
The Education RESET Project

The Education RESET Project is a two-year project that investigates the reproduction of education digital and social inequalities during the pandemic, and seeks to reset education by providing instances of inclusive and culturally relevant practices in three case-study primary schools in England, Italy and Malaysia.
The swift move to remote teaching and learning, which relied heavily on digital technologies to continue to perform regular (normal) schooling generated new-old forms of vulnerability and exclusion. Encapsulated by the concept of digital divide, these new forms of (digital) inequities were reproduced along the usual identity markers of ability, class, gender, and geographical positions.
The Education RESET project builds on Phase 1 DIGITAL in a time of Coronavirus project, which analysed how at the onset of the pandemic socio-economic, political and historical conditions reproduced new forms of inequalities through the digital divide and identified instances of creativity and inclusion through remote and hybrid teaching and learning. The RESET project further developed this preliminary analysis by focusing on two educational communities, two alternative accounts on how to RESET education practices and thinking that conceptualise digital inclusion according to solutionist and growth approaches. The first alternative is one association based in the South of Italy that works in partnership with schools to contrast dropout and foster inclusion in the classroom. The second one is a non-governmental organisation in Malaysia that provides holistic care and education for urban poor children, children from disadvantaged, refugee and migrant communities. The project developed findings along two lines:
- First, informed by post-structural tools, in particular assemblage theory, and de-ableist and culturally sustainable pedagogies, the project gathered evidence from selected case-studies through focus groups with teachers to explore their experiences of digital pedagogies during the series of lockdowns, and identified the modalities that interrupt the reproduction of exclusion in the wake of the pandemic.
- Second, it undertook interviews with professionals and participants observations to explore their experiences and desires in relation to technologies and foster children and young people's development of digital skills.
The study produced internationally relevant outcomes to inform teachers’ ways of working with digital technologies that are inclusive and decolonialised; contributed to countries’ policy agenda drawing upon children’s future digital expectations and educational desires; and revised definitions of educational ‘inclusion’ informed by the advent of digital and non-digital technologies that are context-relevant and pedagogy-appropriate.
Further information
If you are a teacher or parent of a student currently at school and would like more information or to be involved in our research please do not hesitate to contact us.
- Principal Investigator: Professor Julie Allan
- Research Lead: Dr Francesca Peruzzo
Phase 1: DIGITAL
Phase 1: DIGITAL
Diversifying Inclusion and Growth: Inspiring Technologies for Accessible Learning (DIGITAL) in the time of Coronavirus
Research Lead: Dr Francesca Peruzzo
The DIGITAL project will map the effectiveness of inclusive educational responses to the pandemic. The study will deploy digital ethnographic methods and social network analysis to explore responses across the UK, Italy, the US, Australia, Malaysia and Chile.
Data will be collected through policy and document analysis, digital observation of inclusive practices in virtual classrooms; and semi-structured interviews with parents and teachers. Digital maps of pedagogic networks will visualise the intersected character of learning and teaching practices, and contextual opportunities and constraints.
By exploring pedagogic value, learning processes, and parental and teacher satisfaction, the focus will be on presenting effective inclusive responses that enact accessibility through both digital and non-digital technological solutions, respecting contextual resources and local expertise.
Positive transitions, transforming education through digital technologies (PhD project)
Doctoral Research Student: Bethan Morris-Tran
This study aims to explore the experiences of primary and secondary school students and teachers during the pandemic, particularly focusing on aspects of; digital access, government and community support, home environment and mental health.
Qualitative data will be gathered through individual semi-structured interviews with secondary and primary school students and teachers, and using a photo-elicitation technique during interviews with students. Individual interviews will be followed by group interviews with students who have a sibling/siblings also currently at school. Alongside this a documentary analysis of government policies and statements, school announcements and national reports will be conducted and inform the interview questions
Focus on these elements will provide insights into the nuances of individuals surrounding, and provide invaluable help in exploring the cacophony of challenges facing individuals and communities, and what our route to recovery should entail.
Resources from DIGITAL and RESET projects
Interviews and media
Interview for University of Birmingham research spotlight
Interview for University of Birmingham Quest
YTL Foundation webminar, Mental health and wellbeing in education
DIGITAL in the time of Coronavirus (Diversifying Inclusion and Growth: Inspiring Technologies for Accessible Learning)
Academic papers and peer-reviewed chapters
Peruzzo, F. and Allan, J. (2024). Decolonising inclusive education: new approaches for disability education policy and practices. In D. Goodley and T. Chaitka, Handbook of Disability and Post-Colonial Studies. London and NY: Routledge, chapter 17,
Allan, J. and Peruzzo, F. (2023). Extreme exclusion in a time of Covid. Questionning 'the Normal' and Rethinking the Future of Inclusive Education in England. In Hamre and Villadsen (Eds), The Island as a Place of Extreme Exclusion Studies on Global Practices of Isolation, Punishment, and Education of the Unwanted. London: Brill, 203-22
Peruzzo, F. and Allan, J. (2022). Rethinking Inclusive (Digital) Education: Lessons from the Pandemic to Reconceptualise Inclusion through Convivial Technologies. Journal of Learning, Media and Technologies,
Book in production
Allan, J. and Peruzzo, F. (2023). Students, Teachers, Families and a Socially Just Education: Rewriting the Grammar of Schooling to Unsettle Identities. New York: LLP Publishers