This Week:

• Live music in the SU Bar with Jazz Caribe
• Manifesto for ESOL
• Research Degrees at the IOE: Advice Evening for Current IOE students
• Summer Term LGBTQ Seminar and Drinks
• BME Conference - The Future of Education: New environments and new challenges for Black and Minority Ethnic researchers and academics.
• Keynote Lectures: Reflections on Diversity, Human Rights and Citizenship Education in a new Democracy Professor Audrey Osler
• Equity and Quality in Education: International Conference. Beijing, 23-24 October 2012
• Bloomsbury Plant Fair 3rd May at the Farmers' Market Thursday Torrington Square
IOESU Event: Friday 4 may

Live Music with Jazz Caribe – finest jazz, ska and reggae in London
Sets at 6pm and 7.30pm
Free Entry – All Welcome

MANIFESTO for ESOL - Wednesday 9 May

4.15pm refreshments, 4.30 - 6pm talk on the route to the Manifesto, participatory practices and activism with Elaine Williamson and Tish Taylor
IOE Student Union, room S13

Please check out the Manifesto on the Action for ESOL website here: http://actionforesol.org/action-for-esol-manifesto
Action for ESOL is supported by a number of MPs, UCU, PCS, Liberty NATECLA, QUiTE, the Refugee Council and other organisations.
EVERYONE WELCOME! Organised by the TESOL Society

Research Degrees at the IOE: Advice Evening for Current IOE students

17:00-18:30 Wednesday 9 May, Committee Room 1

Interested in continuing your studies with a research degree at the Institute of Education? Come and meet Doctoral School academic and administrative staff and find out about:
• MPhil/PhD programmes in Education, Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities
• MPhil/PhD with Integrated Research Methods Training
• Doctor in Education (EdD) Home, International and Dual Award
• MRes Educational and Social Research
For programmes from October 2012. Please email Alex Rendall, Research Degrees and Examinations Assistant (a.rendall@ioe.ac.uk) if you require any special arrangements to be made in order to attend this event.

Summer Term LGBTQ Seminar and Drinks – SAVE THE DATE 26 June

(Part of the Feminisms, gender & sexuality Seminar series, Organisers: Jenny Parkes, Emily Henderson, Charley Nussey and Claudia Lapping )
Early evening seminar, followed by social drinks in the SU bar. You are welcome to attend the seminar and/or the drinks. I will send out another mail nearer the time.

Speaker: Ian Warwick http://www.ioe.ac.uk/staff/HSSE/TCRU_61.html

“Tackling homophobia in schools: reflections on past research; identifying issues for the future”

In 2007 I completed a small-scale study (as part of an EdD) on the ways that three secondary schools in south London had, to some extent at least, tackled homophobic bullying. What appeared to be most successful was concurrently addressing homophobia directly (through raising awareness about its nature and effects) as well as creating a school ethos supportive of students’ well-being more generally.

My motivation for carrying out the study was, in part, due to the almost unceasing images of schools as routinely homophobic settings. While this may have some political leverage, in that such imagery can be used to access resources to tackle homophobic bullying in schools, it may serve to hide from view the range of tactics and strategies already being put in place by staff and students to create safe and supportive learning environments.

In this seminar I will present some key features and findings of the study. In particular, I will outline the ways that some students made a distinction between homophobia-related teasing and bullying in order to help them distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable school-based practices. Moreover, I will ask whether there are lessons to be learned from the study for generating ideas about how we might now tackle homophobia in educational settings – and, indeed, to question whether a focus on homophobia or same-sex sexualities is a pedagogically appropriate starting point.

BME Conference - The Future of Education: New environments and new challenges for Black and Minority Ethnic researchers and academics.

Venue: University of Birmingham, Lucas House, Edgbaston, B15 2TT
Date: Friday 29 June 2012

The conference aims to provide a focussed opportunity to consider the:
• Contributions of BME researchers and academics to the development of knowledge related to ‘race’, ethnicity, education and society;
• Discuss the challenges for BME researchers within an age of austerity and shifting policy with respect to ‘race’, ethnicity and education;
To register for this event, please visit: http://www.eventelephant.com/berabmeconference
Details can also be found at: http://www.bera.ac.uk/events/bera-bme-conference-2012
• Doctoral students are invited to submit abstracts of papers (no more than 250 words) to Farzana.Rahman@bera.ac.uk by 5pm on Friday 30 April.

Keynote lectures: Reflections on Diversity, Human Rights and Citizenship Education in a new Democracy Professor Audrey Osler
Birkbeck, University of London and University of Leeds

Professionals as Citizens: opening spaces for engagement with social justice Professor Miriam Zukas, Birkbeck, University of London
The Human Right to Learning and the Learning of Human Rights Dr Tristan McCowan, Institute of Education University of London

International Centre for Education for Democratic Citizenship a joint centre of Birkbeck, University of London and Institute of Education, University of London invites you to contribute to its 6th annual conference: Citizenship, history, democracy and education, Thursday 5 July 2012 9.30 – 5 at Birkbeck, University of London, Malet St, London WC1E 7HX

CALL FOR PAPERS

Our 6th annual international conference responds to the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (2010). This aims to promote education that empowers learners on the one hand to ‘exercise and defend their democratic rights and responsibilities in society, to value diversity and to play an active part in democratic life, with a view to the promotion and protection of democracy and the rule of law’ and on the other to ‘contribute to the building and defence of a universal culture of human rights in society, with a view to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms’.
The Charter notes that learning in education for democratic citizenship and human rights education is a ‘lifelong process’ involving numerous stakeholders including non-governmental and youth organizations. It aims to promote social cohesion and intercultural dialogue and the valuing of diversity and equality, including gender equality. The Charter also sets a research agenda. The conference will be an opportunity to present work on topics including: curricula, innovative practices, teaching methods and development of evaluation systems, including evaluation criteria and indicators.
We invite presentations from academics, including master’s and doctoral students, education policymakers and practitioners, trade unionists and civil society activists. We welcome contributions from sociology, education, politics and other relevant disciplines, and case studies from NGOs and campaigns.
Conference subthemes are:
o History education, diversity and struggles
o Partnerships of NGOs and educational institutions
o Citizenship education, gender, diversity and inclusion in schools
o Informal learning through political action, religious engagement, the media and culture
o Learning for, in and through democracy and human rights
Abstracts of no more than 300 words including name and contact details, should be sent, no later than Friday 18 May 2012 to: Professor Hugh Starkey h.starkey@ioe.ac.uk . All abstracts will be peer reviewed by members of the ICEDC steering group. Proposals for several contributions on a common theme (symposium) are welcome. Please include details of each contribution and the name of the symposium convenor. As in previous years we expect that selected papers will be published as a special issue in a peer-reviewed journal.

Hugh Starkey, PhD, Professor of Education
Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
Institute of Education, University of London,
20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL

Equity and Quality in Education: an international conference in Beijing, 23-24 October 2012

Organised in partnership between the Institute of Education (IOE), University of London and Beijing Normal University, this biennial event, which in 2010 attracted 250 participants and submissions from 42 countries, provides a dynamic international forum for sharing research and good practice in education.

This year's conference will address equity in education practice; moral and citizenship education; inclusive education; the role of research and researchers in enabling equity and quality in education; and issues of communication, culture and identity.

The call for papers is open until 31 May 2012. Whether you are a researcher or a practitioner, we welcome abstracts of innovative work addressing the above themes. We look forward to seeing you at what promises to be unique and exciting event.

Further information at www.ioe.ac.uk/equity2012 <http://www.ioe.ac.uk/equity2012>

Bloomsbury Farmers' Market

Just a quick reminder that the first ever Bloomsbury Plant Fair will take place this Thursday alongside the Farmers' Market.

We are also running a competition for all workplaces in the area to win an office plant garden makeover. Click here for a flyer which staff at your workplace can print out and bring to market during their lunchbreak. The business who bring us the most of these flyers will receive a free office plant makeover. See the link for more details.

Look out for the following excellent nurseries on Thursday:

Herbal Haven- Essex
If its herbs you’re after, John Webster of Herbal Haven has an unparalleled range of both popular garden herbs and unusual specialties. Their range includes, amongst many others, cinnamon basil, chamomile, mugwort, bergamot, wintergreen, marjoram, Jacob’s Ladder, wood sage, heartsease, mullein, elecampaine, bay and St. John’s Wort. We could name them all, but it would take us forever. Go and see for yourself! www.herbalhaven.com

John Cullen Gardens – London
John Cullen is a garden designer by trade, specializing in adding floral flourishes to urban spaces. His range of plants grown in Northwest London reflects this. He will bring produce suited for the urban horticulturalist or window-box grower. Bulbs and tubers predominate in the early season, before he starts to concentrate on edible plants. www.johncullengardens.com

The Culinary Herb Company
Peter Sikora set up the Culinary Herb Company in 2008 and now provides Londoners with a huge range of herbs for every cooking taste. His stall is certainly one to ‘browse by scent’, and the perfect first stop for putting together a windowsill herbary! www.culinaryherbco.co.uk
Dig This - London
Mihaly Herczeg set up his small nursery in 2010 with a view to growing ecologically. The area on which he grows, in Welling in Southeast London, is also kept as a nature reserve. He grows a mixture of evergreens, shrubs and perennials, as well as many unusual vegetable and herb varieties, including many varieties of Hungarian origin which Mihaly has extensively tested for suitability to London soil. www.green-nose.com
Cultivate London
Cultivate London is a social enterprise set up to kick-start urban agriculture and horticultural training of young people, in two London sites (one in Isleworth and the other in Brentford). This will be their second year of selling their produce on markets now, and they will be trying lots of new plants this year, a mix of ornamental and edible varieties. Perfect for windowboxes, offices and student digs. www.cultivatelondon.org
Edible Ornamentals- Bedfordshire
Shaun and Jo, of Edible Ornamentals, grow over thirty different varieties of chilli peppers, ranging from mild tang to scorching heat. Thankfully, someone from Edible Ornamentals will always be on hand to find you the right chilli plant to produce chillies suited to your personal tolerance. They make a great effort to produce plants which not only produce fantastic-tasting chillies, but also look amazing too – hence the name. They also have a good selection of many other herb plants. www.edibleornamentals.co.uk
We have no doubt that the area will be looking a lot more colourful from this Thursday onwards!
Enjoy the market on Thursday, Clare, Margot, Cheryl, Mark, Danielle and Arthur

Bloomsbury Farmers' Market - every Thursday 9am-2pm in Torrington Square
Bloomsbury Plant Fair - 3rd May at the Farmers' Market
London Farmers' Markets
11 O'Donnell Court
Brunswick Centre
London WC1N 1NY
www.lfm.org.uk