Research Fellow

About us

About IOE

IOE is UCL Faculty of Education and Society.

Founded in 1902, IOE has been shaping policy and helping government, organisations and individuals navigate a changing society for the last 120 years. We embrace collaboration and excellence to create a future that is inclusive and just, and have been ranked number one for education every year since 2014 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

The Department of Learning and Leadership (DLL) is a large specialist research and teaching department of approximately 110 academic staff. The department is a major world leader in the following subject areas: Early Years and Primary Education, Educational Leadership, Education Policy, and Initial Teacher Education (ITE). We value innovative research, teaching and enterprise in all these areas and combine the very best of research innovation and evidence-based teaching, with a strong commitment to translating our work into policy and practice.

About the role

This post represents an exciting opportunity to contribute to the ESRC Education Research Programme. The programme is committed to resetting the terms under which education research, policy and practice interact in the interest of creating meaningful change. The programme includes a cohort of nine research projects in universities across the UK that are using collaborative approaches to explore issues in teaching, learning and the uses of technology in schools. The projects will complete their work between November 2025 and March, 2026.

The postholder will join a research team, based in IOE, who have been exploring different policies and practices designed to encourage research partnerships in different parts of the UK, analysing the purposes they are intended to fulfil and assessing how they fit into the broader policy landscape.

The successful applicant will work with Programme Director, Professor Gemma Moss and other members of the research team to:

• identify education networks and partnerships active in different parts of the UK that will form the core sample for this phase of the research
• identify and conduct interviews with a purposive sample of participants on what helps or hinders working in partnership with others
• analyse the data collected and contribute to writing reports and other research outputs intended for a range of different audiences (academic, practitioner, policymakers etc)

Findings from the programme will lead to guidance for the field on which kinds of collaborative approaches work best in education, under what conditions; and the research topics that would benefit from their use.

A start date of 1^st September 2025 is preferred, where possible, although an earlier start date could be considered.

Job shares will be considered.

This post is available until 31st March 2026 in the first instance.

About you

You will have a Doctorate (or near completion) in sociology of education, education policy or adjacent area of the social sciences and a good understanding of the school-based education policy environment and the dynamic to education policy change in at least one of the 4 nations and jurisdictions of the UK.

Your application form should address all the person specification points and should clearly demonstrate how your skills and experience meet each of the criteria.

It is important that the criteria are clearly numbered and that you provide a response to each one.

Customer advert reference: B16-01850

Please apply by selecting the Apply button, above.

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