Senior Research Associate

Dr Rebecca Hale

Becky is currently the Centre's Head of Education and Research. In this role she contributes to the Centre's leadership, strategic planning and pedagogical vision, and continues to lead the Centre’s research agenda.

Becky started her career as a secondary school teacher. The insights she gained as a Year 9 form tutor directly informed her PhD exploring parents’ responses when their children are bullied. Her academic background in psychology enabled her to develop expertise in a range of research methodologies and statistical analyses, which she has applied to her role at the Centre since she joined in 2013. She initially worked on the Centre’s landmark 2016 national study with students:  What do Students know and understand about the Holocaust. Since 2022, she has led the Centre’s research and evaluation activities. She is a lead author on the Centre’s 2023 national study with teachers: Continuity and Change: Ten years of teaching about the Holocaust in England’s secondary schools. More recently, she has led a second national study with students: Teaching and learning about the Holocaust 80 years on.  

Becky has particular interest in research related to the impact of Holocaust education on students’ historical knowledge and understanding, and other variables sometimes linked to Holocaust education. Drawing on her psychology background, she has also explored how the Holocaust is addressed within psychology A-level courses, especially in relation to Milgram’s obedience experiences. In recent years, she has used this research to inform professional development sessions for trainee and in-service psychology teachers.

In addition to her work for the Centre, Becky has held leadership positions within the IOE’s department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment (CPA). From 2015 to 2021 she was the department’s Research Ethics Coordinator. Since 2023 she has been the department’s lead for research engagement and impact and a member of CPA’s senior leadership team.

Selected Publications

Hale, R., Pearce, A., Nienhaus, L., & Karayiani, E. (2026). Knowledge and understandings of the Holocaust (link available from 26 January 2026).  UCL Centre for Holocaust Education: London.

Hale, R., Pearce, A., & Karayianni, E. (2025). Understanding attitudes, behaviours and actions during the Holocaust. UCL Centre for Holocaust Education: London.

Hale, R. (2025). Misconceptions and knowledge gaps in Holocaust education: considerations and challenges in the context of teaching aims and contemporary issues. Education Inquiry.  https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2025.2548662

Hale, R., Pettigrew, A., Karayianni, E., Pearce, A., Foster, S., Needham, K., &Nienhaus, L. (2023). Continuity and Change: Ten years of teaching and learning about the Holocaust in England's secondary schools. UCL Centre for Holocaust Education: London.

Hale, R. (2020) 'It made me think how I should treat others and how I should help people who need it': The complexities of exploring the impact of Holocaust education. Oxford Review of Education, 46 (6) pp. 788-803.  https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1791062

 

View Becky’s UCL Profile

Publications by: Dr Rebecca Hale

  • What do students know and understand about the Holocaust? Evidence from English secondary schools

    The latest ground-breaking research from the Centre, published in October […]

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  • Report on the IOE and IHRA Conference on the genocide of the Roma, May 2014

    Report on IOE and IHRA committee on the genocide of […]

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