The Demographics of RE teachers in England and Scotland in 2017: An Empirical Study
Contributions to Conferences: Papers
Head of School
Senior Lecturer (Scholarship)
I am an Educator with an expertise in Religion. Since 2017, I have been Head of School of Education, leading a vibrant multi-departmental school with research and teaching activities across: Counselling; Early Years Education; Initial Teacher Education; and Masters-level Professional Learning (e.g., Inclusive Practice, Leadership and Mindfulness; through to Doctoral degrees). Externally, I am the current Chair of the Scottish Council of Deans of Education (SCDE).
Prior to being Head of School, I was Programme Director, and Depute Programme Director, of Aberdeen's Initial Teacher Education Professional Graduate Diploma in Education or PGDE (Primary, Secondary and Distance Learning Initial Teacher Education [DLITE]). I have pursued a passion for international work, also serving as the School's Director of Innovation and Internationalisation - forging and supporting strategic initiatives in China, the Middle East, as well as in the UK.
I joined the University of Aberdeen from Education Scotland (Scottish Government), where I worked as a National Development Officer in the Assessment Team, supporting assessment pedagogy, moderation, and profiling in the new (then) Scottish curriculum - with lead responsibility for Moray, Highland, Orkney, and Shetland Islands. In Aberdeen City, I worked across Primary and Secondary schools for local government as a Curriculum Development Officer for Assessment, Moderation, and Reporting (3-18); prior to which I was Aberdeen City’s Subject Network Leader for Religious, Moral, and Philosophical Studies (RMPS).
I have been a Public Appointee, serving as an Adjudicator on the General Teaching Council (Scotland)'s Fitness to Teach and Registration Panels (2012-2016).
I taught RMPS (Religion and Philosophy) in secondary schools in Aberdeen and Montrose. Prior to becoming a teacher, I worked in the Third Sector, where over several years I led a team to turnaround a struggling charitable company.
PGDE, Arts | University of Edinburgh | 2007 |
PhD, Arts | Durham University | 2006 |
ThM, Arts | Princeton Theological Seminary | 1999 |
BD (Hons), Arts | University of Glasgow | 1998 |
Religion and Education
Diversity and identities are two threads which characterise my research interest: a searching for the heterogeneous amidst the seemingly homogenous. Specifically, my research focus is contextualised within the historical study of religion (in particular, Christianities and Judaisms) through which I have concentrated on heterogeneous early Judaeo-Christian religious phenomena and identities: circumcision as a sine qua non of Jewish identity; constructions of 'sexuality' and boundaries within early Christianities; and early Christian 'magic' and cursing to death, as community identity is in contention within certain early Christian understandings. My study of early Christianities, and in particular of ancient cursing and magic, is guided by a Religionsgeschichtliche Schule approach.
Hermeneutical and pedagogical issues arise in the present when contemporary constructions of religion, such as Christianity, are considered in light of their historical origins: fundamental questions emerge concerning Religious Education curricula and pedagogy, and the education of Religious Education student teachers: How can (should?) religious phenomena be interpreted and understood in the past and the present? What might we select/curate to teach, and learn from (?), and how might children and young people be engaged in these experiences? My research reflects these interests, through explorations of essentialist presentations of religion by teaching practitioners of Religious Education.
What we teach about, and learn from, religion was the focus of Tales of Iona a game-based learning experience through which as PI, with CIs Katrina Foy and Aloyise Mulligan, I sought to engage learners across upper-Primary and lower-Secondary school with the religious history of the island of Iona - creating a pedagogical resource for teachers, particularly teachers of Religious Education. This third sector funded innovation was a finalist at the 2016 International Educational Games Competition | European Conference on Games Based Learning.
1. Who is teaching RE in England and Scotland? An Empirical Study of English and Scottish Religious Education Teachers in collaboration with Dr Graeme Nixon (University of Aberdeen) and Dr Jo Pearce (UCL Institute of Education): submitted
2. Essentialist Understandings of Religion and Religious Education | Lead Researcher | Bad Religion as False Religion in collaboration with Dr Graeme Nixon (University of Aberdeen) and Dr Jo Pearce (UCL Institute of Education). This paper, which was presented at the British Educational Research Association's annual conference (September 2017 | University of Brighton) and the Association of Lecturers of Religious Education annual conference (May 2018 | University of London), explores essentialist understandings of religion in relation to teachers of Religious Education across the UK. The first of three papers arising from the dataset has now been published by Religions: "Bad Religion as False Religion: An Empirical Study of UK Religious Education Teachers' Essentialist Religious Discourse"
International Consultancy, Grant Income and New Programme/Course Innovation Activity
I have generated £284,436 in external grant and consultancy income; £46,124 in internal project grant income for my school; and £898,810 of fee revenue generation (Total: £1,229,370 to 30 Sept. 2020).
Current | International
1. Project Leader, Curriculum Writer, and Visiting International Expert | International Professional Learning Initiative | University of Aberdeen School of Education and Beijing Institute of Education | Chaoyang District, Beijing, China | February 2015 - present
Current | National | UK
1. Who is teaching RE in England and Scotland? An Empirical Study of English and Scottish Religious Education Teachers | in collaboration with Dr Graeme Nixon (University of Aberdeen) and Dr Jo Pearce (UCL Institute of Education): submitted
Completed | International
1. Religious Education and Diversity (READY) | CI with Dr Graeme Nixon (University of Aberdeen) and others across Europe (Austria, England, Germany, Sweden) on this transnational Erasmus Plus European Religious Education and Diversity project | September 2015 - August 2018
2. Project Board Member | University of Aberdeen Middle East Internationalisation Initiative | May 2014 - October 2016
Completed | National | UK
1. Mathematics SCQF 7 Online Access innovation | Partnership development in collaboration with secondary-qualified teaching professionals | November 2018 - August 2019
2. University of Aberdeen and Northern Alliance Learning Hub | May 2018 - August 2019
3. Project Leader | Mathematics SCQF 5 Online Access innovation | Partnership development in collaboration with secondary-qualified teaching professionals | Scottish Government | October 2017 - July 2018
4. Project Leader | English SCQF 6 Online Access innovation | Partnership development in collaboration with secondary-qualified teaching professionals | University of Aberdeen | November 2016 - September 2017
5. Project Leader | Mathematics SCQF 6 Online Access innovation | Partnership development in collaboration with secondary-qualified teaching professionals | University of Aberdeen | November 2016 - September 2017
4. Principal Investigator | Iona Cathedral Trust Learning and Technology Innovation in collaboration with Katrina Foy (University of Aberdeen) | Aloyise Mulligan (University of Aberdeen) | and Hyper Luminal Games LTD. www.talesofiona.com | Iona Cathedral Trust | October 2014 - September 2016
5. Joint Principal Investigator (with Dr Mhairi Beaton [Education: University of Aberdeen]) | Education Scotland (Scottish Government) national Profiling development in conjunction with Mackie Academy, Aberdeenshire | Profiling in the Senior Phase | Scottish Government | January 2014 - December 2014
Supervision (Completed)
International
1. International Professional Learning Initiative | Curriculum Writer and Professional Learning Leader | University of Aberdeen School of Education and Beijing Institute of Education | Chaoyang District, Beijing, China | February 2015 - present
2. Religious Education and Diversity (READY) | CI with Dr Graeme Nixon (University of Aberdeen) and others across Europe (Austria, England, Germany, Sweden) on this transnational Erasmus Plus European Religious Education and Diversity project | September 2015 - August 2018
National | UK
1. University of Abrerdeen | Mathematics SCQF 7 Online Access innovation | University of Aberdeen | January 2019
2. Northern Alliance Teacher Centre | May 2018 - July 2019
3. Scottish Government | SCQF 5 Mathematics Online Access innovation | April 2017
4. University of Aberdeen | SCQF 6 Mathematics Online Access innovation | November 2016
5. University of Aberdeen | SCQF 6 English Online Access innovation | November 2016
6. Iona Cathedral Trust | Third Sector Grant | October 2014 - September 2016
7. Farmington Tutor | Farmington Institute | Harris Manchester College, Oxford | Supervision | September 2016-July 2017
8. Education Scotland (Scottish Government) | Scottish Government | January 2014 - December 2014
Session 2020/21
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Session 2017/18
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The Conversation
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Religions, vol. 9, no. 11, 361
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Vol. 1, Waxmann, Munster/New York. 144 pages
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T and T Clark, London. 224 pages
Books and Reports: Books