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The Centre for Research in Education in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (CRESTEM) brings together a group of researchers who are interested in exploring formal and informal practices of teaching, learning and engagement in diverse contexts of STEM education.

We have a strong tradition of collaborating with young people, teachers, educators in out-of-school settings, and policy makers, both nationally and internationally. We are committed to promoting equitable and inclusive learning experiences for diverse learners and foregrounding environmental justice in educational practice. We have expertise in analysing curriculum policy and the nature of assessment, and in scrutinising large-scale quantitative datasets. The Centre offers research training and supervision in quantitative and qualitative research approaches including microgenetic methods, participatory approaches and multimodal analyses.

Scholarships

The Centre provides three scholarships for students:

The STEM Education teacher scholarship, funded by WIPRO, provides bursaries for teachers applying to the MA in STEM Education.

The Rosalind Driver Scholarship Fund and the Bernard Dawson Scholarship Fund provide fees and stipends for PhD study in aspects of science education.

You can find out more information on each of the scholarships here.

People

Chris Abbott

Emeritus Reader in Assistive Technologies

Jonathan Berliner

PhD candidate

Paul Black

Emeritus Professor of Science Education

Richard Brock

Senior Lecturer in Science Education

Margaret Brown

Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Education

Nicola Buttigieg

PhD Candidate in CRESTEM

Projects

Image missing an alt value
3D learning in a rich cooperative haptic environment

The overall aim of the project is to design, develop and evaluate a 3D virtual learning environment incorporating a haptic interface.

Image missing an alt value
COM n PLAY Science

Learning science the fun and creative way: coding, making and play as vehicles for informal science learning in the 21st century.

Image missing an alt value
Elements for Inclusion – a digital zine by Jonny Berliner

A digital zine telling the life-stories of four successful neurodivergent chemists, depicting the barriers they faced and the lessons they learned.

Image missing an alt value
Future Inventors

Future Inventors supports the development of a new lab space in the Museum Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia aimed at facilitating learner engagement with STEM.

Image missing an alt value
Heartwood Volume 1 & 2. Voices from environmental education: Academic research meets head, heart and hands

Heartwood Volumes 1 & 2 are a collection of personal heartfelt reflections aimed at engaging readers in important academic thinking on environmental education.

Image missing an alt value
Strategies for Assessment of Inquiry Learning in Science

The SAILS project aimed to help prepare teachers to teach science through an inquiry approach and be more confident and competent in their assessments.

Image missing an alt value
Subject choice, attainment and representation in Computing (SCARI computing)

This project aims to explore the predictors of computing uptake and performance in English schools, by using a range of case studies and national datasets.

Image missing an alt value
Sustaining teacher quality and retention post-pandemic

This project examines the impact of the substantial changes and sustained disruption caused by Covid-19 to the development of secondary school teachers.

Image missing an alt value
Understanding environmental education in secondary schools

This project explored the impact of the curriculum changes on the current state of environmental education provision across secondary schools in England.

Publications

    Activities

    A man taking a photo of science apparatus at an event
    CRESTEM seminar series

    The CRESTEM seminar series allows speakers to explore and explain their areas of STEM research.

    Application writing
    Writing Group for Academic Publishing

    This group, chaired by Professor Pat Mahony, meets monthly (on the first Wednesday of each month, 12.30-1.30pm) to support ECS staff and PhD students in getting their work published. Each month, one member circulates their draft of an article or book chapter and the rest of the group provide feedback in a constructive and supportive way. We aim to help the author to improve their paper in preparation for submission as well as support broader learning on the process of academic publishing. If you would like to join, please contact Dr Clare Coultas: clare.coultas@kcl.ac.uk.

      Two young students of colour in a lab with a science teacher
      CRESTEM keynote 2025: The Science Education Tracker

      David Montagu, The Royal Society and Becca Gooch, EngineeringUK, presented unique insights into science education in England afforded by the Science Education Tracker.

      Room of old computers - by alex motoc - 780x440
      CRESTEM Keynote Lecture 2023: Seeking a research agenda for computing education for young people

      Dr Sue Sentance outlined why she thinks computing education is a global concern and discussed areas where she thinks we need more research in order to make progress in implementing it.

      crestem keynote by piero nigro 780x440
      CRESTEM Keynote Lecture 2022: Aestheticising Mathematics Education Research

      Dr Nathalie Sinclair discussed the historical, colonial roots of the dismissal of aesthetics in current mathematics education research, as well as examples of what an aestheticising of mathematics education might look like, drawing on her own research with digital technologies.

      Jonathan Osborne headshot
      CRESTEM keynote 2021: Science education – past and future directions

      Professor Jonathan Osborne gives his personal view on the achievements of research in science education in the past 40 years.

      Its just research podcast 780x440
      It's Just Research Podcast

      A number of our academics have been involved in the 'It's Just Research Podcast', a podcast centering the work of academics in ECS.

      Research and Education for Socio-Ecological Transformations (RE-SET)

      Based in the School of Education, Communication & Society, RE-SET is a collective of academics, students and educators who are concerned with researching and teaching education for a more liveable and just future.

      News

      Dr Arthur Galamba wins award at largest education technology event in Latin America

      Dr Arthur Galamba has won the Early Stage Bett EdTech Award with his platform ‘Collabits’.

      arthurgalamba_bettaward

      King's Africa Studentship offers chance to study transformative ecological pedagogy

      King's College London is delighted to be offering the King's Africa Studentship to one student for the 2025/26 academic year.

      nature's valley south africa western cape

      Change your life with a scholarship to study STEM education

      We are offering 13 scholarships covering 70% of the tuition fees to teachers working in state funded schools in England to study for a Master’s in STEM...

      Natalie smiling after receiving the wipro award, next to a wipro representative clapping for her.

      Apply Now: Scholarships available for the MA STEM Education

      Thirteen scholarships covering 70 percent of the tuition fees are available to practicing teachers who want to do an MA in STEM Education.

      Student holding a balloon in a lab

      Announcing the 2025 Scholarships for the STEM Education MA

      13 scholarships are available to commence the STEM Education MA in September 2025 covering 70% of the fees, equivalent to c.£7k.

      STEM environment education

      Events

      01Jul

      2025 ECS Annual Lecture: The science, politics and technologies underpinning the climate crisis by Prof Emily Shuckburgh

      Save the date for this year's ECS annual lecture which will be delivered by Prof Emily Shuckburgh OBE, Director of Cambridge Zero.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      11Jun

      Crafting stories of cloth: a proposition for how we might think twice before throwing clothes away

      Rose Sinclair questions if there is a way to perhaps understand how stories of cloth might help us to revise how we look at clothes or cloth as such...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      10Jun

      Education for a liveable future: what can we learn from ‘good enough’ practice?

      In this talk, Dr Sophie Perry will reflect on her recent study which explored three case studies of counterhegemonic environmental education.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      14May

      An Archaeological Analysis of Numeracy Across the Curriculum in England

      In this talk, Amy O'Brien analyses just why numeracy and mathematics have been prioritised in policy in the UK.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      13Mar

      What is education good for in a context of socio-ecological crisis?

      This lecture will explore what kind of education (in terms of purpose, pedagogy and policy) is needed to restore the health and wellbeing of the planet and...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      STEM Education MA

      Since 2019, the MA in STEM Education welcomes students seeking the knowledge and skills to drive educational change in response to our increasingly technological and science-rich world. It provides a national, international and practically-oriented understanding of the ways in which core debates across formal and informal STEM education can shape responses to pressing social and environmental questions.

      Supported by WIPRO, the Master's programme offers the chance to 15 students each year to apply for the STEM Education Teacher Scholarship worth up to 70% of tuition fees. See the Scholarships link above for more details.

      New publication: Heartwood 2. More voices from environmental education: Academic research meets head, heart and hands

      Published in July 2024, the second essay collection builds on Heartwood 1 to capture and distil more of the learnings from the MA module ‘Environment, Sustainability and the Role of Education’, taught within the School of Education, Communication & Society.

      12 chapters exploring ideas including primary students carbon literacy, the role of Higher Education educators to teach the crisis and what environmental educators can be learn from neurodiverse learners at Forest Schools.

      Download the book here. 

      Heartwood. Voices from environmental education: Academic research meets head, heart and hands

      Published in July 2023, the essay collection shares a year-long project aiming to capture and distil some of the learnings from the MA module 'Environment, Sustainability and the Role of Education', taught within the School of Education, Communication & Society.

      Staff and students coproduced their environmental education-related research projects into digestible chapters and images to communicate new understandings beyond the gates of the university.

      Download the book here. 

       

      Drawing of the cut of a tree on a green background with drawings of leaves.
      Heartwood Volume 1 & 2. Voices from environmental education: Academic research meets head, heart and hands

      Heartfelt reflections on environmental education in the context of a climate crisis with unique images created by the authors.

      Natalie smiling after receiving the wipro award, next to a wipro representative clapping for her.
      Alumni stories: STEM education research in the classroom

      Harry, Rasha and Natalie share how the Master's has helped them innovate in their teaching practice and discover their deep interest in STEM education research.

      Francis and Aylin
      Alumni stories: Launching into new STEM education adventures

      Aylin and Francis reflect on how the Master’s has given them the knowledge and confidence to explore new areas of STEM education – the policy sector and the entrepreneurial side of industry.

      Module video Melissa Glackin
      Discover: Environment, Sustainability and the Role of Education module

      How do we understand the environment today, and where has this vision come from? On this module, students learn about the important role of education in responding to the multiple crises that the world is currently facing.

      Module video Richard Brock
      Discover: Quantitative Methods in the Context of Education Research module

      This module trains students to develop their quantitative skills both to produce their own analyses and also to be able to critically examine the conclusions reached by other researchers.

      People

      Chris Abbott

      Emeritus Reader in Assistive Technologies

      Jonathan Berliner

      PhD candidate

      Paul Black

      Emeritus Professor of Science Education

      Richard Brock

      Senior Lecturer in Science Education

      Margaret Brown

      Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Education

      Nicola Buttigieg

      PhD Candidate in CRESTEM

      Projects

      Image missing an alt value
      3D learning in a rich cooperative haptic environment

      The overall aim of the project is to design, develop and evaluate a 3D virtual learning environment incorporating a haptic interface.

      Image missing an alt value
      COM n PLAY Science

      Learning science the fun and creative way: coding, making and play as vehicles for informal science learning in the 21st century.

      Image missing an alt value
      Elements for Inclusion – a digital zine by Jonny Berliner

      A digital zine telling the life-stories of four successful neurodivergent chemists, depicting the barriers they faced and the lessons they learned.

      Image missing an alt value
      Future Inventors

      Future Inventors supports the development of a new lab space in the Museum Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia aimed at facilitating learner engagement with STEM.

      Image missing an alt value
      Heartwood Volume 1 & 2. Voices from environmental education: Academic research meets head, heart and hands

      Heartwood Volumes 1 & 2 are a collection of personal heartfelt reflections aimed at engaging readers in important academic thinking on environmental education.

      Image missing an alt value
      Strategies for Assessment of Inquiry Learning in Science

      The SAILS project aimed to help prepare teachers to teach science through an inquiry approach and be more confident and competent in their assessments.

      Image missing an alt value
      Subject choice, attainment and representation in Computing (SCARI computing)

      This project aims to explore the predictors of computing uptake and performance in English schools, by using a range of case studies and national datasets.

      Image missing an alt value
      Sustaining teacher quality and retention post-pandemic

      This project examines the impact of the substantial changes and sustained disruption caused by Covid-19 to the development of secondary school teachers.

      Image missing an alt value
      Understanding environmental education in secondary schools

      This project explored the impact of the curriculum changes on the current state of environmental education provision across secondary schools in England.

      Publications

        Activities

        A man taking a photo of science apparatus at an event
        CRESTEM seminar series

        The CRESTEM seminar series allows speakers to explore and explain their areas of STEM research.

        Application writing
        Writing Group for Academic Publishing

        This group, chaired by Professor Pat Mahony, meets monthly (on the first Wednesday of each month, 12.30-1.30pm) to support ECS staff and PhD students in getting their work published. Each month, one member circulates their draft of an article or book chapter and the rest of the group provide feedback in a constructive and supportive way. We aim to help the author to improve their paper in preparation for submission as well as support broader learning on the process of academic publishing. If you would like to join, please contact Dr Clare Coultas: clare.coultas@kcl.ac.uk.

          Two young students of colour in a lab with a science teacher
          CRESTEM keynote 2025: The Science Education Tracker

          David Montagu, The Royal Society and Becca Gooch, EngineeringUK, presented unique insights into science education in England afforded by the Science Education Tracker.

          Room of old computers - by alex motoc - 780x440
          CRESTEM Keynote Lecture 2023: Seeking a research agenda for computing education for young people

          Dr Sue Sentance outlined why she thinks computing education is a global concern and discussed areas where she thinks we need more research in order to make progress in implementing it.

          crestem keynote by piero nigro 780x440
          CRESTEM Keynote Lecture 2022: Aestheticising Mathematics Education Research

          Dr Nathalie Sinclair discussed the historical, colonial roots of the dismissal of aesthetics in current mathematics education research, as well as examples of what an aestheticising of mathematics education might look like, drawing on her own research with digital technologies.

          Jonathan Osborne headshot
          CRESTEM keynote 2021: Science education – past and future directions

          Professor Jonathan Osborne gives his personal view on the achievements of research in science education in the past 40 years.

          Its just research podcast 780x440
          It's Just Research Podcast

          A number of our academics have been involved in the 'It's Just Research Podcast', a podcast centering the work of academics in ECS.

          Research and Education for Socio-Ecological Transformations (RE-SET)

          Based in the School of Education, Communication & Society, RE-SET is a collective of academics, students and educators who are concerned with researching and teaching education for a more liveable and just future.

          News

          Dr Arthur Galamba wins award at largest education technology event in Latin America

          Dr Arthur Galamba has won the Early Stage Bett EdTech Award with his platform ‘Collabits’.

          arthurgalamba_bettaward

          King's Africa Studentship offers chance to study transformative ecological pedagogy

          King's College London is delighted to be offering the King's Africa Studentship to one student for the 2025/26 academic year.

          nature's valley south africa western cape

          Change your life with a scholarship to study STEM education

          We are offering 13 scholarships covering 70% of the tuition fees to teachers working in state funded schools in England to study for a Master’s in STEM...

          Natalie smiling after receiving the wipro award, next to a wipro representative clapping for her.

          Apply Now: Scholarships available for the MA STEM Education

          Thirteen scholarships covering 70 percent of the tuition fees are available to practicing teachers who want to do an MA in STEM Education.

          Student holding a balloon in a lab

          Announcing the 2025 Scholarships for the STEM Education MA

          13 scholarships are available to commence the STEM Education MA in September 2025 covering 70% of the fees, equivalent to c.£7k.

          STEM environment education

          Events

          01Jul

          2025 ECS Annual Lecture: The science, politics and technologies underpinning the climate crisis by Prof Emily Shuckburgh

          Save the date for this year's ECS annual lecture which will be delivered by Prof Emily Shuckburgh OBE, Director of Cambridge Zero.

          Please note: this event has passed.

          11Jun

          Crafting stories of cloth: a proposition for how we might think twice before throwing clothes away

          Rose Sinclair questions if there is a way to perhaps understand how stories of cloth might help us to revise how we look at clothes or cloth as such...

          Please note: this event has passed.

          10Jun

          Education for a liveable future: what can we learn from ‘good enough’ practice?

          In this talk, Dr Sophie Perry will reflect on her recent study which explored three case studies of counterhegemonic environmental education.

          Please note: this event has passed.

          14May

          An Archaeological Analysis of Numeracy Across the Curriculum in England

          In this talk, Amy O'Brien analyses just why numeracy and mathematics have been prioritised in policy in the UK.

          Please note: this event has passed.

          13Mar

          What is education good for in a context of socio-ecological crisis?

          This lecture will explore what kind of education (in terms of purpose, pedagogy and policy) is needed to restore the health and wellbeing of the planet and...

          Please note: this event has passed.

          STEM Education MA

          Since 2019, the MA in STEM Education welcomes students seeking the knowledge and skills to drive educational change in response to our increasingly technological and science-rich world. It provides a national, international and practically-oriented understanding of the ways in which core debates across formal and informal STEM education can shape responses to pressing social and environmental questions.

          Supported by WIPRO, the Master's programme offers the chance to 15 students each year to apply for the STEM Education Teacher Scholarship worth up to 70% of tuition fees. See the Scholarships link above for more details.

          New publication: Heartwood 2. More voices from environmental education: Academic research meets head, heart and hands

          Published in July 2024, the second essay collection builds on Heartwood 1 to capture and distil more of the learnings from the MA module ‘Environment, Sustainability and the Role of Education’, taught within the School of Education, Communication & Society.

          12 chapters exploring ideas including primary students carbon literacy, the role of Higher Education educators to teach the crisis and what environmental educators can be learn from neurodiverse learners at Forest Schools.

          Download the book here. 

          Heartwood. Voices from environmental education: Academic research meets head, heart and hands

          Published in July 2023, the essay collection shares a year-long project aiming to capture and distil some of the learnings from the MA module 'Environment, Sustainability and the Role of Education', taught within the School of Education, Communication & Society.

          Staff and students coproduced their environmental education-related research projects into digestible chapters and images to communicate new understandings beyond the gates of the university.

          Download the book here. 

           

          Drawing of the cut of a tree on a green background with drawings of leaves.
          Heartwood Volume 1 & 2. Voices from environmental education: Academic research meets head, heart and hands

          Heartfelt reflections on environmental education in the context of a climate crisis with unique images created by the authors.

          Natalie smiling after receiving the wipro award, next to a wipro representative clapping for her.
          Alumni stories: STEM education research in the classroom

          Harry, Rasha and Natalie share how the Master's has helped them innovate in their teaching practice and discover their deep interest in STEM education research.

          Francis and Aylin
          Alumni stories: Launching into new STEM education adventures

          Aylin and Francis reflect on how the Master’s has given them the knowledge and confidence to explore new areas of STEM education – the policy sector and the entrepreneurial side of industry.

          Module video Melissa Glackin
          Discover: Environment, Sustainability and the Role of Education module

          How do we understand the environment today, and where has this vision come from? On this module, students learn about the important role of education in responding to the multiple crises that the world is currently facing.

          Module video Richard Brock
          Discover: Quantitative Methods in the Context of Education Research module

          This module trains students to develop their quantitative skills both to produce their own analyses and also to be able to critically examine the conclusions reached by other researchers.

          Contact us

          If you require further information about CRESTEM, please do drop us an email.

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