My work at MMU is driven by a commitment to the power of education to transform lives. I came into higher education as a mature student having spent some years trying a variety of careers. Finding none of these satisfying, I turned back to education. That ‘turning back to education’ became the solution I was looking for and has provided the opportunity not only to transform my own life, but to help others do the same.
My approach to teaching and learning is thoughtful, student-centred, and structured.
Before coming to Manchester, I held a variety of teaching and research posts. With the Department of Education at Brunel University, I taught research methods at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels working closely with teachers and student teachers, and contributing to a number of research projects in areas such as discipline in schools and learning in higher education.
I have worked as a research consultant for the Learning and Skills Development Agency, Parent Network, and the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, and have provided research workshops for the Confidential Inquiry Office, a research unit in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester.
Doing Qualitative Research (Unit Leader)
Academic Practice for the Humanities and Social Sciences (Unit Leader)
My research interests emerge from a commitment to the study of situated human interaction as the site for the accomplishment of social order. Ethnomethodology and conversation analysis inform my research interests which currently focus on sites of educational practice, especially those of professional education in the post-compulsory sector.