• County South

    LA1 4YL Lancaster

  • Lancaster University, County South

    LA1 4YL Lancaster

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

I would be interested in receiving proposals on: the development of identity through the school years, parenting (especially with a focus on gender), the home-school relationship, gender issues in education (particularly those concerned with issues about male staff in early years education), early childhood

1997 …2024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Research Interests

I draw on theories of masculinities and queer theory to analyze how gender is implicated in early childhood educational policy and practice, building on my earlier research on fathering. I have now built an internationally recognized body of research about men’s participation as teachers in early childhood education and care. Through various research publications I have argued for and evidenced the concept of a gender flexible pedagogy: gender-sensitive teachers delivering a gender-sensitive curriculum.
 
I also have a longstanding research trajectory in the social and emotional development of children and young people in school. For example I undertook a unique qualitative longitudinal study with a group of school pupils from the ages of three to seventeen to track their construction of identity. More recently I have evaluated school provision of nurture groups for children with socio-emotional difficulties and school use of ‘Restorative Practice’, derived from Restorative Justice.   
 

 

Profile

Membership of professional organisations

  • British Educational Research Association
  • British Psychological Society
  • Gender and Education Association

SUMMARY of research interests (100 words)

I have two current lines of scholarly work:
• gender in education, with a specific focus on gender identities and teaching/caring roles in early childhood;
• socio-emotional aspects of children's lives in school with an emphasis on their social relationships

Keywords

  • Education
  • Social justice and wellbeing

User-defined keywords

  • Gender
  • Identity
  • Transition
  • Parents
  • Families
  • Qualitative research methods
  • Fathers
  • Masculinities
  • Pedagogy
  • Male teachers
  • Care
  • Early Childhood Education