Photograph of Corinne Woodfine

Dr Corinne Woodfine

Deputy Head School of Education

My profile

Biography

Strategic and committed leader, educator and Senior Fellow of Advance HE (SFHEA), with 12 years’ Higher Education experience. My personal pedagogy, education vision and values are of inclusion and equity, with a focus on creating student and staff belonging and engagement, generating a sense of community and shared vision. I am passionate about the importance of good quality education and the difference it can make to people’s lives. I began my career in primary education, teaching for 18 years in both rural and inner-city primary schools. I have experience of teaching and leadership in several educational settings including primary schools and in HE.  Joining Manchester Met. University as a Senior Lecturer in 2001, I have designed, led and taught on both undergraduate and postgraduate University programmes. 

My research interests focus on the cultural understanding of the person and the processes of lived identities, drawing on the work of Bakhtin, Vygotsky and Holland et al. (1998). More specifically, my current work seeks to explore the identity development and enactment of early career primary school teachers who identify from underrepresented groups, including neurodiverse students and male primary teachers.

Expert reviewer for external funding bodies

Critical Reader, Primary Education programmes, Open University

Peer Reviewer for ‘Primary Student Teachers: Learning from expert colleagues’ Eds Forster, C. and Eperjesi, R. (SAGE)

External Examiner, Primary Education, London South Bank University

Peer Reviewer for Moving on to Key Stage 1: Improving transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage: Fisher, J. (OUP)

Peer Reviewer for Gender and Education Association (GEA) Conference

Interests and expertise

My scholarly and pedagogical interests are around collaborative working practices within education, inclusion and equity (staff and students), and teacher identity and agency. I have developed and led communities of practice (CoP),  including a CoP for SFHEA submissions, peer observation triads, and CPD for staff and school mentors on sector development and EDI. I have led changes to several teaching and learning methodologies at a departmental and faculty level, including the strengthening of personal tutoring provision within the department and the introduction of safe spaces for underrepresented student groups to improve outcomes and engagement, based on my research.

My various contributions to external academic or professional organisations are demonstrated by my role as an external programme reviewer, peer reviewer, BERA discussant and external examiner. I am a member of several academic and professional organisations that contribute to the formulation of policy in ITT and the sharing of good practice around curriculum development and delivery, keeping me informed with the continual changes in PSRB requirements so that our programmes remain aligned and compliant.

Any strategic decision-making I make to enhance student outcomes is shaped through my strong engagement with external school partners, developed during my roles in partnership and previous professional employment.

Get in touch

0161 247 5584
Brooks Building

Projects

Currently involved in a cross-university wide research project with UKAT exploring the barriers to student engagement with personal tutoring and the co-development of an MMU Short Course on SEND provision.

Teaching

Currently teaching final year BA Primary Education students and supervising a number of doctorial students in areas such as Early Career Teachers’ experiences, including  policy, professionalism and attrition and mentors/ mentoring in schools.

Research outputs

Book chapters

  1. Woodfine, C., Meanwell, K., Ryan-Atkin, H., Hulme, M., Aitken, R., & Rivers, R. (2021). Developing through reflection and collaborative enquiry. In M. Hulme, R. O’Sullivan, & R. Smith (Eds.), Mastering Teaching: Thriving as an Early Career Teacher. Open University Press.

Journal articles

  1. Corinne Woodfine & Diane Warner (2022) The identity dilemmas of Early Career Teachers from under-represented groups in the UK, Teaching Education, DOI: 10.1080/10476210.2022.2118704
  2. Dann, R., Basford, J., Booth, C. O’Sullivan, R., Scanlon, J., Woodfine, C. and Wright, P. (2019). The impact of doctoral study on university lecturers’ construction of self within a changing higher education policy context. Studies in Higher Education. 44(7), pp.1166-1182.

Research reports

  1. Woodfine, C. (2022) Reflexivity in educational research: Coming to know yourself differently, Research Intelligence, Issue 152, Autumn 2022, British Educational Research Association
  2. Hulme, M., Woodfine, C., Kardas, K., & Griffiths, D. (2020). Wellbeing Strategies & Vulnerable Group Support: Case Studies of Good Practice. ESRI/Manchester Metropolitan University. Commissioned by the Education Achievement Service of Southeast Wales (EAS)

Conference papers

  1. Woodfine, C. & Madden, C. (2023) The significance of Graduate Attributes in supporting the development of student teacher identities within personal tutoring, UKAT Annual Conference
  2. Woodfine, C. & Warner, D. (2021) The identity dilemmas of Early Career teachers from under-represented groups in the UK, UCET Annual Conference
  3. Woodfine, C. & Warner, D. (2021) The identity dilemmas of Early Career teachers from under-represented groups in the UK, TEAN Annual Conference
  4. Woodfine, C. (2021) BERA Heteroglossia, identities and language: a ‘multivoiced’ approach to interview data
  5. Woodfine, C. (2019). “I’m always the unusual one”: Exploring the dialogic identities of male primary teachers, BERA Conference, UoM.
  6. Woodfine, C. (2017). The positioning of male primary teachers. International Symposium on Gender Studies, “Crossing Borders: Gender, Sexuality and Culture”. London.
  7. Woodfine, C. et al. (2016). Developing ‘facilitated collaborative auto-ethnography’ to build research culture, confidence, and capability within Higher Education. BERA Conference, Leeds.
  8. Woodfine, C. (2016). The ‘comfortable’ positioning of male primary teachers. BERA Conference, Leeds.
  9. Woodfine, C. (2016). The ‘self-authoring’ of male primary school teachers in England: Orchestrating the voices of social crisis. Cultural-Historical, Activity and Sociocultural Research at Times of the Contemporary Crisis: Implications for Education and Human Development, Crete.
  10. Woodfine, C. (2015). Going into battle: Becoming a male primary school teacher. BERA Conference, Belfast.

  • Chapters in books

    Woodfine, C., Meanwell, K., Ryan-Atkin, H., Hulme, M., Aitken, R., Rivers, R. (2021) 'Developing through reflection and collaborative enquiry.' In Hulme, M., O'Sullivan, R., Smith, R. (ed.) Mastering Teaching: Thriving as an Early Career Teacher. McGraw Hill,

  • Reports

    Hulme, M., Woodfine, C., Kardas, K., Griffiths, D. (2020) Wellbeing Strategies & Vulnerable Group Support: Case Studies of Good Practice. ESRI/Manchester Metropolitan University.

  • Journal articles

    Woodfine, C., Warner, D. (2023) 'The identity dilemmas of Early Career Teachers from under-represented groups in the UK.' Teaching Education, 34(3) pp. 335-350.

    Dann, R., Scanlon, J., Basford, J., Booth, C., O'Sullivan, R., Woodfine, C., Wright, P. (2018) 'The Impact of Doctoral Study on University Lecturers’ Construction of Self within a changing Higher Education policy context.' Studies in Higher Education, 44(7) pp. 1166-1182.

  • Conference papers

    Woodfine, C. (2021) 'Heteroglossia, identities and language: a ‘multivoiced’ approach to interview data.' In BERA. online, 13/9/2021 - 16/9/2021.

    Woodfine, C. (2020) '“I’m always the unusual one”: Exploring the dialogic identities of male primary teachers.' In TEAN Conference. Liverpool,

    Woodfine, C.S. (2019) '“I’m always the unusual one”: exploring the dialogic identities of male primary teachers.'

    Woodfine, C. (2017) 'The positioning of male primary teachers.' In International Symposium on Gender Studies. London, 4/3/2017 - 4/3/2017.

    Dann, R., Basford, J.M., Scanlon, J., Woodfine, C., Booth, C., O'Sullivan, R. (2016) 'Developing ‘facilitated collaborative auto-ethnography’ to build research culture, confidence and capability within Higher Education.' BERA Conference, Leeds,

    Woodfine, C. (2016) 'The ‘self-authoring’ of male primary school teachers in England: Orchestrating the voices of social crisis.' In Cultural-Historical, Activity and Sociocultural Research at Times of the Contemporary Crisis: Implications for Education and Human Development. Crete,

    Woodfine, C.S. (2015) 'Going into battle: Becoming a male primary school teacher.' In BERA. Belfast, 15/9/2015 - 17/9/2015.

  • Theses and dissertations

    Woodfine, C. (2019) “I’m always the unusual one”: Exploring the dialogic identities of male primary teachers.