About
Dr Choi is an Associate Professor and the Director of Internationalisation. Prior to joining the University of Southampton, she worked at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) (2013-2022) and part-time at King’s College London (2010-2013).
She researches education policy and change in the global context, and teacher development therein. She also researches their intersections with languages.
In addition to her passion for research, she has actively supported colleagues in research development. Dr Choi is currently leading an interinstitutional peer review excercise in preparation for REF, where staff of the Southampton Education School and the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, EdUHK, assess the submissions from the other unit and provide feedback based on the REF assessment criteria. Previously at EdUHK, she led a cross-departmental writing group (2020-2022), and an internationalisation research cluster, FEHD Education Policy Research Hub (2019-2022). As a leader of the hub, she connected the academics of five institutes (e.g., Queensland University, Australia; University of Strathclyde, Scotland; Beijing Normal University, China), and liaised cross-institutional publications, research projects and conferences.
She is serving as an editorial board member of multiple journals, e.g., Journal of Education Policy, and of a book series (Multilingual Education, Springer). She is an associate editor of an ESCI journal, International Journal of Comparative Education and Development (since 2016).
Dr Choi has provided advice to 13 countries at the invitation of the central, local governments or their agencies (e.g., Croatia Agency for science and higher education) and international organisations (e.g., Asian Productivity Organisation; the British Council) on long-term education plans, reform management and teacher education, as well as individual educational institutes (e.g., Hong Kong University of Technology).
Dr Choi is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK and of the East-West Center, US, and is serving as a co-convenor of the Policy Studies and Politics of Education Network of the European Educational Research Association, and a Honorary Professor of the National University of Battambang, Cambodia.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Education policy and change
- Teacher development
- English for Speakers of Other Languages
- Comparative education
- Educational equity
Current research
Dr Choi Tae-Hee researches educational changes, driven by policy or societal changes, and actors' (dis)engagement with them. She also researches their intersections with languages. Dr Choi has led multiple international projects involving countries in Europe, Asia and Oceania, funded and commissioned by international and national funders (e.g., British Council, Hong Kong Research Grants Council, National Research Foundation of Korea). For updates on research activities, visit https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tae-Hee-Choi.
She has 100+ publications including 25+ articles published with high impact journals; and given over 80 keynotes, talks and seminars in countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. As a Principal Investigator and paid consultant, she has generated over £600,000 of research income. This year, she additionally secured £183,000 as a Co-I, for a project which investigates digital governance of education (Funder: National Research Foundation of Korea).
The current projects include:
- Empowering English language teachers to adopt multilingual pedagogy: The case of Multilingual Nepal (Funder: British Council)
- Online Social Network Influence on Policy Effectiveness & Educational Equity (Funder: Education University of Hong Kong)
- Promoting Women Leadership in Cambodian Higher Education: Challenges and Future Direction (Funder: The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation)
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
Teaching
Dr Choi Tae-Hee has written and taught modules on policy processes, teacher professionalism, and comparison of education systems across bachelor, masters and doctoral levels. She has also taught research methodology, school effectiveness and leadership, and general foundation courses. She is a module leader for the courses Globalisation and Education Policy (MSc Education and Psychology, 2024), and Making Sense of Research (Online MSc, 2025). She previously coordinated a core course on teacher professionalism, which was taught in all majors across the university (The Education University of Hong Kong). She was a certified high school English language teacher (Ministry of Education, South Korea), and English teacher trainer (British Council, Korea).
External Examiner
Durham University (2025-2029). MA in Intercultural and International Education.
Technical University of Hong Kong (2014-2022). English Language Education.
Doctoral supervision
Current
Jia WANG (PhD): Enhancing Second Language Teachers’Adaptive Expertise Based on AI Chatbots (University of Southampton)
Previous
Oanh THIEU: Developing Students’ Intercultural Communicative Competence in English Language Education: a Case Study in a University of Vietnam (Graduation: 2024; Senior Lecturer, Kien Giang University)
Jessica KIM (PhD): English kindergarten in South Korea: Enacted policy on curriculum in comparison with General kindergarten (Graduation: 2024; The Education University of Hong Kong)
Chan HUM: Practices and Challenges for Academic Career Management in Cambodian Public Higher Education (Graduation: 2023; Director of the Research and Development Center, National University of Battambang, Cambodia)
Xenia BELOVA: Multilingual Policies and Practices in Tertiary Education: A Case Study in Hong Kong (Graduation: 2023; The Education University of Hong Kong)
POUDEL Prem Prasad (PhD): The Enactment of the Medium of Instruction Policy in Multilingual Nepal: Shapers, Interplays, and Tensions (Graduation: 2021; Assistant Professor, Tribhuvan University, Nepal)
ZHENG, Qun Suzanna (EdD): English-medium Instruction Policy on
Undergraduate Programmes in a Chinese University: Teachers’ Perspective. (Graduation: 2019; Lecturer at Xingzhi College, Zhejiang Normal University)
Modules I lead and teach at the University of Southampton
Southampton Education School
Modules I lead
Globalisation and Education Policy (MSc) (Leader, 2024)
Making Sense of Education Research (MSc) (Leader, 2025)
Modules I have taught
An Introduction to Teachers and Teaching (BSc)
Education Research: Practice and Methods (MSc)
Research Training Workshops for Postgrate Researchers (PhD/EdD)
Supervision of Dissertations (BSc, MSc, PhD)
Department of Politics and International Relations
Education Policy and Reforms: Global Experiences and Local Contexts (BSc)
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
Dr Choi is an Associate Professor and the Director of Internationalisation. Prior to joining the University of Southampton, she worked at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) (2013-2022) and part-time at King’s College London (2010-2013).
She is a Peer Reviewer for the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK Research and Innovation, and an editorial board member of multiple journals, e.g., Journal of Education Policy (SSCI), and of a book series (Multilingual Education, Springer). She is an associate editor of an ESCI journal, International Journal of Comparative Education and Development (since 2016).
Dr Choi has lived and/or worked in Korea, Australia, US, and Hong Kong, before she migrated to England. She speaks English, Korean and functional Japanese.
Prizes
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK (2013)
- Early Career Award (Research Grants Council, Hong Kong) (2015)
- Fellow of the East-West Center, US (2003)
- Research Impact and Engagement (2020)
- International Connection Award (2019)
- Quality Journal Article Award (2017)
- Top 10% Publication Award (2015)
- Young Scholar Best Paper Awards (2014)
- Excellent Teaching Award (2016)
- Excellent Teaching Award (2019)
- Excellent Teaching Award (2020)
- Award for Innovation of Teaching and Learning (Ministry of Education, Korea) (2007)
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK (2013)
- Early Career Award (Research Grants Council, Hong Kong) (2015)
- Fellow of the East-West Center, US (2003)
- Research Impact and Engagement (2020)
- International Connection Award (2019)
- Quality Journal Article Award (2017)
- Top 10% Publication Award (2015)
- Young Scholar Best Paper Awards (2014)
- Excellent Teaching Award (2016)
- Excellent Teaching Award (2019)
- Excellent Teaching Award (2020)
- Award for Innovation of Teaching and Learning (Ministry of Education, Korea) (2007)
- Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (2025)