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).
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.
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.
As a mathematics teacher who believes that anyone can understand mathematics, Ashley is keenly interested in developing interventions and resources for learners who struggle with the subject. More specifically, she is focusing on the transitionary moment in the classroom when discussions have ceased, and practice begins and how this transition can become more fluid for learners.
By drawing on research from education, psychology and cognitive neuroscience, Ashley hopes to gain insights into how the brain and mind process information and how this knowledge can inform teacher practice and, ultimately, help learners understand mathematics.
After having taught for over ten years, Ashley completed her MSc, with Distinction, at the Department of Education, and her dissertation was “Highly Commended” by the British Educational Research Association (BERA). She is committed to making mathematics more accessible for all learners and strives for research that is not only impactful but also directly applicable to the classroom.
Kyla is a D.Phil. student and Doctoral Teaching Fellow in the Department of Education, teaching as a Science Curriculum Tutor on the PGCE programme. Her doctoral research focuses on science and mathematics teachers, their knowledge, and their teacher self-efficacy.
Kyla has worked as a Research Assistant on the OECD TALIS Video Study in the Oxford Department of Education and the Mindsets and Diversity in Undergraduate Mathematics project in the Oxford Mathematical Institute. In the 2020/21 academic year, Kyla is also the Chair of the Department of Education’s Joint Consultative Committee.
Outside the department, Kyla is a Junior Dean at Queen’s College and the Editorial Assistant for the Research in Mathematics Education journal. She is also on the board of the Canadian Association of Physicists Foundation.
Kyla holds a Master of Science in physics, a Bachelor of Education with a specialisation in classroom diversity, and a Bachelor of Science with double majors in physics and English. Before starting her D.Phil.in Education, Kyla designed magnets for low-field MRI machines. Before that, she was a high school physics, mathematics, and English teacher at Canadian offshore schools in China and the United Arab Emirates.
Kamal Armanious is particularly interested in the topic of education governance to explore what is possible in developing an improved governance system for technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
There have always been various calls from different international organisations such UNESCO, ILO, World Bank, OECD etc. to develop a transformed and transformative approach to TVET. This is attractive for certain theoretical as well as practical reasons; however, one set of limitations in achieving this vision lies in the arena of governance. Mr Armanious examines an imagined better model of governance that can be developed from the principles of a new approach and wider theoretical resources with consideration to national realities where there may be very serious obstacles in the way of realising this new governance approach and hence the overall planned transformation.
Title of Thesis
Education and Training Policies in Egypt: Good Governance and Stakeholders Participation
Yoon Young has been involved in a variety of academic and professional projects related to teacher education.
She is currently a member of the Teacher Education and Professional Learning (TEPL) research group at Oxford. Her Doctoral research focuses on teacher education policy and practice in England. The study examines the relationship between individuals’ own objectives, the stated programme goals, and the national teachers’ standards in the operation of the Oxford Internship Scheme (OIS). It also explores the perceptions of stakeholders regarding ideal goals that could drive a re-conceptualised teacher education programme.
Prior to her Doctorate, Yoon Young used to be a social studies teacher and subsequently worked as a consultant for the OECD’s Initial Teacher Preparation (ITP) Study. She holds a B.A. in Social Studies and Geography Education from the Ewha Womans University, and an M.A. in Educational Leadership from the University of Jyväskylä, where she was a grantee of the Korean Government Scholarship for Study Overseas.