Dr Yulia Nesterova
- Lecturer (School of Education)
Biography
I am a Lecturer in International and Comparative Education.
My other current roles include:
- Member, International Working Group on Youth, Peace, and Security at FBA, the Swedish Agency for Peace, Security and Development
- Co-Chair, Peace Education SIG, Comparative and International Education Society
- Associate Editor of the journal Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education
- Trustee and Policy Committee Member, Scotland's International Development Alliance
I am interested in how societies transition from conflict, violence and authoritarianism to justice, peace and democracy. My research interests thus centre around (1) historical, epistemic and relational (in)justices, especially in and through education, (2) education for peace, justice, and reconciliation, (3) intergroup relationships; and (4) youth and community and inter-generational engagement to establish lasting and just peace.
I am currently working on several projects:
1. Developing indicators for Youth, Peace, and Security agenda (PI, funder: Carnegie Trust)
2. Intergenerational engagement for Youth, Peace, and Securit (Co-I, funder: FBA)
3. Youth and peace education in Belarus and Russia (PI, funder: BAICE)
4. Building capacities of international actors for youth inclusive peace processes (Co-I, ESRC IAA)
My first monograph, titled "Pathways towards justice, reconciliation, and sustainability within Indigenous education: A framework of justice for marginalised populations," is under contract with Routledge.
I have a wide-ranging and varied professional experience in research, policy development, curriculum design, and programme and project management with education institutions, governments, multi-laterals, and foundations/NGOs across the world. Prior to joining the University of Glasgow in January 2020, I worked as a consultant, leading a project on peace and sustainability in Asia-Pacific for UNESCO Bangkok, in partnership with the Governments of Japan and Thailand, and a consultant co-leading a project on prevention of violent extremism for UNESCO MGIEP, in partnership with the Australian Government. My other key research projects and publications have focused on the rights, education, and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples, ethnic and religious minorities, women in complex and sensitive contexts, and other vulnerable populations.
I have conducted extensive fieldwork in Taiwan, Ethiopia, Hong Kong S.A.R., Scotland, Russia, and Brazil and have worked with research partners in Africa (Benin, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa), Asia (Bangladesh, mainland China, India, the Philippines), and the Pacific (Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand). As part of my role at UNESCO Asia-Pacific, I worked with UNESCO’s Member States in Asia and the Pacific.
In 2023, I was Conference Chair of the 2023 conference of the UK Education and Development Forum (UKFIET) on the topic of "Education for Social and Environmental Justice: Diversity, Sustainability, Responsibility." From 2021 to 2023, I was an Academic Lead of the Low and Middle Income Countries Research Network and from 2023 to 2024, I was part of the leadership team for Justice, Insecurity & Fair Decision Making in the College of Social Sciences.
Qualifications:
PhD (Education), University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong S.A.R.
MA (Education and Globalisation), University of Oulu, Finland
MA (History/African Studies), Dalarna University, Sweden
Visiting researcher:
University of Duhok, Iraq (2023); University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States (2016)
Research interests
Education, Development, and Peace in general.
In particular:
- Addressing inequalities/injustices faced by minority groups (Indigenous, religious, cultural, and ethnic) and other disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in and through education/learning
- The role of education in peacebuilding, reconciliation, and conflict transformation
- Education for peace, peacebuilding citizenship, social justice in formal and non-formal settings
- Youth-led peacebuilding
- Local, place-based, community-driven solutions and programming for development, education, and peace
- Partnerships for education, development, and peace
- Ethical and effective engagement of marginalised (unreachable) populations in peacebuilding and development
Grants
Research Grants:
- Developing youth-led indicators for the Youth, Peace and Security agenda. (PI, Carnegie Trust Research Incentive grant, 2024-2025)
- Intergenerational engagement for the Youth, Peace and Security agenda. (Co-I, FBA- the Swedish agency for peace, security and development, 2024-2025)
- Peace and citizenship education in Belarus and Russia. (PI, BAICE Seedcorn Fund, 2023-2024)
- Meaningful youth engagement for peace and security: Building capacities of international partners for youth inclusive peace processes. (Co-I, Economic and Social Research Council, Impact Acceleration Account, 2021-2023)
- Local challenges, global imperatives: cities at the forefront to achieve Education 2030. (PI, SHLC Capacity Development Acceleration Fund, 2021-2022)
- Local, place-based, and community-driven approaches to peacebuilding. (PI, British Academy/Leverhulme grant, 2020-2021)
- Developing inclusive lifelong learning policies and practices in the Global South. (PI, Global Challenges Research Fund grant, 2020-2021)
- Youth-led peace: inclusion of youth in peace processes. (Co-I, Economic and Social Research Council, Impact Acceleration Account, 2020-2021)
- Preparing teachers for inclusive education. (PI, Kazan Federal University Fund, Innovative Research in Education, 2020)
- Experiences of local research postgraduate students at the University of Hong Kong. (Co-I, University of Hong Kong Teaching Development Grant, 2019-2021)
- Teacher perceptions of Indigenous learners in Taiwan. (PI, Universitas21, 2018-2019)
- Experiences of international research postgraduate students at the University of Hong Kong. (Co-I, University of Hong Kong Teaching Development Grant, 2016-2018)
Consultancies:
-
Educational planning to achieve Education 2030 in Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Rwanda. (with Mike Osborne, UNESCO IIEP, 2021-2023).
-
Learning for global health in cities - Community resilience and the strengthening of learning systems. (with Mike Osborne and Ramjee Bhandari, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2021)
- National and subnational approaches to regulating private technical and vocational education and training: comparative insights from Asia and Africa. (with Queralt Capsada-Munsech, UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, 2020-2021)
- Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing for a sustainable living. (with Sarah Jane Moore, UNESCO Futures of Education, 2020)
- The UNESCO Together for Peace T4P Initiative: A shared commitment to building a peaceful and sustainable future in Asia-Pacific. (Consultant, UNESCO Office Bangkok and Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific, 2019)
- #YouthWagingPeace - Prevention of violent extremism through education. (Consultant, UNESCO MGIEP, 2016-2018)
Knowledge Exchange Grants:
-
Visions of peace’: Arts-based workshops for youth and community members (Co-lead, Economic and Social Research Council, Festival of Social Sciences, 2022 and A Celebration of Learning for Life @ ARCadia, 2022)
- "Neighbourhood matters" virtual event (Co-lead, Economic and Social Research Council, Festival of Social Sciences, 2020)
Supervision
I am currently unable to accept new applications for supervision.
- Abdiyeva, Tamella Hamlet Qizi
How equitable is access to higher education for young convicts in Azerbaijan prisons - Hasanzade, Samira Tahir Qizi
Culture for Peace: an exploratory examination of refugees' perception and experience of cultural education for preventing and solving conflicts. - Liu, Cheng Hui
Beyond the epistemological pluralism - A praxis approach in Peace Education
Current PhD Supervision
Cheng-Hui Liu, Beyond the epistemological pluralism: A praxis approach in peace education in Taiwan [first supervisor]
Anqi Zheng, Educating Zhuang and Yao minority students in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China [first supervisor]
Tamella Hamlet Qizi Abdiyeva, Higher education opportunities for young convicts in Azerbaijan prisons [first supervisor]
Xiaoyuan Zhang, Transformations of educational roles of and relationships between and among students, parents, and teachers in primary school in China during the COVID-19 pandemic [first supervisor]
Jingting Gong, Home-school co-operation in public urban and rural schools in China: A comparative study of remote education opportunities and challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic [first supervisor]
Current MSc Supervision
Sabrine Ben Amor, The role of civil society in promoting the integration and inclusion of newly arrived Syrian migrant students in the education system: A comparative study between Sweden and Germany.
Ipsita Dwivedi, Empowering youth-led initiatives for sexual health and comprehensive sexuality education in Delhi.
Past PhD Supervision
Dr Rhona Brown, Perceptions and experiences of urban school, home and neighbourhood learning spaces, and implications for pedagogy in Tanzanian primary schools. A comparative case study (graduated in 2022)
Past MSc Supervision
I've supervised four master's students dissertations on the following topics: Peace education in Ghana; Intercultural education for refugees in the Netherlands; Curriculum for the 21st century in Azerbaijan and Scotland; and Mentorship of Afghan young women.
Teaching
IntM Education Policies For Global Development (GLOBED) (Erasmus Mundus)
Course leader, International and Comparative Education
International and Comparative Education (ICE) (MSc)
Course leader, Internationalisation of Education
I contribute to two EdD courses: Advancing Research Methods and Applying Research Methods and to the course Modern Educational Thought.
Professional activities & recognition
Prizes, awards & distinctions
- 2015-2019: PhD Scholarship (incl. fieldwork, travel grants) (University of Hong Kong)
- 2017: Scholarly Excellence Award (Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia)
- 2017: New Scholar Award (Oceania Comparative and International Education Society)
- 2017: Earnest Fellowship, Human Rights Protection (Common Ground Centre, Kenya)
- 2011: Academic Excellence (University of Oulu Scholarship Foundation)
Editorial boards
- 2022 - current: Associate Editor, Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education
- 2020 - 2021: International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives
Professional & learned societies
- 2020 - present: Member, Development Studies Association, Ireland
- 2018 - present: Member, Asia and the Pacific Policy Society
- 2018 - present: Member, Comparative Education Society of Europe
- 2017 - present: Member, Network for International Policies and Cooperation in Education and Training
- 2017 - present: Member, Comparative and International Education Society
- 2016 - present: Member, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
- 2015 - present: Member, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs
Selected international presentations
- 2019: Comparative and International Education Society (USA)
- 2019: American Educational Research Association (Canada)
- 2018: Comparative and International Education Society (Mexico)
- 2018: Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (New Zealand)
- 2018: Oceania Comparative and International Education Society (New Zealand)
- 2018: Comparative Education Society of Europe (Cyprus)
- 2018: Comparative Education Society of Asia (Cambodia)
- 2017: Comparative and International Education Society (USA)
- 2017: Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (Australia)
- 2017: Oceania Comparative and International Education Society (New Caledonia)
- 2016: Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (Fiji)
- 2016: Comparative Education Society of Asia (Philippines)
- 2016: World Congress of Comparative Education Societies (China)
- 2016: Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain (UK)
Research datasets
Additional information
You can learn more about my work on my website https://www.yulia-nesterova.com/