Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies

Director: Professor Andy Green

The Centre for Research on Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES) explores the connections between learning and the promotion of economic competitiveness and social cohesion. The Centre runs a programme of multi-disciplinary and mixed-mode research, which addresses themes of youth, inter-generational mobility, and civic values such as learning, work, economy, education, inequality, and social cohesion.

LLAKES aims to work with policymakers, education and training professionals, employers, trade unions and other interested parties, to improve the way in which national and international research evidence is shared and used.

The centre welcomes contributions through its website and attendance at its open seminars from anyone interested in its research programme. Since 2008, the LLAKES Centre has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and hosted by the IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society.

Other current funders of our research include the Nuffield Foundation, Office for Students, Research England and the Institute for Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences.

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People

Leadership

• Andy Green - Director
• Jan Germen Janmaat - Deputy Director

Project leaders

• Francis Green
• Ingrid Schoon
• Susanne Wiborg
• Golo Henseke
• Alison Fuller
• Nicola Pensiero
• Martin Weale
• Michela Franceschelli
• Claire Callender
• Bryony Hoskins
• Rachel J. Wilde

Honorary LLAKES Professorial Fellows

• Lorna Unwin
• Karen Evans

Research Fellows

• Sangwoo Lee
• Hao Phan

Associate staff

• Johnny Sung

Research Associates

• Fiona Victory
• Gabriella Melis
• Ann Margaret Doyle
• Lindsey Waine

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Research

The LLAKES Centre has been conducting research since 2008, supported by an ESRC Centre Grant until 2018, and subsequently by ESRC Legacy Funding and other grants.

Ongoing research

• The LLAKES legacy Grant. Led by: Andy Green. LLAKES received ESRC legacy funding for three years from May 2019 to contribute towards the continuation of LLAKES as an ESRC-branded centre that builds on the impact of its existing research and develops this research in new ways which will deliver new impacts.
• Educational Choices and Social Interactions. Reassessing Educational Strategies in a Divided Society. Led by: Nicola Pensiero. This project examines the impact of parental socio-economic status on subject choice for GCSE exams and the decision to pursue A-levels. It assesses whether the expected social and economic returns vary between children of different social backgrounds.
• The Education for Democracy Index: Measuring and assessing the democratic performance of education systems. Led by: Jan Germen Janmaat. The proposed research has three aims. Firstly, it aims to develop an education for democracy index (EDI) using existing data sources from European countries. This index will measure in a comprehensive way how - and how well - a country's education system promotes democratic values and competencies. 

Past research

• Increasing and Evaluating Student Impact in Knowledge and Learning Exchange (ISIKLE)
• Training, Skills and Skills Utilisation
• Youth and Covid (YEAH)
• Post-16 Educational Trajectories and Social Inequalities in Political Engagement
• ASEM Education and Research Hub for Lifelong Learning (ASEM-LLL Hub)
• Job Quality in the 21st Century

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Contact us

LLAKES Centre
Department of Education, Practice and Society
Room 706, IOE, Faculty of Education and Society
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL

Deputy Director
Germ Janmaat
Room 771b, IOE, Faculty of Education and Society
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL
g.janmaat@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: 0207 612 6631

Director
Andy Green
Room 706, IOE, Faculty of Education and Society
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL
andy.green@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: 0207 613 6760