Dr Lucy Ansley

I am a Senior Research Fellow in the Education Division, specialising in educational technology and social justice. I support a number of research projects across the institution, including Decolonising DMU and a recent Aziz Foundation funded study into the experiences of first year Muslim students.

I support teaching as a module tutor on the BA Education Studies and supervise student dissertations at BA, MA and PhD levels. Additionally, I design and deliver the University's NVivo training for staff and PGR students.

I completed my PhD in Education and Technology here at DMU in 2018, "Exploring teachers' professional development and digital literacy: a grounded theory study". This work was a continuation of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between De Montfort University and Leicester City Council which aimed to  transform educational provision across the city in all secondary schools through the strategic implementation of a digital literacy framework.

My research interests are educational technology and equity in education. I am particularly passionate about sharing the narratives of non-dominant voices and exploring participatory and creative approaches to research.

Social Sciences Research & Innovation Institute
Centre for Social Justice and Empowerment

Hall, R., Ansley, L., & Connolly, P. (2023) Decolonising or anti-racism? Exploring the limits of possibility in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 1–17. DOI:10.1080/13562517.2023.2201676

Hall, R., Ansley, L., Connolly, P., Loonat, S., Patel, K., and Whitham, B. (2021) Struggling for the anti-racist university: learning from an institution-wide response to curriculum decolonisation. Teaching in Higher Education, Special Issue, Possibilities and complexities of decolonising higher education: critical perspectives on praxis. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1911987

Ansley, L. and Hall, R. (2019) Freedom to Achieve: addressing the attainment gap through student and staff co-creation. Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.21100/compass.v12i1.946

Hall, R., Atkins, L. and Fraser, J. (2014) Defining a self-evaluation digital literacy framework for secondary educators: the DigiLit Leicester project. Research in Learning Technology, vol.22. https://doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v22.21440 

Conferences

Reimagining Higher Education: journeys of decolonising. De Montfort University, Leicester. Wednesday 8th November 2023.

Radical Pedagogies: Macpherson 20 years on. De Montfort University, Leicester. Thursday 19th September 2019.

Closing the BME Attainment Gap. Mary Ward House, London. Monday 16 September 2019.

Reports

Hall, R., Ansley, L., Loonat, S., and Nemouchi, L. (2024) Scoping a Muslim friendly Universities audit: DMU Interim Report. De Montfort University and The Aziz Foundation. https://hdl.handle.net/2086/24270

Ansley, L. and Hall, R. (2024) Decolonising DMU Progress Report: March 2024. De Montfort University, Leicester. https://hdl.handle.net/2086/23632

Hall, R., Ansley, L., Aujla-Sidhu, G., Connolly, P., Crofts, M., Hall, C., Patel, K., Prescod, M. and Towlson, K. (2022). Decolonising DMU: Interim Report. De Montfort University, Leicester. https://hdl.handle.net/2086/21628

Atkins, L. (2018) Freedom to Achieve: Project Evaluation Report. Leicester: De Montfort University. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/16793  

Atkins, L., Fraser, J., and Hall, R. (2014) DigiLit Leicester: 2014 Survey Results. Leicester: Leicester City Council (CC BY-NC 3.0) http://hdl.handle.net/2086/10805

Atkins, L., Fraser, J. and Hall, R. (2014) DigiLit Leicester: Project Activities Report, Leicester: Leicester City Council (CC BY-NC 3.0) http://hdl.handle.net/2086/10802

Atkins, L., Fraser, J., and Hall, R. (2013) DigiLit Leicester: 2013 Survey Results. Leicester: Leicester City Council (CC BY-NC 3.0) http://hdl.handle.net/2086/10798

Fraser, J., Atkins, L. and Hall, R. (2013) DigiLit Leicester: Initial Project Report, Leicester: Leicester City Council. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/10794

• Digital Literacy
• Grounded Theory Methodology
• Open Education
• Gamification and Games-based Learning
• Teachers' Professional Development
• Under-represented voice in education spaces

I teach on the BA Education Studies and supervise student dissertations on the BA, MA Education Practice and PhD students. I also deliver training on NVivo, qualitative data analysis softward, for the Doctoral College.

• PhD – Education and Technology (De Montfort University)
• MA – Learning, Technology and Education: Distinction (University of Nottingham)
• BA (Hons.) – Dance and Education Studies Joint Honours: First Class (De Montfort University)

• Researching Education (BA Education Studies)
• Inclusion and Diversity (BA Education Studies)
• Dissertation (BA Education Studies)
• Dissertation (MA Education Practice)
• Introduction to NVivo (Doctoral College)
• Exploring Data in NVivo (Doctoral College)
• Visualising Data in NVivo (Doctoral College)

• Decolonising and Decarbonising DMU, International Green Gowns Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Sustainability Award, Highly Commended, 2024.
• Decolonising and Decarbonising DMU, UKRI Green Gowns Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Sustainability Award winner, 2023.
• Decolonising DMU, Advance HE Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence, 2023.
• ALT Learning Technologist of the Year Award (2014) The DigiLit Leicester Project Team were identified as runners up in the Team Award category.
• Reclaim Open Learning – Innovation Contest (2013) The DigiLit Leicester Project was recognised as representative of one of the best examples of open innovation in education globally by the MacArthur Foundation, the Digital Media and Learning Hub, and MIT Media Lab.

Fellowship, The Higher Education Academy

• British Educational Research Association, Small Grants Fund, Teaching to Transform the Curriculum: Building Frameworks for Racial Literacy (T2TC), 2024-25
• The Aziz Foundation/De Montfort University, Muslim Friendly Universities Audit, 2024
• DMU-funded Decolonising DMU project, since 2019
• HEFCE Catalyst Fund Call B: addressing barriers to student success, Using a value-added metric and an inclusive curriculum framework to address the black and minority ethnic attainment gap, 2017-19.
• HEIF5-funded Knowledge Exchange Digital Literacy Framework Project, 2012-14.

Barira Shahid, on English-Medium Instruction (EMI) settings in higher education institution in the UAE. (3rd Supervisor)

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