
Dr Peter Mtika
PhD (Nottingham); MA (Sussex); B.Ed (Malawi)
Senior Lecturer
- About
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Biography
I joined the University of Aberdeen in October 2008, initially as a Research Fellow in Education on the Scottish Teachers for a New Era (STNE) project. I was subsequently appointed as a Lecturer in 2011. I secured promotion to Senior Lecturer in August, 2018.
Before coming to Aberdeen, I spent time as Staff Associate and Lecturer in Education at the University of Malawi(2001-2004). I also taught at secondary level in Malawi (English and History) from 2000 to -2001.
I studied for my PhD at the University of Nottingham - Jubilee Campus - and graduated in July, 2008. My PhD research focused on: “Teaching practice as a component of teacher education: a socio-cultural activity theory”. I completed my MA in International Education (Teacher Education and Gender and Education) at the University of Sussex in 2003. I qualified as a secondary school teacher from the University of Malawi in 2000 (Bachelor Of Education - Humanities).
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Programme Director
Master of Education (Professional Education)
Course Coordinator
Sustainable International Development
Arts, Social Sciences and Business Ethics Committee
School of Education Ethics Officer
Research Excellence Framework (REF)
Research Outputs Lead
- External Memberships
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External Examiner
University of Rwanda, College of Education - Postgraduate programme (MSc)
Lilongwe University of Agricuture and Natural Resources - Postgraduate programme (MSc)
Research Grant Peer Reviewer
ESRC (2016 - ongoing)
British Academy (2019 - ongoing)
Journal Manuscript Reviewer
Teaching and Teacher Education
Journal of Education for Teaching
International Journal of Educational Development
European Journal of Teacher Education
Africa Education Review
Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education
Cambridge Journal of Education
Higher Education
Membership of Professional and other bodies:
British Association of International and Comparative Education (BAICE)
- Research
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Research Overview
My main research interest is in the broad area of international education and development, and teacher education research, practice and policy with a focus on social justice, inclusion, and equity.
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Education.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Education
Accepting PhDsCurrent Research
Equitable access to primary education in Malawi and Ghana
Adult literacy education in Rwanda
Educational inclusion in rural parts of Cambodia
Teacher Preparation in the Context of Poverty in Scotland
Collaborations
I am collaborating with colleagues at the University of Rwanda - College of Education, Three Teacher Training Colleges in Western Province (Rwanda) and Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) in implementing an adult literacy project in Western Rwanda. The project is informed by a social practices approach to build the capacity of the Rwandan education sector to respond to the needs of adult learners. The project is funded by the Scottish Government (£1,191,795)(2017 - 2022).
Supervision
Supervisees
- MRS ASTERIE NYIRAHABIMANA
- MISS LAURA PUHALAK
- MR ALI KALEEBA BAKALI
- MAISARA MAISARA
Funding and Grants
- Improving the academic attainment of children in disadvantaged schools in Malawi: the role of school-community engagement and provision of radio-based instruction. £8880.00. Funded by the University of Aberdeen Internal GCRF Grant. (2020 - 2021). (PI)
- Attainment Challenge Project: Developing pedagogies that work for Pre-service and Early Career Teachers to reduce the Attainment Gap in Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Well-being. £50,000. Funded by the Scottish Government through the Scottish Council of the Deans of Education (SCDE). (2019 - 2021). (With Archie Graham, Dean Robson, Lindsay MacDougall).
- Educational inclusion and professional development in rural school settings in the province of Battambang, Cambodia. This project aims to enhance quality of teaching, children's school experiences and outcomes (initial funding £6,600, second funding £9,990, third funding £2848 (Funded by the University of Aberdeen Internal GCRF Grant). (2018 - 2021). (With Dr Jackie Ravet).
- This project aims to address the identified challenges in adult literacy in Western Rwanda. The project is a collaboration with the University of Rwanda - College of Education, three teacher training colleges and Institute for Policy Analysis and Research. £1,191,795 (Funded by the Scottish Government) (2017 - 2022).(With Prof Pamela Abbott and Dr Aileen Ackland)
- Evaluation of the Malawi M.Ed Primary Project within the Malawi Development Programme £7,500 (Funded by the University of Strathclyde) (2015 - 2017) (PI).
- Evaluation of the Bridge to Employment Project in Scotland (Livingston and Inverness Sites) £21,604 (Funded by the Academy for Educational Development) (2010 - 2011) (PI/Researcher).
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
Teaching
I teach on the following courses or programmes
- Sustainable international development
- Research methods for professional learning
- PGDE and MA (Honours) Education
PhD Supervision
Samuel Oppong-Frimpong An investigation into the quality of early childhood education provision in Ghana, through the use of interaction (Completed)(Co-supervor - Prof Donald Gray).
Maxwell Kwesi Nyatsikor Connecting the Ghanaian Primary School Teacher Characteristics to Pupil Achievement in National Educational Assessment (Completed)(Co-supervisor - Dr Dean Robson).
Arkangelo Mtipe Yambeni An investigation of how students’ achievement during entrance examinations correlates with their actual academic achievement in higher education in Malawi using Domasi College of Education as a case (Completed)(Co-supervisor - Dr Dean Robson).
Assel Zhakim Children’s learning in the home environment in Kazakhstan (Completed)(Co-supervisor - Dr Dean Robson).
Laura Puhalak Equality of First Year Experiences in Initial Teacher Education from a Capabilities Perspective (On-going)(Co-supervisor - Dr Dean Robson).
Maisara Maisara Bringing the world into classroom: teacher for global education in post-conflict and post-Tsunami Aceh (On-going) (Co-supervisor - Dr Elizabeth Curtis).
- Publications
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Page 1 of 5 Results 1 to 10 of 43
An Investigation of the Gender Responsiveness of the Upper Primary Social Studies Curriculum in Rwanda
Rwanda Journal of Education, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 203Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA decolonial perspective on intercultural research: A case study of educational inclusion in rural Cambodia
Contributions to Conferences: PapersEnacting inclusive pedagogy in schools located in high poverty environments: Learning from beginner teachers
Contributions to Conferences: Other ContributionsExploring Student and Beginner Teachers’ enactment of the concept of Pupil Differences in Schools Located in High Poverty Environments
Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference ProceedingsDeveloping inclusive practices: insights from probationer teachers working in high poverty school environments
SERA Researching Education Bulletin, vol. Spring 2021, no. 10, pp. 33-36Contributions to Journals: Special IssuesEducational Inclusion in Resource-Constrained Contexts: A Study of Rural Primary Schools in Cambodia
International Journal of Inclusive Education, pp. 1-22Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1916104
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Failing adult learners: Why Rwanda’s adult literacy education is not delivering
International Journal of Educational Development , vol. 79, 102288Contributions to Journals: ArticlesStudent teachers’ understandings of poverty: insights for initial teacher education
Journal of Education for Teaching, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 104-117Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTeacher characteristics and children’s educational attainment in Ghana: do some teacher characteristics matter more for children attending disadvantaged schools?
Frontiers in Education, vol. 5, 162Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPathways to low educational attainment: Why educational financing should target multidimensional poverty
Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings