Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Social Sciences
I joined the Centre for Research in Mathematics Education in September 2014 after three years as a full-time doctoral student in the School of Education, having spent much of my life in Further Education colleges as a mathematics teacher and later as a senior manager. Although my career commenced in secondary schools, the progression into Further Education broadened my view of post-16 provision and provided valuable experience across the academic, vocational and adult strands of post-compulsory education. During this time I held a range of departmental and cross-college management positions involving responsibilities in the areas of curriculum development, policy implementation, quality improvement and student support.
In addition to working in colleges I have been active as an educational consultant, trainer and external examiner for many years, taking a special interest in post-16 mathematics teaching and FE management. This has included work on national initiatives such as the Skills for Life Quality Initiative and acting in an advisory capacity for several research projects led by national bodies. Recent roles include being a member of the Managing Core Maths Advisory Board and the ACME Outer Circle.
My own teaching interests lie mainly in teacher education, particularly with respect to PGCE courses and in-service training, due to my work as an external examiner and involvement in professional… read more
My main research interests stem from my background in Further Education as a mathematics teacher and college manager. These include the teaching of disaffected and low-attaining students, the… read more
My own teaching interests lie mainly in teacher education, particularly with respect to PGCE courses and in-service training, due to my work as an external examiner and involvement in professional development over many years. Having traveled and observed mathematics teaching in Europe and Africa, I have a particular interest in the roles and values of teachers in different cultural settings and how this affects their teaching of a subject such as mathematics. I am currently working on the PGCEi programme (Singapore).
My main research interests stem from my background in Further Education as a mathematics teacher and college manager. These include the teaching of disaffected and low-attaining students, the enactment of policy in FE and the post-16 mathematics curriculum. My doctoral research focused on the experiences of vocational students learning functional mathematics in Further Education colleges and how different factors arising from policy, curriculum and classroom practice affected their attitudes and understanding.
I am currently working on the Nuffield-funded project Mathematics in Further Education Colleges (MiFEC) which uses a multi-scale approach to investigate the national policy landscape for mathematics in FE, patterns of learner engagement over time, college level policy enactment, teacher workforce skills and student learning of mathematics in vocational contexts.
Other recent projects include:
University of NottinghamJubilee CampusWollaton Road Nottingham, NG8 1BB
Contact us
Browser does not support script.