) Teachers’ voice on disengaged boys: the role of one teacher-researcher in an English primary school. Paper presented at the Joint Australian Association for Research in Education and the New Zealand Association for Research in Education Conference, Brisbane, 30 November – 4 December.
Abigail’s research explores the role of education in personal development and how this can be supported by policy, pedagogy, curricula and professional development. In particular she focuses on citizenship education, history education as well as relationships and sex education as vehicles for awareness and dialogue about difficult social issues. She takes a comprehensive approach by seeking to understand learners’ experiences, the dynamics of the learning environment and the processes of curriculum development. She also explores the relationship between research and curricula as part of a broader interest in meaningful research dissemination and publication practices.
Abigail has taught social sciences and humanities to secondary students, undergraduates and postgraduates and has also facilitated training sessions for in-service teachers. She previously led a gender-based violence prevention initiative in schools.
She holds postgraduate degrees in Post-Conflict and Transitional Justice (University of Cape Town), in Education, Globalisation and International Development (University of Cambridge) and in African Studies (University of Oxford). She is a Rhodes Scholar, Mandela-Magdalene Scholar and Mandela-Rhodes Scholar.
Publications
TITLE OF THESIS
GCSE History, Policy Reform and Student Development: How students and teachers navigate the thematic study “Empires, Migration and the People”
CONFERENCE PAPERS
‘Teaching Migration, Belonging, and Empire in Secondary Schools: evaluation of a teacher professional development program’, (2019) History Educators International Research Network Conference, Lead author: Dr Jason Todd, University of Vienna, Austria.
‘The Problems and Prospects of Teaching South Africa’s Recent History: Teachers’ Perspectives’, (2018) Sustainability, peace and education – Exploring promise and practice: BAICE 20th Anniversary Symposium, University of Bristol, England.
‘New Generations, Old Wounds: Learning History at Home and School in Northern Ireland’, (2018) European Social Science and History Conference,
Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland.
‘The Methodological Challenges of Investigating the Role of History Teaching in Peacebuilding’, (2017), Present Past: Time, Memory, and the Negotiation of Historical Justice Conference, Columbia University, United States of America.
‘Teaching South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’, (2017) European Conference on African Studies, Universität Basel, Switzerland.
PUBLICATIONS
Abigail Branford, ‘”I’m not Catholic and I’m not Protestant”: Identity, individualisation and challenges for history education in Northern Ireland’, History Education Research Journal, 18 (2), 2021.
Babatunde Williams, Ba Linh Le, Abigail Branford, Lena Wagner, ‘Domestic Abuse In The Pandemic & Building Supportive Workplaces’, Report for Frontline100, 2021.
David Mills, Abigail Branford, Kelsey Inouye, Natasha Robinson & Patricia Kingori, “Fake” Journals and the Fragility of Authenticity: Citation Indexes, “Predatory” Publishing, and the African Research Ecosystem’, Journal of African Cultural Studies, 33 (3), 2021.
Abigail Branford, ‘Transitions, Truth-Telling and Teaching History’, Cambridge Open-Review Educational Research e-Journal, Vol. 4, 2017.
Alice Tawell is an ESRC funded Doctoral Student, co-supervised across the Department of Education and Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford.
Supervisors: Professor Harry Daniels and Dr Rachel Condry.
Alice’s research focuses broadly on the enactment of school exclusion policy in England.
Prior to starting her Doctoral studies, Alice gained a BSc in Sociology from the University of Bath and an MSc in Education (Research Training) from the University of Oxford.
As part of her undergraduate degree, Alice undertook a placement year working with Professor Kathy Sylva in the Families, Effective Learning and Literacy Research Group at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. After completing her degree, Alice returned to the department and has worked as a Research Officer on a number of different research projects since 2014. Most recently Alice has worked as part of the Excluded Lives Research Team on two projects exploring exclusion from school from a multidisciplinary perspective. In 2017 she was awarded a Seed-corn Small Grant Award to co-lead a pilot project exploring student collaborative networks with Hau Ming Tse. Alice also co-convenes the Qualitative Methods Hub in the department.
Outside of the department, Alice has sat on the Advisory Board for the Children Missing Education research project (2016-2017) at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and has been a member of the NCB Partnership for Well Being and Mental Health in Schools since 2016. She also sits on the Transparency on Exclusions Steering Group.
In 2017 Alice received funding from the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership placement scheme to conduct a Knowledge Exchange Internship with the Early Years Analysis and Research Unit at the Department for Education, and in 2018 Alice was elected the Co-President of the Grand Union ESRC Scholar’s Association, representing ESRC students from the University of Oxford, Brunel and The Open University.