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Bettina Chioma Teegen

Ph.D. Researcher
BA Criminology, MSc Child Adolescent and Family Mental Health, PGCE Modern Foreign Languages, TESOL CERT.

Academic and research departments

Sociology.

About

 

I am a social science researcher and a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Surrey, with my thesis due for final submission in March 2026. I am the recipient of the Black Scholar Award (formerly the SHINE SCHOLARS Studentship).

Alongside my doctoral research, I am a Visiting Lecturer at Heriot-Watt University, teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) on pre-sessional programmes for master’s-level students (since 2025). I have previously held English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teaching appointments at universities across the UK which include the University of Exeter, Lancaster University, and the University of Nottingham.

I currently serve on the review board of the Journal of International Students and the Journal of Underrepresented and Minority Progress.

Further academic roles:

In 2022 I served as a PGR Partner at University of Surrey's Doctoral College for the Decolonizing Training Project.      

In February of 2023 I served as an organising committee member of the University of Surrey's  PGR and ECR conference titled 'Making the Invisible Visible' which took place in June 2023.

In September 2023 I was invited to speak at the well-known researcher development conference 'Vitae' as part of an online panel which discussed "challenges, issues and opportunities" for PGRs and ECRs within the wider research culture.

In October 2023, I had the honor of receiving the award for the British Educational Research Association (BERA) best presentation within the Special Interest Group on Comparative and International Education for my research paper titled "African International Doctoral Students in the UK: A Study of Acculturation." 

Affiliations and memberships

Journal of International Students
Review Board member
Journal of Underrepresented and Minority Progress
Review Board member
British Sociological Association
Ph.D. researcher membership
Society for Research into Higher Education
Ph.D. researcher membership
Society of Transnational Academic Researchers
Ph.D. researcher membership
British Educational Research Association
Ph.D. Researcher
Society of Black Academics
PhD researcher
Women's Higher Education Network
PhD researcher
PhD researcher membership
British Society of Criminology

News

In the media

November 2023

How four participants were inspired by #VitaeCon2023

Blog
Vitae Conference 2023
12-14 September

BERA Annual Conference SIG presentation award winners

Award for best presentation of the SIG (special interest group) of Comparative and International Education
British Educational Research Association (BERA)
2024

"Sub-Saharan faces in Caucasian spaces: Black African international PhD students’ experiences in the UK"

Principal researcher
British Educational Research Education (BERA) blog post

Research

Research interests

Indicators of esteem

  • Peer-reviewed presentations:

    Teegen, B. C. (September 2023). African International Doctoral Students in the UK: A Study of Acculturation. At British Educational Research Association (BERA) in Birmingham, England

    Teegen, B. C. (March 2023). The Importance of Mental Health services on UK Campuses: Directions for University Staff. At international Conference of Advanced Research for Education, Teaching and Learning (ARETL) in Berlin, Germany.

    Teegen, B. C. (April 2022). Black African Transnational Doctoral Students in the US. At American Educational Research Association (AERA) in San Diego, USA.

    Teegen, B. C. (August 2019). The need for mentoring programs for Black African graduate students at PWIs. At Association of Black Sociologists in New York, USA.

    Teegen, B. C. (April 2019). Counselling services for graduate students on campus: Do they even exist? At Comparative and International Education Society in San Francisco, USA.

    Teegen, B. C. (April 2019). International students at American universities:  Acculturatin in African and Afro- Caribbean Doctoral Students: A Mixed Methods Study. At Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE) in New Orleans, USA.

    Teaching

    Publications

    Peter Hemming, Lis Bundock, Rosie Moore, Bettina Teegen, Nisrin Chamlal Zinane, Sarah Harrison, Ananya Nair, Varsha Satyavaram, Shona Williamson (2026)Navigating the Contested Curriculum: UK University Educators’ Perspectives on Teaching Race and Ethnicity, In: Cogent education13(1)2709744 Routledge
    DOI: 10.1080/2331186X.2026.2709744

    In the context of an enhanced focus on racial inequalities in higher education, growing attention has been paid to the role of race and ethnicity as a specific theme in the university curriculum. However, few existing studies have engaged with a broad sample of views from educators about their experiences of teaching in this area. This article aims to address the gap by investigating UK university educators’ perspectives on teaching race and ethnicity and exploring this contested aspect of the curriculum with their students. It reports findings from a nationwide survey based on a quota sample drawn from 30 UK universities, including 224 educators teaching in the social sciences. The article presents descriptive statistics from the fixed-response survey items, alongside qualitative analysis of educators' open-ended survey responses, regarding curriculum approaches, classroom dynamics, confidence, training and support, with bivariate analyses examining variation by subject discipline and ethnic background. The findings underline the continued sensitive and contested nature of race and ethnicity in the university curriculum, and the need for more individualised training, subject-specific guidance, and institutional support, to ensure educators are adequately prepared for teaching these issues.

    Additional publications