I am an Associate Professor of Science Education in Southampton Education School, University of Southampton. I also serve as Deputy Chair of the Research Ethics Committee at the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Ethics Champion for Southampton Education School.

I work as Associate Editor of Research in Science Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and Journal of Hazard Literacy, and have previously guest-edited special issues for International Journal of Science Education and Science & Education. I co-chair Strand 12 (Equity, Diversity and Identity in Science Education) of the European Science Education Research Association and Co-Coordinator for Strand 13 (History, Philosophy, Sociology, and Nature of Science) of NARST: A Global Organization for Improving Science Education Through Research.

My work and research

My research sits at the crossroads of science, the humanities and society. I am particularly interested in how science and STEM education can contribute to social justice, especially during moments of local or global crisis. Much of my work embraces cross-curricular approaches, linking science with subjects such as history, citizenship, religious education and even music. I am also committed to building stronger connections between research, policy and practice in science education.

My projects have received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, Research England, the National Science Foundation, UNESCO, the Academy of Korean Studies, the Grenfell Foundation, and Ilju Academic and Culture Foundation. I am putting together a Bibliography of Disaster Education, a comprehensive list of publications, podcasts, news, policy reports and other sources for researching and teaching about disaster education. To find out more about my recent and current projects, see Projects.

My background

I grew up in an industrial coastal city in South Korea, an environment that shaped much of my later interest in science, society and education. I studied physics education and completed my teacher training at Seoul National University, where I also earned an MSc in science education. After teaching in secondary schools in Seoul, I moved to the UK to undertake a DPhil in Science Education at the Department of Education, University of Oxford, from 2018 to 2021. In my doctoral project, I looked at how three high school science teachers assessed students’ nature of science understandings in their classrooms.

Study with me

I welcome prospective PhD students and postdoctoral researchers who share interests in science education, physics education, STEM education, disaster education or teacher education. For more information about PhD application, see this page. There are competitive PhD funding opportunities to study at the University of Southampton, for example, the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership and other University-based scholarships.

If you are considering a postdoctoral pathway, you may wish to explore opportunities such as ESRC SCDTP Postdoctoral Fellowships, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships and Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships.