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RKEU World Religions and Education
The World Religions and Education Research Unit (WRERU) has been established as a research and knowledge exchange unit within BGU that can bring together and support current activities, and create new initiatives, committed to research and development in world religions and education. We do not intend to replace or merge projects that are already established, but to create synergies and greater visibility for those projects and to add new work. There is a chance for BGU to have a globally-leading position on research in world religions and education. By ‘world religions’ in the unit’s title we mean those religious traditions of international significance, including – amongst many – Anglican, Roman Catholic, Nonconformist and Orthodox Christianity, Baháʼí, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Jain, Judaism, Sikhism and Zoroastrian. As religious education, globally, often includes education on non-religious ways of life and ethical and values education, these are also included in our work. -
Dr Amy Webster
Amy joined BGU in the summer of 2020 as a Senior Lecturer in Education Studies after finishing her PhD at the University of Cambridge. She has a BA (Hons) in Education with Primary Qualified Teacher Status from Durham University and an MPhil in Education with distinction from Cambridge. She was also previously an Associate Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. Her doctoral project focused on the historical recovery and analysis of British series of children’s classics using digital humanities methods, particularly historical shifts in the titles included in series and how these classic works have been abridged and repackaged since the turn of the twentieth century. Amy is part of the Literature and Literacies (LiLi) Research and Knowledge Exchange Unit and is co-editor of The Four Corners, BGU’s newsletter on children’s literature. She teaches on the Education Studies undergraduate programme as well as the new MA in Children’s Literature and Literacies. She also supervises dissertations on the MA in Education. -
BGU Academics Present at the International Nurse Education Today (NET) Conference
Two academics from the Health and Social Care team at BGU presented at the international Nurse Education Today (NET) Conference which is an annual event run by the Advance UK (formally the Higher Education Academy). NET provides a unique opportunity for delegates to engage with the latest worldwide research evidence, developments and thinking with educators, practitioners, and students. Papers are arranged in themed sessions where delegates participate in in-depth discussion and debate on a topic, facilitated by skilled convenors. Nicki Walsh (Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer) and Leanne McHugh (Senior Lecturer) presented on different themes. Nicki presented under the theme of “Educational Enhancement” showcasing her work supporting UK, the general practice nursing workforce (previously published). Her paper reviewed current drivers within practice and higher education, to support and develop the current and future workforce. It examined several initiatives that Nicki was involved with, from the support of General Practice to provide placements for undergraduate nursing and health and social care students, to the development of educational programmes to support nurses working in practice, or who wish to have a career in General Practice, with their continued professional develop and career enhancement. Leanne presented under the theme “Student experience, engagement and achievement”. Leanne shared an overview of the carers project at BGU. The presentation took the participants through the project’s development and planning stages and considered the student and staff engagement opportunities which this project presented. Consideration was given to how to craft the narrative of the project which focused on the question “What would it feel like to be a carer at the university?” “How can we identify a shared language, so we all hear your story?”. Future strategies to enhance the Carers project were also shared with the participants seeing the future vision, which is to consider, “What an active Carers community will look like”. During the question and answer session, feedback from the participants was really positive, offering networking opportunities and possibilities of increasing the awareness of the BGU Carers Community. Related publications Book Chapter - Chapter One – Contemporary General Practice Nursing – Editors Welsh, M. and Brooks, S., Elsevier Walsh, N and Mason, R., (2018) “Hitting the Ground Running": An Evaluation of Management Placements for Student Nurses with UK General Practice. Primary Health Care. Vol. 28 No.7 pp34-41 . doi: 10.7748/phc. 2018.e1443 Walsh, N., (2017) Using community education provider networks to develop general practice nursing. Primary Health Care. Vol.27, No.4, pp26-29 -
BGU Signs Up to Gender Equality Charter
Bishop Grosseteste University has signed up to a charter used to transform gender equality within higher education. The Athena Swan Charter, an international framework used to address gender equality and barriers to progression that affect women, was officially adopted by Bishop Grosseteste University – Lincoln this month. By being part of the Athena Swan Charter, Bishop Grosseteste University is committing to adopting ten key principles within their policies, practice and culture, which promote gender equality. Originally established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment, the Charter is now being used across the globe to address gender equality more broadly. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Scott Fleming said: ‘We’ve launched the formal part of our Athena Swan journey at a time when the Charter has just been transformed. It is now more streamlined, flexible, transparent and consistent. There’s already been a lot of work to get us to this point but we still have a lot to do. The team is eager and committed; it’s an exciting time for BGU.’ The University hopes to enter an application for the Bronze Athena Swan Award in the academic year 2022-23, following a year of self-assessment. Dr Aimee Quickfall, Head of Programmes for Primary ITE, said: ‘As chair of the BGU Athena Swan self-assessment team, I am very pleased that the project is now underway with the signing of the charter. Behind the scenes, we have been delighted with the level of response from the BGU team, with representatives from Faculty, Professional Services and the student body volunteering to be part of the self-assessment core team and a consultative group. The wealth of experience and expertise offered is fantastic, and it is clear that there is a real passion and enthusiasm for the Athena Swan project.’ The project has received strong support from Bishop Grosseteste’s Human Resources team. ‘As Director of HR I am delighted we have formally started our Athena Swan journey. Behind the scenes, the group chaired by Dr Aimee Quickfall has been working extremely hard to ensure the University is in a position to start this project. As a university we are committed to making positive changes around gender equality, committing to the Athena Swann charter is a positive step forward for BGU, ensuring we adopt key principles within our practices and culture to positively promote gender equality,’ said Jonathan Cheeseman -
Dr Ursula McKenna
Dr Ursula McKenna is Senior Research Fellow in Implicit Religion at BGU where she is located within the Department of Theology and the World Religions and Education Research Unit. Upon completion of her BA (QTS) she was awarded an Economic and Social Research Council MA studentship and obtained an MA (with distinction) for her work on religious education for children with special educational needs in the primary school. While combining a part-time research post with a job-share class teaching position she then completed her doctorate. Her research was an evaluation of the Building E- Bridges programme, a project which advocated the use of email in primary schools to promote interfaith dialogue amongst pupils across the UK. For fourteen years Ursula taught across the primary age range and as research fellow at the University of Warwick (1999-2021) she contributed to the PGCE Primary and Early Years Religious Education module and the MA in Religious Education by distance learning course. She has undertaken supervision of dissertation students on BA and MA Education Studies degrees and has co-supervised research students. For twelve years she was editorial assistant for the British Journal of Religious Education, co-ordinating the refereeing process for all submissions and special issues. -
Revd Canon Professor Leslie J Francis
Leslie Francis holds the part-time post of Professor of Religions, Psychology and Education. He works with doctoral students in fields that connect religious studies, theology, psychology, and education. Before joining Bishop Grosseteste University he held chairs in Pastoral Theology at Lampeter, Practical Theology at Bangor, Religions and Education at Warwick, and Religions and Psychology at Warwick. Currently he holds visiting positions in universities in Pretoria and Newfoundland and serves as Canon Theologian at Liverpool Cathedral. -
Alison Taylor
Alison joined Bishop Grosseteste in 2018 and is currently teaching on the undergraduate programme in Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion (SENDI). She delivers modules which cover such topics as complex needs; social, emotional and mental health; the professional context; barriers to learning. Her career has included ten years of primary class teaching, advisory work for the autism team of the Specialist Advisory Service (Herts) and five years as a special educational needs coordinator (SENCO). Alison has written and delivered a variety of SEND and safeguarding presentations, with a particular passion for autism education. She has contributed to the Lincolnshire Autism Partnership Board since 2015. Alongside this professional practice, Alison has gained a post graduate diploma in autism (University of Birmingham), the National Award for SEND Coordination (NASENCO) and a master’s qualification in Special Education and Inclusion (Northampton University). She is recognised as a fellow by the higher education academy (FHEA). -
LORIC survey opens for headteachers, deputy heads and careers lead across schools in Greater Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire Open Research and Innovation Centre (LORIC) is undertaking some market research for Complete Careers LLP, with regards to raising aspirations, embedding skills and knowledge related to self awareness, awareness of opportunities, decision making, career planning and employability skills within both the primary and secondary school curriculums. They have recently sent out short surveys to all Primary and Secondary schools in Greater Lincolnshire to obtain some qualitative data on the awareness and potential utilisation of the Career Mark approach to the national Quality in Careers Standard which accredits good practice in education in raising aspirations and helping learners to understand and prepare for their futures. One of the surveys is aimed at Primary schools and aims to garner feedback about the 'Career Mark Primary Award'. The other two surveys are aimed at Secondary Schools to look at the reasons why some schools are successfully engaging with the Career Mark approach whilst others haven't adopted it as yet. The surveys take approx. 5 minutes to complete. Your honest feedback would be greatly appreciated and if you work as a Head Teacher/Deputy Head/Careers Lead in a school in Greater Lincolnshire we would value your feedback. The surveys are due to close on Friday 10th December. For further details and to access the most relevant survey please see below: For Primary Schools in Greater Lincolnshire, please visit https://forms.office.com/r/7i71rCZJFPFor Secondary Schools in Greater Lincolnshire who are not using the Career Mark approach, please visit https://forms.office.com/r/uAw2AfCfDwFor Secondary Schools already using the Career Mark approach, please visit https://forms.office.com/r/ED5ZrthL8N -
‘Florence Nightingale at Home’ nominated for The People’s Book Prize
A non-fiction book researched and co-authored by academics from the University of Nottingham and Bishop Grosseteste University exploring Florence Nightingale’s relationship with home has been nominated for The People’s Book Prize. -
Senior lecturer invited to Andalusia to speak on differences between English and Spanish teacher training
Dr Mark Larrad, Senior Lecturer School of Teacher Development, recently made a lecture visit to the Faculty of Education at the University of Granada in Andalusia, the third time he has made this visit in recent years. The University of Granada is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and with over 300 teaching staff and nearly 2000 students, the Education Faculty is more than three times the size of Bishop Grosseteste University. Andalusia is one of 17 autonomous regions within Spain in all off which teacher training is controlled by the regional government rather than from the Spanish capital, Madrid. The purpose of his visit was two-fold: to give a lecture to final-year primary education teaching students about the differences (and similarities) between methods of teacher training between Andalusia and England and to meet with the Dean of Education to discuss possible future partnership. In his lecture Mark focussed on the eRPD and the way national standards (such as those for QTS) are used as a measure of progress. Whilst there are many other differences, the biggest similarity is that in Andalusia, Spain and England the most important responsibility of any teacher is to ensure each child can succeed. Another one of the big differences between English and Andalusian systems is that in Andalusia (as in Spain as a whole) all teachers in the state sector are civil servants, and as such, the majority stay in post for around 30 years (the point at which they are eligible for a generous state pension). Dr Mark Larrad, said: “In Spain nearly all teachers in state sector remain until their 50s (unlike in England which has a 20% attrition rate within the first five years after qualifying). “However, I found the most striking difference to be in the differing approach to what constitutes readiness to teach. In Andalusia, like other regions, each student’s chances of securing a job depend not on success in placement but on getting a high mark in the exam (called an oposición) all civil servants have to take before qualifying. “But a possible downside compared to the relative freedom English trainees with QTS have to choose where they work, is that Spanish trainees are effectively posted to schools where teachers are needed, and this might be a long journey from home. “Trainees might be moved several times in their career, but generally those with children are usually prioritized for schools near where they live and older teachers will not be moved around for this reason as much. “Exploring this fundamental difference led to an enthusiastic debate about which system the Spanish trainees would prefer: one where a job is guaranteed but with no freedom to choose your school, or the other way around!” In his discussion with the Dean, Javier Viloria Prieto, both expressed the hope that future years may bring opportunities for our institutions to work together. Dr Larrad believes that in the current climate where UK finds itself increasingly isolated from its former European neighbours, it has never been more important for English universities to nurture and develop links.
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