Dr Saima Salehjee
- Senior Lecturer in Education with STEM Specialism (Social & Environmental Sustainability)
email:
Saima.Salehjee@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns:
She/her/hers
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8147-1856Biography
Biography
Saima Salehjee is a Senior Lecturer of Education at the University of Glasgow. She is responsible for teaching and research work, particularly STEM education. Saima's research focuses on science literacy, public understanding of science, intersectionality, the culture of science, science identity, and identity transformations over a lifespan of individuals from different ethnic, religious, and sexual backgrounds.
Saima has received funding from The Royal Society of Chemistry to continue her research with children on the provision of science literacy using stories as a Nudge in science teaching and learning practices. She has also received the Skills Development Scotland funding to develop science teacher-researchers in Further Education. In addition, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA-Scotland) for Higher Education granted her funding to support Higher Education staff and students in conducting workshops and resources focusing on the Anti-Racist Curriculum. She was granted travel grants from Canberra University Australia and the British Council; she was nominated for the Brunel Doctoral Research Prize in 2017 and received the Grace Peeling Memorial Prize for her MA in Educational Management in 2011. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (AMRSC), and a Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators and Advance HE and Quality Assurance Agency Anti-Racist Curriculum group. Saima is a co-convenor of the British Educational Research Association (BERA)'s Race, Ethnicity and Education special interest group,
Saima is a passionate education lecturer, motivating her student-teachers and undergraduate and postgraduate students to support science learning in formal and informal spaces and research the impact of their support on the lives of children, young adults, and adults.
Research interests
Research interests
Learning and teaching science in primary and secondary schools; Learning and teaching in STEM in higher education; science literacy, informal learning of science and public understanding of science; science identity, intersectionality and pedagogy.
Recent publications
Books
- Salehjee, S. & Watts, M. (2023). Learning to succeed in science: Stories of British South Asian women. Bloomsbury Publishing.
- Salehjee, S. (Ed) (2021). Mentoring Science Teachers in the Secondary School: A Practical Guide. Routledge.
- Salehjee, S. & Watts, M. (2020) Becoming Scientific: Lifelong Science Learning. Cambridge Scholars
Selected book chapters
- Salehjee, S. & Watts, M. (2023). Dysciencia’ to science: the story of Nabah, in Race, R. Evolving Dialogues in Multicultural Education. Open University Press.
- Salehjee, S. (2022). Equity, Inclusion and Diversity in Science Education, in Dillon, J. and Watts, M. Debates in Science Education (2nd Edition). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003137894-15/inclusion-equity-science-education-saima-salehjee
- Salehjee, S. & Watts, M. (2021). Mentoring for developing scientifically literate citizens. In, Salehjee, S. (ed) Mentoring Science Teachers in the Secondary School: A Practical Guide. Routledge.
Selected journal articles
- Saima Salehjee, Mike Watts(2023) ‘STEAM success stories’: refocusing the framework of intersectionality. London Review of Education, 21: 1 DOI:https://doi.org/10.14324/LRE.21.1.32
- Salehjee, S. & Watts, D.M. (2023). A Pedagogy for success: two stories from STEM. International Journal of Science Education, Part B. Published online at https//doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2023.2251188.
- Salehjee, S. & Watts, D.M. (2023).Scot, south Asian, woman, daughter and science lives: Stories of Benish and Hannan. BERA Research Intelligence, Issue 156, Autumn 2023, 30-31.
- Salehjee, S. & Watts, D.M. (2023). ‘STEAM success stories’: Refocusing the framework of intersectionality. London Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.14324/LRE.21.1.32
- Salehjee, S. & Watts, D.M. (2022) Intersectionality as personal: Science identity of two immigrant Muslim young women. International Journal of Science Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2022.2059119
- Ayling, P., Boath, L., Chetty, C., McKinney, S., Race, R., Riaz, N. & Salehjee, S. (2022) Decolonising curriculum in education: continuing proclamations and provocations. London Review of Education.
Grants
Awards and Grants
- University of Glasgow, College of Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Funding (PI). Developing STEM-based educational resources for ethnic minority families. (2023-2024).
- Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Scotland (QAAS) (PI) STEM Discipline to epistemic disobedience: a focus on Anti-Racist Curriculum. (2022).
- Skills Development Scotland and Centre for Work-based Learning grant (Co-PI): Boosting Teachers’ Engagement with Research Evidence in Scotland (2019-2021).
- Royal Society of Chemistry (PI)– Nudges into Science Education. (2018-2019).
- The British Council/Newton Funded scheme (UK delegate)– Visiting ECR at Mahidol University Thailand, Multiculturalism in Education. (2018).
- Canberra University Conference presenter and chair)– ASERA Conference funding. (2016).
- Brunel University (Education) – Grace Peeling Memorial Prize. (2011).
Supervision
- Wang, Di
Teaching Design through Enquiry Learning in STEM Education. - Zhou, Yingying
Why do the highest achieving students not choose to take up STEM careers? A mixed method comparison between the UK and China.
Examined doctoral theses
Sucharit Ponrueng, Exploring Family Flow Learning: A Study of Experience and Learning Outcomes in a Science Museum Makerspace, Thailand (2024). Brunel University London.
Khadija Mohammed, Celebrating Professional Identity – A Case Study of Minority Ethnic Teachers (Successful completion 2023). University of the West of Scotland.
Ashley Fenwick, A practice-focused study of outdoor learning in five Scottish Secondary Schools 2011-2019 (Successful completion 2021), The University of Strathclyde.
Doctoral supervision
Stuart Farmer. The alignment of policy and practice for the career-long professional learning of teachers in Scotland. (Successful completion 2024).
Alduaiji Mohammed. The affordances and constraints of distributive leadership in effecting school improvement in Saudi Arabian primary schools for boys: a focus upon school culture and values (Successful completion 2020).
Other doctoral supervision topics
- New Approaches to Science Teaching
- The alignment of policy and practice for the career-long professional learning of teachers in Scotland.
- The alignment of policy and practice for the career-long professional learning of teachers in Scotland.
- Science misconceptions-Knowledge, understanding and epistemology.
- Philosophy, Science and Culture.
- Digital teaching techniques used by teachers of Early Years.
- Women in Physics: Physics Identity and Self.
Teaching
Teaching
I have taught several programmes: BA Education, MA Education, and Post-graduate research methods, and supervised an excellent cohort of doctoral students. I have led BSc. STEM Combined Degrees programme, including home and international students. Currently, I am leading social research methods, STEM pedagogy & curriculum and School experince courses.
Professional activities & recognition
Prizes, awards & distinctions
- 2024: Developing STEM-based educational resources for ethnic minority families (University of Glasgow, College of Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Funding)
- 2021: STEM Discipline to epistemic disobedience: a focus on Anti-Racist Curriculum. (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education)
- 2020: Boosting Education Research among practitioners in Scotland (Skills Development Scotland and Centre for Work-based learning grant)
- 2018: Nudges into Science Education (Royal Society of Chemistry)
- 2018: Multiculturalism in Education (The British Council/Newton Funded scheme - travel grant via Roehampton and Mahidol University)
- 2016: ASERA Conference funding (Canberra University)
- 2011: Grace Peeling Memorial Prize (Brunel University (Education))
Grant committees & research advisory boards
- 2022 - 2025: BERA, Race Ethnicity and Education
- 2022: University of Glasgow, Mac Robertson Travel Scholarship Selection Committee - Strathclyde Representatives
Editorial boards
- 2023 - 2024: Early Childhood Development and Care - Guest editor
- 2022 - 2023: British Educational Research Association (BERA)- Research Intelligence, Special Issue
- 2018 - on going: Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) Journal of Education
Professional & learned societies
- - 2023 Senior Fellow, Higher Education Association (SFHEA)., Advance HE
- 2022 - 2025: Convener- Race, Ethnicity and Education, British Educational Research Association
- 2020 - 2022: Member, Advance HE - Anti-Racist Curriculum
- 2018: Member, Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators
- 2017: AMRSC, The Royal Society of Chemistry
Selected international presentations
- 2022: Enhancement Conference 2022: Resilient Learning Communities (Glasgow, United Kingdom)
- 2021: European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) (Geneva, Switzerland (online))
- 2019: British Education Research Association (BERA) (Manchester, United Kingdom)
- 2018: British Council/ Newton Funded scheme - Multicultural Education (Bangkok, Thailand)
- 2018: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) - Educational research projects, 2018 (Glasgow, United Kingdom)
- 2017: Ireland International Conference on Education (Dublin, Ireland)
- 2016: The Australasian Science Education Research Association (ASERA) (Canberra, Australia)
Supplementary
- Selected guest speaker appearances • University College London (UCL) Institute of Education (IoE). Refocusing the framework of intersectionality: stories of south Asian women in science, March 2024. • Anglia Ruskin University. Intersectional research: Stories of successes in STEM among British south Asian women. Centre for Education Research on Identities and Inequalities (CERII), June 2024. • University of Birmingham, School of Education. STEM and Equity Idea session Pedagogy for success, November 2023. • Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) Scotland. STEM disciplines to epistemic disobedience by Saima Salehjee, May and June 2022. • University of Stirling teaching and learning festival. Title: Anti-Racist Pedagogy and Higher Education, May 2021. • Advance HE. Title: Equity and Diversity in Science Education, November 2020.
Additional information
Journal editorial board member
Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) Journal of Education.
Academic journal reviewer
- Equity in Education and Society.
- International Journal of Science Education.
- Journal of Research in Science Teaching.
- Qualitative Research Journal.
Professional body memberships
- Advance HE - Anti-Racist Curriculum.
- Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators.
- The Royal Society of Chemistry.
- British Educational Research Association (BERA).
Selected guest speaker appearances
- University College London (UCL) Institute of Education (IoE). Refocusing the framework of intersectionality: stories of south Asian women in science, March 2024.
- Anglia Ruskin University. Intersectional research: Stories of successes in STEM among British south Asian women. Centre for Education Research on Identities and Inequalities (CERII), June 2024.
- University of Birmingham, School of Education. STEM and Equity Idea session Pedagogy for success, November 2023.
- Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) Scotland. STEM disciplines to epistemic disobedience by Saima Salehjee, May and June 2022.
- University of Stirling teaching and learning festival. Title: Anti-Racist Pedagogy and Higher Education, May 2021.
- Advance HE. Title: Equity and Diversity in Science Education, November 2020.
Some other esteem factors
- British Educational Research Association (BERA) Race, Ethnicity and Education SIG convener
- Event organiser-British Education Research Association (BERA- 2019) Early Career Researcher’s Symposium.Treasurer Royal Society of Chemistry- Chemistry Education Research Group (CERG) (2017-2020).
- Guest speaker at Advance HE. Title: Equity and Diversity in Science Education (11/2020).
- Guest speaker at the University of Stirling teaching and learning festival. Title: Anti-Racist Pedagogy and Higher Education (05/2021).
- Facilitator at the QAA Scotland. Title: STEM disciplines to epistemic disobedience (05/2022 – 06/2022).
- Lead master’s series for the University of Strathclyde’s staff members funded by Organisational and Staff Development Unit (OSDU). Title: Anti-Racist Higher Education (HE) (03/2022- 06/2022).
- Lead Education Scotland funded CLPL workshops for primary teachers. Title: Using stories to teach primary science (01/2022).
Podcast
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/university-of/podcast-16-meet-an-academic-V_rs7guyfpe/