Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship granted for the project: Pedagogies for the Imagination

Dr. Betzabe Torres Olave has been awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship, with a perfect score of 100% (!), for the project with title Pedagogies for the Imagination: Science Education for Climate Just Futures. Dr. Torres Olave will work with prof. Lucy Avraamidou at the Centre for Learning and Teaching.

The project aims to address the question: “How can imagination be pedagogically cultivated?” by proposing a novel multi-theoretical and multi-methodological approach centred on southern ways of being and doing to imagine and work towards sustainable and just futures. The project operates from the premise that we need to imagine and learn with the spaces we inhabit, the ones we do not, and those that are currently dealing with deep climate conflicts. 

The project aims to propose a theory of critical imagination through research training at the University of Groningen and fieldwork research in Chile and the Netherlands, in the context of climate justice. Following this, the researchers will design, implement, and evaluate pedagogical resources for the education of future scientists and science teachers.

Dr. Torres Olave is a Chilean former physics teacher from Valparaíso and is currently a Research Fellow in Science Education at the University of Leeds in the UK. She holds a BSc in Physics, an MSc in Philosophy of Science (Universidad de Santiago de Chile), an MRes in Educational Research, and a PhD in Science Education (University of Bristol). Her research explores critical pedagogies of science, examining how science educators challenge hegemonic practices in science education while working to create conditions for justice and collective flourishing.