Dr Lucy Yeomans

I am a lecturer of education, specialising in social inequalities. My research focusses on the reproduction of inequalities in educational fields, particularly within STEM education and academic cultures, and I have a particular interest in the role of social class. I have expertise in qualitative research methods, but regularly engage in mixed-methods research designs.

I joined Exeter in March 2022 having previously worked on research projects at the University of Plymouth, University of Bath and University of the West of England Bristol. At Bath I was the PDRA working on 'Reimagining Recruitment', an EPSRC-funded research project exploring the experiences of early career academics to drive culture change around academic recruitment, and improve equality, diversity and inclusion within the engineering and physical sciences. I completed my PhD at King’s College London, attached to the ESRC Impact Award-winning project ‘ASPIRES’, a longitudinal research project studying young people's science and career aspirations. Before this I worked in Widening Participation and Public Engagement with Science, including organising the annual Royal Holloway Science Festival which hosts over 4,000 visitors. My undergraduate degree was in Theatre Studies, and I use this background to inform the inter and transdisciplinary approach I take to my research.

While working in WP and Outreach I was the Chair of the STEM Disability Transition Group, an inter-HEI group of Disability Services professionals established to support disabled students in the transition from school to UG STEM courses. During my PhD I co-established the PhD STEM-Education group which provided a national network to support PhD students in undertaking their research and managing pastoral issues. I co-established a similar network during my tenure at the University of Bath, which brought together PDRAs from across the country who were working as social scientists across the EPSRC-funded project banner ‘Inclusion Matters’.