Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

The Government’s imminent curriculum review presents an opportunity to reassess the place of languages education in our schools. What, though, does the evidence base tell us?

Join us for this University of Cambridge seminar exploring some potential ways forward.

Applications are OPEN for the Cambridge Doctor of Education (EdD) programme starting 2026: a part-time research degree for working professionals who want to use the power of education to drive innovation in any sector. Open to UK and international students. www.educ.cam.ac.uk/courses/post...

'A new book by Head of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education, @camedfac.bsky.social, calls for radical change in a school system it describes as over-standardised, stressful, and ‘sick.' @cam.ac.uk
We are crying out for a completely new vision of what education involves, however challenging that may be.'

Poorer students more likely to miss out on studying a language at GCSE Students from less wealthy backgrounds are more likely to attend schools where learning a language to GCSE is treated as optional – and not necessarily strongly encouraged – new research shows.

Students from less wealthy backgrounds are more likely to attend schools where learning a foreign language to GCSE is considered optional – and not necessarily even encouraged – new research by @karenforbes.bsky.social shows.

Read more: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/poor...

Very happy to share this article exploring the influence of school-level curriculum policies on both uptake and attainment in GCSE modern languages in England @camedfac.bsky.social Freely available to download - key points below ⬇️ (1/6)

www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

Schools are educating children for a vanishing future. Is it time to ‘rewild’ the system?

A new book by Professor Hilary Cremin, Head of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education, calls for radical change in a school system it describes as over-standardised, stressful, and ‘sick’. Is it time to think bigger about education reform?

More here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/scho...

The Editorial Board of the Cambridge Journal of Education is seeking education scholars with diverse intellectual interests to join its Editorial Panel.

Find out more at: www.educ.cam.ac.uk/research/cje/

A new prize for education and social justice research in South Asia has been launched in memory of Dr Arif Naveed. Arif was an outstanding Pakistani social scientist who undertook his doctoral research at the Faculty of Education.

More about the prize here: www.educ.cam.ac.uk/centres/real...

More about @drjennyg.bsky.social and @ejgoodacre.bsky.social's research on AI toys and children's development here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/new-...

How will childhood be changed by AI toys? | Letter Letter: Our study is looking into how toys powered by AI can affect children’s development and their right to privacy, write Dr Emily J Goodacre and Prof Jenny Gibson

"It is our collective responsibility to understand how toys powered by artificial intelligence impact young children."

@drjennyg.bsky.social and @ejgoodacre.bsky.social in The Guardian:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

The long-term follow up findings of our Healthy Start, Happy Start study have been published in the @acamh.bsky.social Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry this week.

Read a quick-read summary by @camedfac.bsky.social: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...

How will childhood be changed by AI toys? | Letter Letter: Our study is looking into how toys powered by AI can affect children’s development and their right to privacy, write Dr Emily J Goodacre and Prof Jenny Gibson

Today in our Guardian letter, @drjennyg.bsky.social and I call for a greater public discourse on how AI toys are interacting with young children and the impacts on their development. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

ChatGPT seemed to “think on the fly” when put through an Ancient Greek maths puzzle The Artificial Intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, appeared to improvise ideas and make mistakes like a student in a study that rebooted a 2,400-year-old mathematical challenge.

Generative AI doesn't "think" like humans do, but in a new University of Cambridge study which confronted it with an Ancient Greek maths puzzle, it did behave in a curiously "learner-like" way.

Read more here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/chat...

This animation provides an update on the long term findings of the Healthy Start, Happy Start study testing a relationship-based parenting programme.

@nihr.bsky.social @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @ihealthvisiting.bsky.social @acamh.bsky.social @camedfac.bsky.social

New research from @pedalcam.bsky.social shows that a short, relationship-based programme for families can protect against children developing behaviour problems years later.

Quick-read summary here: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/heal...

...or take a look at the full paper in the attached post!

How can we... examine the impact of LLM chatbot tutors on student learning psychology and behaviours? Includes a photo of PhD Student Megan Ennion, Faculty of Education, on a blue background. Read the blog post to find out more.

📢 New blog! Find out how Megan Ennion, a PhD student from @camedfac.bsky.social supervised by Ros McLellan used funding from Accelerate and @cambridgec2d3.bsky.social to study how AI tutors impact student learning psychology and behaviors.

Find out more: bit.ly/46It7ky

How should teaching – and teacher education – adapt for a fast-changing world?

In January, we began building a vision for teaching in 2050. Now we’re inviting those at the heart of the teacher education sector to shape what comes next.

Find out more and have your say: teachereducation2050.co.uk

Congratulations to our recent MEd graduate Aliabbas Dhanji, whose dissertation was recently shortlisted for the UK Literacy Association (UKLA) Student Research Prize.

Find out more about the prizes at: ukla.org/research-pri...

<em>British Educational Research Journal</em> | BERA Journal | Wiley Online Library This study engages student voice in Rwandan secondary schools as a mechanism for understanding factors influencing learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, attitu....

Well done to @auroragaocam.bsky.social on her new paper in the SSCI-indexed @berj-2025.bsky.social

The study spotlights student voice to explore what supports effective STEM learning and aspirations in Rwandan secondary schools.

doi.org/10.1002/berj...

‘Closed loop’ learning barriers prevent doctors from using life-saving bedside ultrasound

Point-of-care ultrasound is a medical scanning technology which enables doctors to perform rapid, bedside scans and reveal life-threatening problems. Despite its potential, it is often abandoned after training. This new study explains why.

content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/clos...

Can refugee education truly be transformed without decolonizing the foundations of aid & knowledge production? 

Join Z. Zakharia, F. Menashy, A. Ahmad, T. Weldemichel, C. Saab & others
June 19–20 
https://shorturl.at/EnvON

10 years of the REAL Centre: Tackling injustices in and through education

A very happy 10th birthday to @realcentre.bsky.social! As the REAL Centre marks its anniversary, this feature explores how it has led the way in producing collaborative research to advance equity and social justice in and through education.

content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/10-y...

Academic research and activism: Key lessons from South Africa and Palestine Students, researchers, academics and activists are warmly invited to a critical conversation on the relationship between activism & research

Academic research and activism: Key lessons from #SouthAfrica & #Palestine
17 June 4pm BST
Join us @camedfac.bsky.social discussing the interrelationships between research & activism & the role of academics & intellectuals in the academy & society
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/academic-r...

We just wrapped up our PhD retreat on Theorising in PhD Research at @camedfac.bsky.social 
two days of powerful conversations on theory, lived experience & decolonising knowledge. Grateful to all who joined us!
 @homertoncollege.bsky.social  
@realcentre.bsky.social  @britishacademy.bsky.social

Cutting aid for girls’ education isn’t just wrong – it’s economically illiterate | Larry Elliott This slash-and-burn approach is indefensible and would have been anathema to previous Labour governments, says Guardian columnist Larry Elliott

The evidence mentioned here that £75 pays for the equivalent of two extra years of teaching for girls is from the REAL Centre, University of Cambridge. Along with a wealth of other research, it supports Larry Elliott's concerns about the need to rethink aid cuts.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

It's been such a delight to host @elizafricker.bsky.social and our amazing comics and autism team this week! Looking forward to working with you again in the autumn 🙏

Book cover of 'I won't let them be like me'.

📔 Join us for a discussion of Richard Latham Lechowick’s new book, I Won’t Let Them Be Like Me: Ezidi Women’s Agency and Identity after the Sinjar Genocide'

His talk traces personal narratives of transformation in self and society

23 May from 5-7pm
Online & in-person at CRASSH
buff.ly/rMcNqEg

To mark the launch of his new book, @rupertwegerif.bsky.social will be joined by special guest Sir Anthony Seldon – educator, historian, and founder of the AI in Education Initiative for this event on 9 June, 5.30pm – 7pm.

Tickets are free: deficambridge.glueup.com/.../rethinki...

A day of celebration - Gates Cambridge Gates Cambridge celebrated its 25th anniversary last week with a day of events, insights and discussion.

These are challenging times for international scholarship and student mobility, so in its 25th year, the Gates Cambridge programme has perhaps never mattered more.. Gates Scholarship 'original' Prof Riikka Hofmann was among those exploring why at this event.

www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/a...

New era of aid cuts and conflict threatens educational lifeline of youngest learners

A sharp drop in aid for pre-primary education may be the first sign that the international community is turning its back on the world’s most vulnerable children amid wider economic strain, a new report from @realcentre.bsky.social says.

content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/new-...