Centre for Research in Education in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (CRESTEM)

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. Our research draws from social science, psychological and critical perspectives to advance theory and make sense of data collected with a range of different empirical methods.

Our work is closely aligned with the cross-school themes ‘Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment’, ‘Professionalism and Workplace Practice’ and ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice’ and organised around three programmes of research and knowledge exchange:

Learning: knowledge, beliefs and values
Social justice: inclusion, difference and equity
Professional practice and policy: curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.

Members

Chris Abbott

Emeritus Reader in Assistive Technologies

Jill Adler

Visiting Professor of Mathematics Education

Katherine Aston

Lecturer in Chemistry Education

Jonathan Berliner

PhD candidate

Richard Brock

Lecturer in Science Education

Margaret Brown

Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Education

Jeremy Burke

Visiting Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education

Ye (Catherine) Cao

PhD candidate

Liam Cini O'Dwyer

PhD Candidate

Diana Coben

Professor of Adult Numeracy

Meggie Copsey-Blake

Research Associate

Margaret Cox

Emeritus Professor of Information Technology in Education

Anna Danielsson

Visiting Professor in Science Education

Dave Dennis

PhD candidate

Jessie Durk

Research Associate

Mengqi Fang

PhD Candidate

Carla Finesilver

Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education and Inclusion

Arthur Galamba

Deputy Director of the King’s Brazil Institute

Melissa Glackin

Senior Lecturer in Science Education

Kate Greer

Research Associate

Alex Hadwen-Bennett

Teaching Fellow in Computer Science

Jessica Hamer

Research Associate

Christine Harrison

Professor in Science Education

Lulu Healy

Professor of Mathematics Education

Shirin Hine

PhD candidate

Peter Kemp

Lecturer in Computing Education

Heather King

Reader in Science Education

Jayne Kranat

Senior Teaching Fellow

Peter Kutnick

Professor of Psychology of Education

Zsuzsa Lugosi

PhD Candidate

Alex Manning

Lecturer in Science Education

Christopher Olley

Visiting Lecturer

Sophie Perry

PhD candidate

Gabriella Rundblad

Professor of Language & Cognition

Elizabeth Rushton

Lecturer in Geography Education

Sandra Takei

Senior Teaching Fellow

Mary Webb

Reader in IT in Education

Lucy Wood

PhD candidate

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.

Child working at a computer with a pen and notepad

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.

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.

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.

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.

Teacher standing at the front of a class

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.

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.

Methodologies for decolonising geography curricula in the secondary school and in Initial Teacher Education
Nayeri, C. & Rushton, E., 17 Nov 2021, (Accepted/In press) In: London Review of Education. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The challenges and affordances of online participatory workshops in the context of young people’s everyday climate crisis activism: insights from facilitators.
Rushton, E., Dunlop, L., Atkinson, L., Price, L., Stubbs, J., Turkenburg-van Diepen, M. & Wood, L., 9 Nov 2021, (Accepted/In press) In: Children's Geographies . Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Manifesto for Education for Environmental Sustainability
Rushton, E. & Dunlop, L., 1 Nov 2021, British Educational Research Association. Research output: Other contribution
An introduction to the co-creation of policy briefs with youth and academic teams
Dunlop, L., Rushton, E., Atkinson, L., Blake, C., Calvert, S., Cornelissen, E., Dècle, C., De Schrijver, J., Dhassi, K., Edwards, R., Malaj, G., Mirjanić, J., Saunders, W., Sinkovec, Y., Stadnyk, T., Štofan, J., Stubbs, J., Su, C., Turkenburg-van Diepen, M., Vellekoop, S. & 2 others, Veneu, F. & Yuan, X., 31 Oct 2021, (Accepted/In press) In: JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHY IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Beyond categories: Dynamic qualitative analysis of visuospatial representation in arithmetic
Finesilver, C., 31 Oct 2021, (Accepted/In press) In: Educational Studies in Mathematics,. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Climate intervention: developing a youth guide with and for young people
Dunlop, L. & Rushton, E., 14 Oct 2021, (Accepted/In press) 2 p. University of Glasgow . Research output: Other contribution
Supporting teachers who have trained during the pandemic to thrive in their first year of teaching: A guide for secondary schools.
Rushton, E., 7 Oct 2021, British Educational Research Association. Research output: Other contribution
What enables student geography teachers to thrive during their PGCE year and beyond?
Rushton, E. A. C., Nayeri, C., Beardmore Crowther, D., Griffiths, L., Newell, P., Sayliss, Z., Wise, J. & Zeina, A., 11 Sep 2021, In: JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHY IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2021.1978064
Supporting Early Career Teachers to thrive in their first year. A Guide for Schools.
Rushton, E., Gibbons, S., Brock, R., Cao, C., Finesilver, C., Hesketh, R., Jones, J., Manning, A., Marshall, B., Richardson, C., Steadman, S., Suh, S. & Towers, E., 31 Aug 2021, 12 p. Research output: Other contribution
Environmental Education-Related Policy Enactment in Japanese High Schools
Glackin, M. & Greer, K., 13 Aug 2021, In: Journal of Education for Sustainable Development. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1177/09734082211031325

View all publications

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.

Learn more about the CRESTEM seminar series

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.

Watch the CRESTEM keynote lecture 2021

The Centre provides three scholarships for students:

The STEM Education teacher scholarship provides funds for our MA in STEM Education. The Rosalind Driver Scholarship Fund and the Bernard Dawson Scholarship Fund provide fees and stipends for PhD study in the area of science education.

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