Dr Matthew Dunn

Matthew is Head of Programmes and holds the portfolio for Secondary, FE and Teacher Development as well as having a Faculty-wide role for recruitment. Following his teacher training in Devon and Cornwall, he moved to Lincolnshire in 1995 and taught in secondary schools for 23 years, the last 16 of these being in senior leadership positions. During his early teaching career, Matthew led a large technology and IT faculty in one of the first designated specialist Technology Colleges in the country. Following the school’s successful application to become a High Performing Specialist School, Matthew was appointed to the senior team where he led the Training School strand, working collaboratively with HEIs and schools across the East Midlands region. After completing his NPQH in 2003, Matthew undertook a wide range of whole-school pastoral and curriculum leadership roles, before specialising predominantly in teaching and learning, teacher development, NQT induction and ITE partnership development. Matthew also qualified as an OLEVI outstanding facilitator and delivered teacher development programmes for the Lincolnshire Teaching School Alliance, as well as working with Lincolnshire County Council to chair the executive committee for the 25 schools in the Louth extended provision cluster. Matthew’s most recent school post was within a Multi Academy Trust in North East Lincolnshire as Vice Principal of teaching and learning, which he left to join the academic faculty at BGU. He continues to engage with school in a variety of roles, including Vice Chair of Governors at Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School. Matthew’s most recent school post was within a Multi Academy Trust in North East Lincolnshire as Vice Principal of teaching and learning. He has since joined the academic faculty at BGU where he is currently Head of Programmes (Secondary, FE and Teacher Development).

Related Courses

Matthew teaches on the PGCE Secondary programme, as well as contributing to the MA in Education and Doctorate in Education programmes.

Matthew’s main research interests lie in the Threshold Concept Framework, and its application to improve teaching and learning in secondary and higher education. His doctoral research explored students’ experiences of the transition from GCSE to A Level study, in particular the affective dimension of their encounters with Threshold Concepts using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Matthew is currently working on collaborative research and staff development projects with secondary schools to explore the potential pedagogical impact of the Threshold Concept Framework in the classroom through the Troublesome Transitions project. He is also working with student teachers to explore practice thresholds in secondary teaching.

Dunn, M. J. (2019). Threshold concepts and the troublesome transition from GCSE to A-level: exploring students’ experiences in secondary school biology. The Curriculum Journal. Dunn, M. J. (2019). Crossing the threshold: when transition becomes troublesome for A-level students. Education and Health, 37(1), 15-21.