Caring and compassionate pedagogies

Saima Shah is Lecturer in Social Science Education at King’s Foundations, King’s College London. Prior to joining King’s, she designed and convened the International Foundation Psychology and Social Sciences modules at University of Bristol. She has taught Social Sciences in UK secondary schools and in international schools in Kenya, Tanzania, and Turkey. She has also worked within the not-for-profit sector, more recently on donor-funded projects in Ghana. Her work has focused on educational access initiatives, and on inclusive curricula and assessment.

Barney Samson-Ledger is Lecturer in Liberal Arts Education at King's Foundations, King’s College London. He has worked as an educator for 20 years, including in primary and secondary schools, and in higher education in foundation, undergraduate, and postgraduate contexts. He has taught across the Humanities (Literature, Film, Cultural Studies, Social Sciences, and Music) and his published work includes interdisciplinary research into popular culture and, more recently, scholarship about student engagement.

Cathy Elliott teaches in the Political Science department at UCL and has more than 15 years’ experience as an educator and educational leader. Her research interests are in the pedagogy of politics, particularly the role of joy, freedom, the imagination and creativity in education. She is currently Professor and Vice Dean Education in the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences at UCL and is an active educator and educational researcher. She is the co-founder and co-Director of the UCL Centre for the Pedagogy of Politics and was co-Convenor of the PSA Teaching and Learning Network from 2022 to 2025. She is also a co-editor and regular writer for the APSA/PSA award-winning ALPS blog.

Laurie Benson is Lecturer in Social Science Education at King’s International Foundation, King’s College London. She has previously worked at SOAS, KCL Department of War Studies, and Goldsmiths, supporting education at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her research currently focuses on decolonising curricula, aiming to understand how issues of representation can be addressed in curriculum design relative to foundation student needs. Laurie’s research also focuses on the memory of conflict and the relationship to the art world, including in the context of France-Algeria.

Martin Compton has over 30 years of experience as an educator, teaching across secondary, further, and higher education sectors in the UK and abroad. Following roles at the University of Greenwich and University College London (UCL), he joined King's College London in 2023. Martin focuses primarily on exploring the educational implications of artificial intelligence. As the University Lead for AI in Education, he supports colleagues and students in critically reviewing and innovating teaching, assessment, and feedback, whilst championing a 'freedom to learn' philosophy.

Rebecca Lindner is Deputy Director of King’s Academy, the academic development centre at King’s College London, where she focuses on educational leadership, professional development for education-focused academics, and education scholarship. She has taught across a range of Humanities disciplines and held academic and leadership roles at University College London, the University of Oregon, and Amsterdam University College. Rebecca’s work explores widening participation, staff and student wellbeing, leadership resilience, and curriculum innovation, and she has led funded projects supported by Research England, the Office for Students, the Calderwood Foundation, and Circle U. European University Alliance.