Rebecca (Becky) Mead is a senior analyst at RAND Europe and works within the Education, Employment and Skill research group. Her work focuses mainly on education, and her research interests include science education and STEM aspirations, teacher training and Continued Professional Development, and inequality in education. She is a mixed-methods researcher.
Before joining RAND, Mead worked within a variety of science- and education-related roles in the public and charity sectors. These include researching school-based qualifications and producing Official Statistics for Ofqual (the UK government’s regulator of qualifications and exams), organising university placements for school students from low-income backgrounds through the in2scienceUK charity, and – most recently – researching human behaviour and evaluating impact at the canine welfare charity, Dogs Trust. She is also a qualified secondary science teacher and has taught in various education settings, including Ethnic Minority Achievement Services and supporting those with special educational needs.
Mead has a Ph.D. in biology education from the University of Bath, on the teaching of evolution and genetics in schools across England and Wales.
Education
Ph.D. in biology education, University of Bath; P.G.C.E. in secondary science, Bath Spa University; M.Sc. in environmental biology, Swansea University; B.Sc. in environmental science, University of Sussex
Concurrent Non-RAND Positions
Visiting Lecturer, University of Bath
Selected Work
- R. Mead, Opportunities in Evolution Education for the UK: A study and analysis of recent literature, Evolution Education Trust, 2021
- K. Melrose, R. Mead, AS and A level decoupling: Implications for the maintenance of AS standards, Ofqual, 2018
- B. M. P. Cuff, E. Howard, R. Mead & P. E. Newton, Key stage 2 writing moderation: Observations on the consistency of moderator judgements, Ofqual, 2018
- R. Mead, M. Hejmadi & L. D. Hurst, "Scientific aptitude better explains poor responses to teaching of evolution than psychological conflicts," Nat Ecol Evol, 2(2), 2018
- R. Mead, M. Hejmadi & L. D. Hurst, "Teaching genetics prior to teaching evolution improves evolution understanding but not acceptance," PLoS Biol, 15(5), 2017