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Staff Profile

Dr Yao Wang

Lecturer in Intercultural Communication and Education

Background

Yao joined Newcastle University as Lecturer in Intercultural Communication and Education in September 2023, having previously worked as an Associate Lecturer.


Yao also held teaching and research posts in other higher education institutions in the UK, including:

  • Research Associate at the University of Sheffield, Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children Project (in partnership with UNICEF Innocenti and The LEGO Group, funded by The LEGO Foundation)
  • Research Associate at the University of East Anglia, Decolonising Teaching and Learning at UEA Project
  • Postgraduate Demonstrator, Research Associate, and Research Assistant at Newcastle University
  • Mandarin Peer Teacher at the Language Resource Centre at Newcastle University
  • CV Adviser, Careers Service, Newcastle University


Roles and responsibilities

  • Degree Programme Director for MA Cross-Cultural Communication and Media Studies
  • Chair of Student Staff Committee
  • ALC Seminar Coordinator (with Prof Tony Young)


Qualifications

2022, PhD in Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University (Newcastle, UK) (with international PhD scholarship)

2019, PGCert in Research Training, Newcastle University

2017, MA in Philosophy of Education, Institute of Education, University College London (London, UK)

2016, First degree: BA in Philosophy, School of Philosophy and Sociology, Beijing Normal University (Beijing, China)

2016, Second degree: BA in Chinese Language and Literature, School of Chinese Language, Beijing Normal University (Beijing, China)

Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (FHEA).


Awards

Adam Smith Institute John Blundell Studentship 2020 (£4,000)

UN Sustainable Development Goals poster competition winner, presented at Global Partners Research Forum: Sustainable Future in Focus 2021.

2021 British Educational Research Association Annual Conference Scholarship

2019 Gender and Education Association International Conference Scholarship


Esteem Indicators

Editorial board member (Associate Editor) of the Springer Nature Journal - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.

Regional Editor for the open-access Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education.

Reviewer for Educational Review, Journal of Education as Change, Journal of Regional Science Policy and Practice.






Research

Yao has an interdisciplinary background encompassing philosophy, literature, education, and cross-cultural communication, employing various methodologies (mixed methods, ethnography etc.). Her research focuses on the experiences of mobile groups both within and across borders. Particularly, she investigates the adjustment, adaptation, and employability of international students in the UK and EU. She has conducted ethnographic studies on the life experiences of rural-to-urban migrant children in China, examining their interactions within their home and school environments.


Her research interests extend to the impact of digital technology on education and society, including the effects of digital play on children's wellbeing, technology-assisted learning, and the utilisation of AI. 


She actively explores, evaluates, and implements institutional teaching and learning policies, with a specific emphasis on decolonisation and the advancement of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) practices.


Current Research Projects:

Domestic Migrant Children in Guiyang (China): Role of Parental Support in their Learning Experience. NU Faculty Research Fund. PI with Dr Sara Ganassin (Co-I), £3,953.2.


Connect4Innovation: UK-Turkey Higher Education Institutional Partnerships Fund: Global Graduates through Virtual Exchange: A Model for Language Teachers and Internationalization in UK-Türkiye Higher Education (GlobVELT UK-TR), RA with Prof Asuman Asik, PI (Gazi University, Turkey) and Dr Müge Satar(Co-I). October 2023-2025, £23.5K https://globvelt.com/


Doctoral supervision: 

Yao is welcoming applications from prospective doctoral students interested in the following topics:

  • Internationalisation in higher education
  • Experiences of mobile groups (e.g., international students, rural-to-urban migrants in China)
  • Interculturality in various contexts (e.g., virtual spaces, workplaces)
  • Technology-assisted learning (e.g., digital games, AI)


Invited Talks:

Scott, F., & Wang, Y. (2024) Ethically negotiating an international dissemination agreement, the University of Sheffield.

Pham, T., & Wang, Y. (2024) Student employability preparedness in the AI era, the University of Manchester.

Wang, Y. (2023). Everyday Bordering in the Higher Education Setting, Salzburg University. 

Wang, Y. (2023). Understanding the experience of internationally mobile students in the context of everyday bordering. European Master in Migration Studies – EuMIGS Network Lecture Series.

Wang, Y. (2023). The privately-run migrant school and the experience of internal migrant children in Guiyang, China, University of Nottingham.

Wang, Y. (2022). Careers and employability of international students in the UK, the University of Toronto.


Selected Conferences:

·      Wang, Y. (2023) A reflective journey from Northeast to Southwest China: Is Mandarin the universal Chinese language in doing fieldwork? Paper presented at Cultnet: Intercultural Community for Researchers and Educators Annual Conference. Durham, UK.

·      Schartner, A. & Wang, Y. (2023) Intercultural orientation workshops for students on the MA Cross-Cultural Communication+ programmes. Paper presented at Learning and Teaching Conference 2023. Newcastle, UK.

·      Theuerkauf, U., Wang, Y., Simon, S. and Pham, T. (2022). Finding Common Denominators in Initiatives for a More Inclusive Higher Education. Advance HE EDI Colloquium: Decolonising Pedagogies 2022.

·      Wang, Y., Simon, S. and Theuerkauf, U. (2022). Conceptual and Methodological Challenges in the Design of a Decolonisation-Inspired Teaching & Learning Toolkit. European Conference on Education. London, UK.

·      Wang, Y. (2022) UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) Annual Conference 2022 (Invited speaker).

·      Wang, Y. (2022) How privately-run migrant schools are perceived by staff in relation to migrant children’s development in Guiyang. Paper presented at Workshop on ‘Chinese Migration, Diaspora and Mobility’, Pembroke College, Cambridge University, UK.

·      Schartner, A. & Wang, Y. (2021) The ‘international student experience’ in 2021: Understanding the impact of the Covid19 Pandemic on the academic, psychological and sociocultural adjustment experiences of international students in the UK. Paper presented at BERA Annual Conference 2021.

·      Wang, Y. (2021) Bridges to urban communities: the voice from managerial staff on the roles of privately-run migrant schools in rural-to-urban migrant children in Guiyang city. Paper presented at European Conference on Educational Research. Geneva, Switzerland.

·      Wang, Y. (2021) What roles do privately-run migrant schools play in Guiyang? Paper presented at British Education Studies Association Online Conference 2021.

·      Wang, Y. (2020) Migrant children’s education in China’s disadvantaged area: privately-run migrant schools in Guiyang. Annual PGR Student Conference. Newcastle, UK (Best paper award).

·      Wang, Y. (2019) Exploring privately-run migrant schools in Guiyang city: A pilot study. Paper presented at the Chinese Educational Research Association Conference. London, UK.


Teaching

I am module leader for:

  • ALC8013 Introduction to Intercultural Communication

I contribute to:

  • ALC8003 Research Portfolio 
  • ALC8037 Multilingualism
  • ALC8020 Research Methods for Applied Linguistics


As of September 2024, I have supervised:

  • 44 MA dissertation projects with a range of topics, such as international student experience, social media usage, language teaching, and intercultural communication in the workplace.




Publications