Professor Heather King’s research examines the ways in which educators foster learner engagement with science across many contexts including schools, museums, the natural environment, and non-formal spaces such as maker-spaces. In particular, her work focuses on social and environmental justice concerns with respect to science education practice.

Heather is co-chair of the Science and Technology Education Research Group at King’s College London and teaches modules in STEM education leadership, in STEM Making and Creating, and in Education in Arts and Cultural Settings.

She is also the Vice President for Education at the British Science Association.

Research interests

• Equitable engagement in science
• Science capital
• Teaching and learning in museums and galleries
• The design of educational programmes in out-of-school contexts
• Environmental education
• Natural history education
• Teaching and Learning through making and coding

For details of Heather's publications please see her Research Staff Profile. 

Teaching

Heather leads the following modules for the MA programme in STEM Education:

• Making in STEM
• Leading Practices in STEM

She also contributes to the teaching and supervision of students on the Education in Arts and Cultural Setting MA programme.

PhD supervision

Heather has supervised doctoral students in the areas of museum education, science education, and environmental education.

Her current students include:

• Ye Cao: Applying the lens of science capital to understand student engagement in China.
• Marie Hobson: Evaluation Utilisation: How can evaluation findings impact Museum policy and practice?
• Brad Irwin: The international work of UK national museums.
• Sophie Perry: How do environmental education programmes influence young people's perceptions of their role in environmental action?
• Alex Tak: The value of shared frameworks and indicators in understanding the impact of museums on wider society.
• Julian Forson: Negotiating inequalities: Understanding the lived experiences of women of African and Caribbean heritage working in the creative industries.
• Lydia Vasiliki Kapournioti: Learning through installation art interactions: an exploration of innovative resources and approaches for designing gallery and museum experiences.
• Zsuzsa Lugosi: The ways young children (6–11-year-olds) connect to nature at the Natural History Museum.