Dr Marcela Ramos
- Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship (School of Education)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2782-7617Biography
Marcela is an interdisciplinary researcher with an overall interest in social justice and how inequalities are produced and reproduced. She has experience of working within and across the fields of education, economics and sociology. Her practice spans education, literacies and sustainability, and the communication and application of research in a policy context. Her work has focused on two broad areas: the subjective experience of neoliberalism and its manifestation in public policy. In addition, the relationship between education and sustainability and the challenges of transforming education for sustainable futures.
Marcela has a PhD in Education (University of Bristol), a Master in Public Policy (School of Economics, University of Chile) and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (National Andres Bello University, Chile). Her doctoral research focused on how urban middle-class parents navigate the Chilean school system, an extreme case of marketised education, and the strategies, beliefs, fears and aspirations that shape their relationship with their children's education.
Marcela's research experience have (mainly) taken place in countries shaped by neoliberal policies, colonial development processes, conflict and inequalities. Methodologically, her research has been informed by theoretical and conceptual lenses drawn from the sociology of education, human geography and economics. Feminist and postcolonial scholarship has informed her critical approaches to issues of gender, knowledge hierarchies, distribution, representation and voice. Marcela is experienced in designing and using a wide range of critical, participatory and exploratory methodological approaches, including mixed methods and qualitative research.
Working interdisciplinary means being open and awake to knowing and valuing multiple knowledge systems, developed and enriched in diverse geographical and socio-cultural contexts and where communities play a central role. Because of her interest in transdisciplinary and collaborative work, Marcela has worked with policy makers, stakeholders, rural and urban community organisations in diverse contexts. Since 2021, Marcela is an active member of the Sustainable Futures Global Network (SFGN), that brings together more than 180 researchers and practitioners from Latin America, Africa, Europe, the USA and Canada, with partners ranging from higher education institutions to government agencies, community organisations and national funders.
Marcela is a trained Journalist and specialises in creating innovative written, visual and audio content to communicate complex ideas to a wide range of audiences. In 2021, together with a group of renowned journalists, she created TerceraDosis, a website designed to contribute to informed discussions on public issues and promoting important connections between journalism and academia in Chile and Latin America (including publications, videos and podcasts, in Spanish and English). In 2022, she co-created and co-produced, AboutSUS, a podcast series that promotes interdisciplinary conversations about what it means to relate to the world sustainably through the lenses and values of education, political economy, political ecology and geography. The podcast is now publicly distributed and being used for educational purposes in various contexts.
Research interests
-Sustainability and Equity
-Issues of distribution and representation
-Literacies and Citizenship Education for Sustainable Futures
-Education across highly marketised and neoliberal contexts
-Building creative and nurturing bridges between media, academia and policy
Grants
2023 International Partnership Development Fund (IPDF). Project: ‘Urgent conversations about segregation in school education: What future teachers and researchers need to know’. Chilean academic visit and future partnership projects between University of Chile and University of Glasgow. Role: PI (£2,100).
2022 GCID Small Grants Fund, University of Glasgow. Project: ‘Bringing young people back into agriculture: Developing a South-South partnership to collaboratively address generational renewal’. Role: PI (£9,000)
2022 Small Grant Award, School of Education, University of Glasgow. Project: ‘Podcast mini-series (three episodes) to support teaching, disseminate research, engage new audiences and promote transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral dialogue in the topic of sustainability’. Role: PI (£3,000)
2019-2021 Newton Fund, Advancing sustainable forage-based livestock production systems in Colombia (CoForLife), BBSRC. Project: ‘A collaborative multidisciplinary team working with farming communities in Colombia to increase the use of forage-based feed resources, reduced environmental impact and improved food security’. Role: PDRA (Named Education Specialist) (£150,000).
2014-2016 Chilean Ministry of Culture Grant. Project: Juegos de Mate, a website aiming at promote parental involvement in children’s education. Role: creator and editor (£11,000).
Teaching
Marcela has taught a range of modules across the education and social science curriculum, in Chile and the UK:
- Educational Inequality in Low-Income Contexts
- Education for Sustainable Futures
- Introduction to Educational Inquiry
- Working with Parents and Carers for Inclusive Education
- Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in the Social Science
- Education and International Development
- Education Public Policy
She has also taught research workshops for conferences, events and in non-academic spaces, including sessions on research communication and dissemination and writing about your research for non-academic audiences
Additional information
Education Consultancy
- Developing 21st Century Skills in Chilean Secondary Education: Social Science Inquiry for Critical Citizenship (2024). An interdisciplinary research project involving academics from the University of Chile (CIAE, IE) and the Austral University of Chile, together with Chilean secondary school teachers.
- Teaching Materials for Secondary Schools in Chile (2021): “Let’s talk about Mapuche history” (Conversemos de la historia mapuche). Series of booklets for secondary school teachers and students. https://www.decolonizarlahistoria.com/
Editorial & Reviewer Services
- Bristol Studies in Comparative and International Education (2021- Present)
- International Journal of Research & Method in Education; Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education; Global Social Challenges Journal.
Global Networks
Media Outlets
Podcasts
