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Dr Andrea Laczik

Head of Research

Andrea has been working at Edge since 2017 and now leads Edge’s research work. She has over 20 years of education research and policy evaluation experience while working at Oxford and Warwick Universities and Edge.

Her broad interests cover Vocational Education and Training (VET) and apprenticeships at all levels, employer engagement in VET and general education, skills development, innovative/alternative higher education, youth transition and trajectories and provisions for young people and adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. She has also conducted research, for example, about the disadvantaged/disengaged group of young people, SEND group, health education in schools. She has an active interest in international and comparative research.

Andrea has been teaching and supervising MSc students in Higher Education and International and Comparative Education. She has taught at Oxford (UK), Perm (Russia), Stuttgart, Oldenburg (Germany) and Debrecen (Hungary).

Andrea has an MSc and a DPhil from the University of Oxford, Department of Education where she holds an Honorary Research Fellowship and she is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Research projects

Current

  • International Case Studies to Drive Teaching Excellence in Technical Education in collaboration with SKOPE (University of Oxford). October 2020 – April 2021, funded by WorldSkills UK
  • Opportunity, equality and agency in England's new VET landscape: a longitudinal study of post-16 transitions in collaboration with Kings College London. October 2019 – September 2024, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
  • Online learning in FE colleges in an island context in collaboration with University of Nottingham. September 2020 – September 2021
  • Degree Apprenticeships – how to degree apprenticeships contribute to widening participation in higher education for young people? December 2020 – August 2021
  • Green skills in the construction sector: building back better? In collaboration with SKOPE (University of Oxford). February 2021 – October 2021
  • Virtual employer encounters and work experiences during the pandemic

Externally funded completed research projects

  • Perspectives on National Occupational Standards: What do users think? November 2019 – October 2020, funded by Skills Development Scotland (SDS).
  • Horizon 2020 Adult Education as a Means to Active Participatory Citizenship(EduMAP) in collaboration with UCL, IoE. 2016-2019, funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.
  • The Competitive Edge. Insights into how skills competitions are improving participation and employability at a local level. October 2017 – May 2018, funded by WorldSkills UK.
  • WorldSkills UK – Four Nations Project. Internal report. February - May 2019, funded by WorldSkills UK.
  • Joint Dialogue: How are schools developing real employability skills? in collaboration with Education and Employers and National Education Union. October 2017 - November 2018

Other professional activities

Publications

  • Emms, K. & Laczik, A. (2020). Cardiff National Software Academy: A contemporary approach to employable graduates?
  • Laczik, A., Fettes, T. (forthcoming August 2020). Perspectives on National Occupational Standards (NOS): What do users think? Glasgow: Skills Development Scotland.
  • Emms, K., Laczik, A., Dabbous, D. (2020). A journey to employment for young people with additional needs. September 2020. London: The Edge Foundation
  • Edge Foundation (2020). The Impact of Covid-19 on Education: evidence on the early impacts of lockdown. London: Edge Foundation
  • Dabbous, D., Patel,R., Percy,C. (2020). Our Plan for Further Education. Edited by: Newton, O., Laczik, A., and Emms, K. London: The Edge Foundation
  • Newton, O., Percy, C., Laczik, A. and Emms, K. (2019). Our Plans for Apprenticeships. Broader, Higher Quality, Better Prepared. London: The Edge Foundation
  • Laczik, A., Newton, O., Emms, K. (2019). WorldSkills UK – Four Nations Project. Internal report submitted to WorldSkills UK.
  • Newton, O., Laczik, A. and Emms, K., Cohen, K. (2018). Towards a Twenty-First Century Education System. London: The Edge Foundation
  • Kashefpakdel, E., Newton, O., Clark, J., Emms, K., Laczik. A., Rehill, J., Taylor, J. (2018). Joint Dialogue: How are schools developing real employability skills? London: Education and Employers
  • Newton, O., Laczik, A., Percy, C. (2018), Our Plan for Higher Education. Diverse, employment-focused, value for money. London: Edge Foundation.
  • Newton, O., Laczik, A., Emms, K., Beardmore, H., Cohen, K. (2018), Towards a Twenty-First Century Education System. Edge Future Learning. London: Edge Foundation.
  • Edge Foundation (2018). The competitive edge. Insights into how competitions are improving participation and employability at local level. London: World Skills UK.

[Peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters, research reports]

andrea