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Dr Margaret Ebubedike

Profile summary

Professional biography

I am a Research Fellow in International Education at the Open University UK, and I hold a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Additionally, I serve as the Grand Union Doctoral Pathway and Training (GUDPT) Lead for Innovation and Learning. My academic background includes a BSc in Business Education (Accounting), an MSc in Educational Leadership and Management, a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP), and a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy).

With over 15 years of experience in teaching, training, and educational research, my focus revolves around children's access, retention, and completion of education. Within this sphere my interest is in exploring gender equality, and development across diverse cultures, particularly in marginalised communities. My expertise lies at the intersections of Gender, Equity, and Social Justice. I’m also actively involved in research focusing on teachers' continuous professional development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Here, my focus is on practitioner-based co-creative research methods that involve educators collaboratively co-creating contextually relevant pedagogical approaches that improve learner outcomes by tailoring educational strategies to the unique experiences and needs of students in each specific context.

I participated in the Community Help for Inclusive Learning and Development (CHILD) research, which investigated the effectiveness of a community-volunteer-led emergency out-of-school education program in Zimbabwe, led by World Vision.

I was the UK the UK Principal Investigator (PI), for the Voices of the Children of Lake Chad project, an international, participatory, interdisciplinary research initiative funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund. This project focused on educational interventions in protracted armed conflict and crisis contexts across four nations in the Lake Chad region—Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. By involving community stakeholders in shared learning workshops, the study aimed to explore localised strategies that could be employed to support the continuous education and learning of children and young people, with a particular emphasis on girls affected by the crisis.

Currently, I’m the project lead of a three-nation Girls’ Rehabilitation, Empowerment, Agency, and Transformation (GREAT) research. This project aims to collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including female trafficking survivors in Nepal, Nigeria, and Uganda, to investigate how stakeholders across sectors can work together to improve support strategies and practices for aiding female trafficking survivors. The goal is to explore how these efforts can contribute to fostering the agency and aspirations of survivors. Early engagement with stakeholders in Uganda through GREAT project, lead to the successful establishment of a parliamentary forum for human trafficking in Uganda.

Additionally, I am a co-investigator on the Catch-Up Programme (CUP) research, designed to support the most vulnerable learners in early grades, developing foundation literacy and numeracy skills in community-based CUP clubs in Ethiopia, Chile, and Zimbabwe.

Presently, I am the PI of a two-nation project in Ghana and Nigeria. The project is exploring the Power of Parents (POP), and caregivers in strengthening language development and literacy acquisition for children ages 3-12 in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In recognition of the research I led in Nigeria and Nepal focusing on empowering female survivors of human trafficking, I received the OU's 2022 People's Choice Award.

I am also the author two children's picture books: 'Speak UP,' teaching girls to find their voices, and 'Career Day at School,' inspiring them to discover their passions, build confidence, and embrace a world of possibilities.

Research interests

My research focuses on girls’ access, retention and completing education, gender equality and development across cultures and contexts, particularly, in low income contexts. My PhD focused on gender and leadership the influence of cultural contexts on women HE leaders in Nigeria. My current work focuses on girls’ education in conflict and/or post-conflict settings, through stakeholders’ views and perspectives, I will explore different experiences, ideas and attitudes related to educational up-take by girls. The study will seek to develop locally conceptualised and context-specific intervention strategies, and it hopes, to inform an intersectional policymaking perspective in response to gender inequality in education.

Teaching interests

During my doctoral study at the University of Worcester, I contributed to the Creative Approaches to Educational Leadership (MAED 4026) Level 7 module and I also helped to develop, and work on, the Educational Inquiry (Research) (EDST 2101) Level 6 module.

 

Publications

Ethics for educational research in regions of protracted armed conflict and crisis: a participatory community project in the Lake Chad region (2023-01)
Ebubedike, Margaret; Akanji, Tajudeen; Kunock, Afu Isaiah and Fox, Alison
Community Development Journal, 58(1) (pp. 102-120)


Professional development in the digital age: supporting improvements in teacher education through MOOCs (2023)
Stutchbury, Kris; Ebubedike, Margaret; Chamberlain, Liz and Amos, Sandra
Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-learning ((Early access))


Inclusive Learning for Children in Northeast Nigeria: Radio School Response During a Global Pandemic (2022-05)
Ebubedike, Margaret; Boampong, Michael; James, Kiki; Shuaibu, Hassana and Monyeh, Temitope Yetu
Social Inclusion, 10(2) (pp. 206-216)


Girl Child and Women Education: Exploring the Narratives of Six Educated Nigerian Women (2018-12)
Ebubedike, Margaret
Educational Research Quarterly, 42(2) (pp. 66-97)


Catch Up Programme: Addressing Foundational Literacy, Numeracy, and Social Emotional Skills in Conflict Affected Areas of Ethiopia – Research Report (2024-11-15)
Okada, Ale; Ebubedike, Margaret; Hedges, Claire and Zwier, Janelle
The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.


Power of Parents: Exploring the potential role of parents and caregivers in strengthening language development and literacy acquisition for children aged 3-12 in Sub-Saharan Africa Extended Literature Review (2024-09)
Ebubedike, Margaret; Akyeampong, Albert; Addae-Kyeremeh, Eric; Dery, Portia; Boateng, Felicia and Doka, Jane
Open University Press, Milton Keynes.


Report on stakeholders' consultative engagement on trafficking in persons in Uganda (2024-02)
Ebubedike, Margaret; Dawadi, Saraswati; Alla-Mensah, Joyceline; Kwaibwe, Henry N.; Kamunvi, Eric-Robert; Cingtho, Diana; Mwesi Habagaya, Yosia; Kyaidhi, Lilian and Ngobi, Prossy
The Open University


Voices of the Children of the Lake Chad (2024)
Akanji, Tajudeen and Ebubedike, Margaret
The Open University


A ‘Hidden’ Crisis-In-Crises: A Transformative Agenda ‘Boko-Haram and Education’ In the Countries of The Lake Chad Region Through Visual Narratives. (2024)
Akanji, Tajudeen; Ebubedike, Margaret; Kunock,, Afu Isaiah; Mala, Aziz; Hadiza, Kiari Fougou; Bourma, Malato Ouya and Nwoye, Adaobi
Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.


Community Help for Inclusive Learning and Development (CHILD): A Study of How Mobile Phones Were Used to Recruit and Equip Community Volunteers to Support Children’s Learning During Covid-19 School Closures in Zimbabwe. (2021-02-04)
Power, Tom; Buckler, Alison; Ebubedike, Margaret; Tengenesha, Martha; Jama, Mbuso; Ndlovu, America; Mukoyi, Jane; Ndou, Mashudu and Mubaira, Simbarashe
The EdTech Hub, London.


Rapid Research Response: collective sensemaking around experiences and challenges of harnessing education research opportunities during a global pandemic (2021)
Ebubedike, Margaret and Chamberlain, Liz
Research Conversations, Open University Education Blog


How government can support learning during school closures in Nigeria: No more missed opportunities (2020)
Ebubedike, Margaret
UKFIET The Education and Development Forum