Dr Farhat Batool Syyeda

I joined the University of Leicester in 2022 as a Lecturer after completing my PhD in Education. With a background in Economics and Finance, I have previously taught Mathematics, Business Economics and Financial management at secondary and FE/HE level for many years. I currently work as the programme leader for iPGCE (International Post Graduate Certificate in Education) and a module convenor for MA in International Education.

My research interests include Mathematics education, adult learning, learner identity, education policy and sustainable development. I am also interested in innovative research methodologies and methods such as visual methods, ethnography and narrative inquiry.

Research Projects:

• PI - Bridging the Gap: Facilitating female adult learners to re-engage with Mathematics - British Academy flexi grant (on-going)
• CoI - Student Experience of Maths Mastery Approaches: The Influence of 10 Years Of Maths Hubs - British Academy flexi grant (on-going)
• CoI - Investigating the impact of 10 years of Maths Hubs: Negotiating the tensions between research finding and cause/effect connections sought by providers of professional development - KEIPoC (completed)

Mathematical Identity: An Investigation into the Learning Journeys of Adult Learners

Currently, I am co-supervising the following PhD projects:

• Student Voice in Higher Education: An Investigation into the Experiences and Perceptions of Students, Academic Staff, Institutions and Regulators Regarding the Value of Student Voice for Quality Assurance (Narrative Inquiry)
• Exploring Students' Oral Explanations in the Mathematics Classroom: A Case Study in a Maltese Multilingual Post-Secondary Vocational Setting for Low-Attaining Students

I teach the following modules on iPGCE (Distance Learning) and MAIE (Campus Based) programmes:

• Critical Reflections on Classroom Practice: how people learn and pedagogy (iPGCE)
• Classroom Research Project (iPGCE)
• Introduction to Research Methods in Education (MAIE)
• Dissertation Writing (MAIE)

FHEA (Fellow of the Higher Education Academy)

Syyeda, F., Osman, S., Harvey-Ashenhurst, B. and Baldry, F. (2025) ‘Bridging the Gap: Understanding the experiences of current adult learners to facilitate enrolment for potential learners’, ALM32 (Adults Learning Mathematics) conference, University of Nottingham, July 2025.

Syyeda, F., Baldry, F. and Harvey-Ashenhurst, B. (2025) ‘Bridging the Gap: Facilitating Female Adult Learners in the East Midlands Region of England to Re-engage with Mathematics’, CERME (Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education), University of Bozen Bolzano, February 2025 (Best poster presentation award TWG07).

Baldry, F., Syyeda, F. and Harvey-Ashenhurst, B. (2023) ‘Investigating the impact of 10 years of Maths Hubs’, BSRLM (British Society for Research on Learning Mathematics) conference, University of Bristol, November 2023.

Syyeda, F. B. & Woodhouse, J., (2022) Re-constructing life stories using the three-dimensional space narrative structure (3DSNS) to investigate adult learners’ experiences of reengagement with Mathematics, BSRLM (British Society for Research on Learning Mathematics) conference, University of Nottingham, June 2022.

Syyeda, F. B., (2020) ‘What matters in an adult Mathematics classroom? Examining adult learners’ experiences of re-engaging with Mathematics to understand re-formation of Mathematical Identities’, BSRLM (British Society for Research on Learning Mathematics) conference, Online, November 2020.

Syyeda, F. B., (2019) ‘What motivates adult learners to return to education and study Mathematics?’, SCUTREA conference on Adult Education 100: Reflections and Reconstructions, University of Nottingham, 2 – 4 July 2019 (Tilda Gaskell award for best student paper).

Syyeda, F.B., (2017) 'Maths + Me: Rediscovering Maths as an adult’, Supporting Learners in Adult Education: A Symposium, University of Plymouth, June 2017.

Syyeda, F.B., (2016) ‘Mathematical Identities: Exploring adult learners’ relationship with Maths using a narrative ethnography approach’, SCUTREA annual conference, University of Leicester, July 2016.

PhD in Education, University of Leicester, UK

MA International Education (Distinction), University of Leicester, UK.  

PGCE University of Bedfordshire, UK.

MSc Banking & Finance (Merit), University of Leicester, UK.

MA English Language & Literature, University of Baluchistan, Quetta, Pakistan.

MA Economics (Distinction), University of Peshawar, Pakistan.

BA (Distinction), University of Peshawar, Pakistan.