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Money & Business
Stories from our Black students
During a research project into Black students’ experiences on a peer mentoring scheme, we interviewed four first-year students. During these interviews, they talked broadly about the challenges they faced in balancing their lives and their study at The Open University.
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Education & Development
How to say no at work without guilt or conflict
Setting boundaries at work can be challenging, but knowing how to say no effectively is an essential skill. Whether you're protecting your time, managing workload, or maintaining a healthy work-life balance, the way you communicate your refusal can make all the difference. Here’s how to do it with clarity and professionalism.
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Education & Development
One belief, big impact: could your view of learning improve inclusive practice?
Our assumptions about how people learn shape our everyday practice – often without us realising. This article explores how rethinking those assumptions can lead to more inclusive learning environments where every learner’s strengths are valued.
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Education & Development
Bringing up problems at work (without making things worse)
Talking about problems at work can feel risky but it doesn’t have to be. This article explores how to raise issues constructively, using a simple framework that focuses on clarity, solutions and professionalism.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
What does it mean to be a South Asian young adult carer?
What is life like for young adult carers in South Asian families? This article shares the experiences of 16–24 year olds in England who provide unpaid care to relatives, balancing cultural expectations, education and their own wellbeing.
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Education & Development
Shared documents and constructive collaboration
Giving feedback on shared documents can be tricky, especially when you’re trying to balance clarity with kindness. In this article, we explore how to collaborate constructively, choose the right tone, and avoid the common pitfalls of remote teamwork.
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Society, Politics & Law
Voices from the Global South: an international field trip
The following learning is from the Geography strand in The Open University level 1 module D113 ‘Global challenges: social science in action’.
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Education & Development
EDI in research: a collection
This Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Research page is intended to inspire conversations amongst researchers (postgraduate, emerging and established) and their research teams. It contributes towards accomplishing The Open University’s mission of embodying Higher Education as open to people, places, methods and ideas. The pages drawn ...
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Education & Development
Data analysis and interpretation
This article focuses on the process of analysing research data from a perspective that promotes Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). It offers some pointers to researchers in any field.
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Education & Development
Supporting children’s learning in primary education today
This free course explores different aspects of learning and teaching in primary education. It gives opportunities to engage with different types of activities that are designed to develop an understanding of learning and teaching in primary education.
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Education & Development
Disseminating across the margins: bridging communities and academia through a Black feminist lens
Involving participants in research is asking them to share their stories. In this article, Mel Green looks at what is done with these stories once they become public, with the help of Jennifer Douglas.
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Education & Development
Formulating research questions
In the following, the formulation of research questions is discussed in relation to health and social care. However, the issues considered have relevance to research in other public policy and service arenas.