Staff news

I grew up in a working-class family and as my parents had divorced, my mother, brothers and I lived in a crowded house with my grandmother and uncle for some years. Our daily lives were nothing like the images of families that were portrayed in the books we encountered in school. That disconnect between home and school was something I continued to notice as a young teacher in the 1980s. I taught children who lived in high-rise flats in an area of poverty, yet the vast majority of picture books featured children living in houses, many of which were stocked with items the children I taught would not normally encounter. I became frustrated with this and so began to introduce topics and characters the children did know into the literacy curriculum – to great effect! For example, creating a role play area based on superhero characters had an amazing impact, motivating children to read and write and providing much engagement and interest in learning.

When I moved into working in Higher Education, I became interested in researching this link between popular culture and literacy – why was it so powerful? What were the implications for literacy education? And as children’s cultural interests began to change as technology became more central in their lives, I followed these changes. At first, it was a challenge. Many people felt that young children should not be using technology, or did not even realise the extent to which they did so. However, when the iPad was introduced in 2010, more people became aware that children in their earliest years were indeed interested in the digital and research in this area grew exponentially. I found many collaborators across the world who were interested in the same issues that I was passionate about and have been lucky to have been involved in some very exciting research projects over the years. I am now leaving this research area at a time when young children’s technology use is at an all-time high, with exciting developments in fields such as robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and so on promising innovation and creativity, and so I look forward to hearing about future research at the School of Education in this area!

In addition to having had a wonderful time researching children’s digital literacy practices, I have been involved in many other rewarding activities at the University of Sheffield. I have been privileged to have taught many students over the years who have all enriched my understanding and knowledge. I have numerous wonderful memories of teaching in the School of Education across a variety of programmes, including our fabulous EdD, but my most distinctive memories are related to an online masters in digital literacy that was very innovative in its day, led by my talented colleague, Dr Julia Davies. One of the modules was taught in the virtual world ‘Second Life’ and I loved meeting the creatively designed avatars of students (some, for example, posing as fantasy creatures) as they flew about the world undertaking ethnographies of virtual literacy. Maybe that module could be re-introduced in some form when teaching moves into the metaverse! I also enjoyed working on two MOOCs that we created, ‘Makerspaces for creative learning’ and Exploring Play, feeling very proud when the latter was ranked as one of the ‘Best MOOCs of all time’ in 2021.

I have also undertaken a number of leadership roles, acting as the Head of School from 2009-12, and then the Faculty of Social Sciences Director of Learning and Teaching until a few years ago. These roles were only made possible because of the commitment and collaboration from colleagues, who collectively are responsible for so many achievements in both teaching and research over the years. I am very proud to have worked at the University of Sheffield and know that staff at the School of Education will continue to achieve great things in the years ahead!

I will still be involved in a small way in the exciting Maker{Futures} programme we have, led by Dr Alison Buxton, as I hope to volunteer on the Maker{Move} mobile van now and again as it visits schools and other institutions, inspiring children to be creators. I also plan to spend the rest of my time creating myself, as I have many artistic/ creative interests, such as drawing, painting, print-making and glass work. Indeed, I have so many interests, I am already anticipating that I won’t have time to fit everything in!

For now, though, I would like to thank all staff and students who have contributed to making my time at the University of Sheffield such a happy and rewarding one. I wish you all the very best in the years ahead, wherever the vagaries of technology take us to next!

I retired from the School of Education in August 2020, aged 66, mainly to avoid the disruption and online teaching enforced by Covid. My retirement co-incided with the re-surgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, driven by the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. I was invited to join a newly-formed Whatsapp group called ‘Decolonising Geography’ comprising geography teachers and academics determined to challenge and change the racially biased school geography curriculum. The group currently has 204 members. In the last two years Decolonising Geography members have reviewed examination specifications, question papers and textbooks and advised Awarding Bodies and publishers of required changes. We have developed decolonised schemes of work and teaching resources, produced a curriculum development project (VoicesProject https://www.thevoicesproject.co.uk/ and have a reading group and website https://www.thevoicesproject.co.uk/. We regularly exchange ideas, resources, readings, and support through our network, as well as writing and publishing articles, https://www.geography.org.uk/Journal-Issue/a4e5cf41-6e86-4029-b37a-05c074922b66 and presenting at conferences and seminars.

I’m an active member of Sheffield Anti-Racist Education (SHARE) a community campaigning group committed to anti-racism across educational phases https://sheffieldshare.org/ A recent development in SHARE is our involvement in the University of Sheffield Centre for Equity and Inclusion which seeks to tackle inequalities that create barriers for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students to take part in and access postgraduate research (PGR) https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/inclusion/race/pioneering-projects-postgraduate-research

The third project in which I currently participate is the innovative Racial Literacy project, a curriculum development project for student teachers at the University of Sheffield School of Education. The project addresses issues of ‘race’ and racism in initial teacher education.

In January, 2022 I was appointed as the Research Engagement Lead at the Geographical Association, the professional association for geography teachers in England https://www.geography.org.uk/ . My role involves introducing a research element across the organisation’s multitude of activities and liaising with Geography Departments in Universities and research institutes to bring more geography research into schools.

My retirement has proved to be a very busy and exciting time, meeting and working with lots of new friends. I feel very lucky that I’ve found new communities with which to work.

David is an outstanding Director of Learning and Teaching for the School of Education whose standing and strategic leadership in the field of doctoral pedagogy was recognised by Advance HE by granting him the highly competitive Principal Fellowship.

David was chosen to receive the fellowship for his innovative approach to decentred and decolonising doctoral pedagogies as a praise to the clear impact and wide reach, both nationally and internationally, of this work.

The award also recognised his work within the Faculty of Social Sciences in supporting and enhancing the Learning and Teaching scholarship of faculty colleagues.

David said: “I think it is important that teaching specialist staff are recognised for their contributions to learning and teaching both within and beyond the University.

“I was delighted and humbled to be awarded the PFHEA. High quality teaching is central to everything that we do at the School of Education and my colleagues and I strive to introduce innovative and engaging pedagogies that enhance our students' learning and achievements.”

As someone who has been part of the University for the past 26 years, David supports the Advance HE fellowship scheme at each level, as alongside his role he also directs the thesis stage of the EdD, our Professional Doctorate in Education.

David added: “I think the award will benefit me personally and professionally in allowing me to build on my pedagogic contributions to modes of supervision that help students and supervisors move from dependence and transmission to more equitable relationships.

“They will also help champion more collaborative, collegial, and autonomous identities for doctoral researchers.

“I hope the award will also reflect positively on the University’s commitment to encouraging staff to work in innovative and collaborative ways with our students.”

The Principal Fellowship is awarded to professionals who demonstrate they meet the criteria of Descriptor 4 of the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) for teaching and supporting learning in higher education.

By applying to become a Principal Fellow of the HEA, candidates should present a sustained record of effective strategic leadership in academic practice and academic development as a key contribution to high quality student learning.

Our Elevate Team are organising workshops to help you explore the requirements for PFHEA, and how these relate to your own practice and experience.

The date for the next intro workshop will be released later in October. Please contact elevate@sheffield.ac.uk if you are interested and for them to confirm the date for you.