The Building Connections study aims to understand how teachers in England experience working with students with conduct problems and Callous-Unemotional traits. This qualitative study led by Laura Oxley examines how these experiences may impact on teachers' wellbeing and their perceptions of these students. It also investigates the strategies teachers report using when working with such students, both to manage behaviour in the classroom, and to support their own wellbeing. The findings will enable identification of successful strategies for working with students with Callous-Unemotional traits and ways in which teachers can be most effectively supported, contributing to improving the wellbeing of teachers.
Extreme heat causes detrimental health and education outcomes, and climate change is increasing the frequency and duration of extreme heat events (heat waves) in the UK. Lynda Dunlop (Education) and Paul Hudson (Environment & Geography) investigated the extent to which schools are prepared for extreme heat adaptation and found that UK school staff have an overall high level of risk perception, but this has not been translated into higher levels of adaptation because barriers to infrastructural adaptation and behaviour change exist. Proactive and strategic adaptation education is required for school leaders and policy makers to reduce maladaptive thinking and integrate actionable heat warning information and tangible actions that can be taken. This could help the education sector to adapt to climate change and reduce risks to staff and pupils.
Liz Thomas’ research with the technological higher education (THE) sector in Ireland has been exploring the experience of commuter students - and how THE providers can improve their experiences. While some commuters identify benefits such as lower costs, work/life balance and time with their family, the experience of commuting is challenging. Students are often expected to be on campus four or five days per week, and many have very long commutes via unreliable public transport. They become exhausted, and may lose concentration in lectures. The technological higher education providers appear not to take the realities of commuter student lives into account when timetabling, there is sometimes mandatory attendance and unwillingness to allow online alternatives of access to teaching and resources. Students would like compassionate timetabling, greater use of online attendance, recordings and resources on the VLE, more flexible deadlines, and more understanding by staff. Students would also appreciate more daytime opportunities for socialising and more information about the support available. At the sector level, the experience of commuter students could be supported through more financial support for travel, or more affordable student housing, and a culture within the sector that recognises, accommodates and celebrates commuters.
Exposure to harmful content online, such as pornography, trolling, and pro-eating disorder messaging, can have a detrimental impact on young people’s wellbeing. Education on online harms is now a compulsory part of the National Curriculum in England, but little is known about what works in this domain. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, Beth Bell and colleagues will explore the effectiveness of wellbeing-focused online media literacy interventions in English secondary schools in order to develop a what works guide for teachers. Overall, we hope to improve the quality of online media literacy education in secondary schools, creating a generation of young people who are more resilient to online harm.
This interdisciplinary project is a partnership between the University of York and the University of Ghana. Led by Daniel Kyereko, researchers work directly with Fulani nomadic communities across Ghana, using oral storytelling and intergenerational knowledge transmission to capture traditional ecological wisdom. Under the Just Transitions framework, we integrate these narratives into regional policy development to advance inclusive education, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods. Our work supports UN SDG 4 on quality, inclusive education and SDG 13 on climate action, offering community-rooted approaches that can be scaled across Ghana and beyond.
Providing students with intensive opportunities to interact in the target language, study abroad has long been thought necessary to achieve the highest levels of language proficiency. Communications technologies have, however, significantly changed the way we communicate. Smartphones and social media make it possible to “talk” to anyone, anywhere, anytime. This project reinvestigates the value of study abroad in today’s digital world, using an experience sampling app to send students’ surveys multiple times a day and provide an in-depth understanding of students’ daily online and in-person use of English as well as their first language.
Working with Kidscape, Nathalie Noret has been examining the traumatic impact of bullying and evaluating the impact of a trauma-informed therapeutic intervention for chronically bullied children. We recently launched our reports and published our findings which highlight the profound impact being chronically bullied can have on young people and their families. Our work also highlights the potential benefits of using a trauma-informed approach to support bullied young people, to help them manage their experiences and remain engaged with their education. We are now working together to raise awareness of both bullying as a trauma, and the benefits of trauma-informed approaches.