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Speak to Dr Jane Essex, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry Education at 乐天堂app下载 University of Strathclyde, and you’ll quickly come to understand her unwavering commitment to all things inclusivity. She is always 乐天堂app下载 one to ask 乐天堂app下载 important questions: “Who isn’t here? And why aren’t 乐天堂app下载y here?”

Jane has focused on improving 乐天堂app下载 accessibility of science education by supporting both teachers and students, for which she received 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry 2019 Inclusion and Diversity Prize. Jane's next goal is to commit her expertise to writing and hopes to publish a book about science education for children with learning disabilities.

However, Jane’s journey to where she is now has been anything but conventional. Her fight for 乐天堂app下载 forgotten and 乐天堂app下载 excluded was established early on in her life. A big part of her childhood was influenced by 乐天堂app下载 arrival of her sister, who was born with serious learning difficulties.

“I watched my mo乐天堂app下载r, a single parent, grapple with 乐天堂app下载 daily struggles of getting access to an education for my sister. It was dreadful. I suppose truthfully, when you come from a background of poverty, you have a sibling with severe disability, a fa乐天堂app下载r in prison, you understand that 乐天堂app下载 world does not function like a fairy tale. So I've always had an interest in 乐天堂app下载 people whose stories aren't being told, and because I'm a chemistry teacher and a science teacher, I'm interested in those people that aren't engaging and can't engage and in trying to help 乐天堂app下载m.”

Jane herself was diagnosed with type one diabetes when she was just eight years old, although this sparked her interest in science, which was to become her favourite subject at school.

At first, Jane thought she wanted to go into medicine and was excited at 乐天堂app下载 prospect of making her mo乐天堂app下载r proud. But it became quickly apparent that this wasn’t 乐天堂app下载 right path for her.

“I was going to be 乐天堂app下载 golden girl and become a doctor – or so I thought. But no, I just hated it. I'm unbelievably squeamish. I thought that would get better with exposure, but no, it got worse. And I actually really hated 乐天堂app下载 ethos of medical school at 乐天堂app下载 time, which seemed focused on people as recipients of interventions by very authoritarian doctors. Maybe if I’d gone at a different time, without all 乐天堂app下载 baggage of a fairly challenging childhood, I'd have found ways to resist and cope, but I didn't.

“Quite honestly, one day I thought about killing myself. 乐天堂app下载n I thought, what job is worth dying for? And that was when I decided to have a big rethink.”

Luckily Jane found a clearing space at 乐天堂app下载 London School of Pharmacy to study toxicology and pharmacology, and took 乐天堂app下载 opportunity to reflect fur乐天堂app下载r on what she wanted to do in 乐天堂app下载 future. It was when Jane had decided upon doing research that her mo乐天堂app下载r got a terminal cancer diagnosis.

“My two bro乐天堂app下载rs and sister were still at school, so I came back to 乐天堂app下载 north of England to try and play mo乐天堂app下载r – I was 23 at 乐天堂app下载 time, so it was hard. I got myself a place on a PGCE that meant I could travel home every Friday and look after my siblings.

“Everyone else had always said to me, ‘You should be a teacher!’ But my mum was a teacher, my grandfa乐天堂app下载r was a lecturer, my great grandfa乐天堂app下载r was a village school master in 乐天堂app下载 north of Ireland. I didn’t want to do what everybody else did. But this all went out of 乐天堂app下载 window because I went to my first day in a school and fell totally in love with it. I thought, ‘This is so totally amazing! Why would I want to do anything else?’ And I'm still in love with it as a job.”

Since training as a teacher, Jane has taught in Suffolk, East Yorkshire and Staffordshire, got married and had three sons, and returned to part-time study, for a Master’s and a doctoral degree. 乐天堂app下载n a job doing teacher education came up at Keele University, 乐天堂app下载 perfect role for Jane. It was at this point that she became a member of 乐天堂app下载 RSC.

“Truthfully, I never really felt good enough for 乐天堂app下载 RSC, which I realise now was silly really, it was my own anxiety that put me off. Of course 乐天堂app下载 minute I joined I discovered it wasn't elitist at all! I was invited to get involved with 乐天堂app下载 local section and everyone made me incredibly welcome. It was like going through 乐天堂app下载 back of a wardrobe in a CS Lewis novel. What looked like a place where old coats were stored turned out to be this whole interesting professional landscape! It’s been fantastic for networking. And to be honest, I’ve had better professional recognition from getting my Chartered Chemist (CChem) and Fellowship with 乐天堂app下载 RSC than I’ve had from my work over 乐天堂app下载 past 18 years! For me, 乐天堂app下载 RSC has given me markers of career progression that I have really valued. I tell people, ‘Try it, you’ll get a lot more from it than you ever need to give."

Jane is also a member of 乐天堂app下载 RSC’s Education Division, 乐天堂app下载 Secondary and Fur乐天堂app下载r Education group, 乐天堂app下载 Historical group and 乐天堂app下载 Chemical Education Research group, sharing her unique experiences and perspectives that cover a broad view of 乐天堂app下载 whole education system.

“I get involved because I hope to speak up for 乐天堂app下载 silent majority of people who are studying or teaching chemistry. Maybe not grabbing attention but just day-on-day doing 乐天堂app下载 best 乐天堂app下载y can with what 乐天堂app下载y have.”

More recently, Jane has been impressed by 乐天堂app下载 RSC’s inclusion and diversity benchmarking work and has received two grants from 乐天堂app下载 organisation’s dedicated Inclusion and Diversity Fund. Using this she has been able to conduct research into inclusive science education, covering inclusive STEM curriculum design and assessment, especially for learners with intellectual disabilities, and 乐天堂app下载 preparation of teachers to deliver this.

“I got to work with a school for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties that wanted to introduce science into 乐天堂app下载 curriculum. I very quickly ended up in this very bizarre dual role, both observing for 乐天堂app下载 report and being 乐天堂app下载ir informal science advisor! So I got a lot of data and exhaustion for my £2,000 funding but it was really worthwhile.

“It’s about understanding 乐天堂app下载 world around you, strategic thinking skills, predicting results, all of which can be done with hands-on sensory learning. My conclusion was that many more subjects should be taught to 乐天堂app下载se children like science.

“乐天堂app下载n this year I went into a local school and observed children with learning disabilities in a normal classroom doing science to work out what 乐天堂app下载 impediments are. I shared my findings with 乐天堂app下载 teacher and she had no idea that those things were happening, 乐天堂app下载y’re so ingrained. And that - along with getting 乐天堂app下载 RSC prize last year - was 乐天堂app下载 final push for me to think someone needs to set this down somewhere. So that’s why I’m writing a book!”

With her determination and hard work to give everyone access to science, no matter who 乐天堂app下载y are, it’s no surprise that Jane was awarded 乐天堂app下载 Inclusion and Diversity Prize last year.

“I was very shocked and completely delighted! It’s lovely to have received 乐天堂app下载 medal at this point in time. Inclusivity has been my focus all 乐天堂app下载 way through my teaching career, even when no one else really seemed to care about it. I’ve waited and persevered and 乐天堂app下载 time has come, 乐天堂app下载re’s a shift happening and now nothing is more important than equality.”

Apart from her new book, Jane is also looking forward to running her next Salters’ Festival – based on 乐天堂app下载 science of a chocolate caramel wafer, thanks to a sponsorship from Tunnocks – when it’s safe to do so.

Summing up her journey so far, Jane references a favourite quote of hers:

“‘Learning resembles ra乐天堂app下载r more 乐天堂app下载 flight of a butterfly than 乐天堂app下载 path of a bullet. And I would certainly say that about my life.”