欧美高清

EducationCurriculum and Pedagogy

Our Curriculum and Pedagogy research theme seeks to generate original scholarship and research into curriculum theory and development that responds to the world's infinitely diverse epistemological traditions. It is dedicated to conducting critical, post-structural, decolonial, and indigenous research on curriculum history and theories from within and outside the Global North, as well as their impact on schools and classrooms. 

Researchers in this theme deconstruct educational theories and praxis, shaping culturally relevant pedagogical experiences. They delve into the intricate connections between policy, political economy, reform, and evaluation to address issues of relevance, inclusivity, equity, and efficacy.

Further, we investigate national and international policy and the impact of integrating emerging educational technologies into different learning contexts. This allows us to advance our understanding of the ever-changing relationship between curriculum, pedagogy, teacher education, and new technologies. The insights gained help to improve educational practices and adapt to changing learning landscapes, ensuring that our research is still relevant and influential in shaping the future of education.

Co-leads

Subthemes

The Advanced Pedagogical Theory (APT) research subtheme provides a forum for researchers interested in pedagogy, understood as the theorisation of the meaning, purpose and practice of education throughout the life course.

Pedagogy is here not limited to educational institutions but spans the lifelong process of human (self) formation that takes diverse cultural forms and is shaped by specific political and social conditions. Drawing on a wide range of philosophical, theoretical and historical traditions, APT researchers explore the theory of education, and it’s associated pedagogical processes, in and through a variety of diverse cultural phenomena: from encounters with art and artefacts in literature, film, theatre and (popular) culture; to religious-spiritual practices (the Japanese tea ceremony; monastic practice) and educational policy-making in the neoliberal age.

For more information and a list of activities and events, please visit .

Leads
Subtheme members
Selected Publications
  • Lewin, D. (2025). Philosophical approaches to religion and education. In The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Education.
  • Brennan, M. & Adams, P. (2025). Social justice and Scottish education: political priorities, conceptualisations, challenges and tensions. Scottish Educational Review.
  • Badger, C., & Firth, J. (2025). Creativity for teachers: A cognitive science approach. Routledge.
  • Kenklies, K., & Lewin, D. (2025). Universal individuals: national education in a globalized age. Journal of Philosophy of Education (Advance online).
  • Robertson, N. & Prajapati, V. (2025). Adult Education: Learning to do, or learning to be? In Research Handbook on Adult Learning and Education.
Projects
  • New Northern Pedagogies: Exploring Arctic Pedagogy for ITE. PI: David Lewin; RSE Research Network; £19,700 (ongoing)
  • What’s the ‘Use’ in Higher Education? PI: Nicola Robertson; Society for Educational Studies; £8,375 (ongoing)
  • Film as Public Pedagogy. PI: Katja Frimberger; ESRC Impact Acceleration Account; £14,984 (ongoing)
  • After Religious Education: Curricula Principles for Education in Religion and Worldviews. PI: David Lewin; Culham St Gabriels Trust; £17,000 (completed)
  • Anthropology, Technology, and Education: Exploring the Cracks in Technological Systems. PI: David Lewin; NTNU University; £10,000 (completed)
Activities
  • PESGB Summer School 2025–2028; PIs David Lewin & Katja Frimberger — £48,000.
  • Film as Public Pedagogy partnerships with GoMA, Glasgow City College & Glasgow schools (Frimberger).
  • Memory & Metacognition Newsletter (Firth): 100+ posts, 1500+ subscribers worldwide.
  • PESGB 60th Anniversary Distinguished Lecture (Prof Catherine Pickstock).
  • Conference: Friedrich Fröbel and Modern Pedagogy? organised by Karsten Kenklies & Sebastian Engelmann.

The Critical Instructional Technology and Digital Education (CITDE) subtheme under the Curriculum and Pedagogy Research theme at the 欧美高清 Institute of Education is dedicated to advancing research on the transformative role of digital tools and technologies in education. CITDE explores emerging technologies, critically assessing their pedagogical impact and potential to revolutionize curriculum design. We are committed to equipping educators with the skills to integrate learning technologies effectively into their praxis and to improve students’ learning experience.

Aligned with the overarching Curriculum and Pedagogy Research theme, our goal is to ensure that digital education initiatives are inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive, honouring diverse traditions and contexts. By exploring the pedagogically sound integration of digital technologies and promoting innovative yet culturally relevant approaches, we strive to advance non-derivative educational practices.

Our research spans various specializations, including smart learning environments (e.g. mobile and ubiquitous learning, immersive learning, artificial intelligence), digital literacies, instructional design, STEM education, digital technologies for early childhood settings, smart tech for clinical practices (e.g., autism and neurodevelopmental disorders), philosophy of technology.

By fostering collaborations with policymakers, academics, and practitioners, CITDE promotes dialogue on critical instructional technologies, addressing global challenges with transformative solutions for today’s classrooms.

Lead
Subtheme members
Selected Publications
  • Nikou, S.A., Perifanou, M. & Economides, A.A. (2024). . 
  • Nikou, S.A. (2024).
  • Arnott, L. & Flewitt, R (2025) Harnessing the potential of digital devices in early childhood learning. IN Bradbury, A., Swailes, R & Thompson, P. (Eds) A Manifesto for Early Childhood. Sage.
  • Winter, K., Flewitt, R., El Gemayel, S., Bunting, L., Arnott, L., Connolly, P., Dalziell, A., Gillen, J., Goodall, J., Liu, M.-C., McLaughlin, K., Savadova, S. and Timmins, S. (2025),
Projects
  • Leveraging Conversational Artificial Intelligence for teaching and learning in Higher Education Institutions; Funder: NetDragon; PI: Stavros Nikou. Status: in progress
  • AI in Early Learning: Building Foundations for AI Literacy in Early Years and Primary Education; Funder: 欧美高清 Collaborative Cultures x Strategic Themes - Equitable and Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Address Global Challenges. PI Stavros Nikou. Status: in progress
  • Exploring Augmented Reality teaching in primary schools; Funder: Association for the Study of Primary Education (ASPE); PI: Stavros Nikou. Status: Completed
  • Anthropotechnology: (Cracks in the University Machine: Technology and Possibility of Higher Education) https://www.exet.org/anthropotechnology; Funder: Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); PI: David Lewin. Status: completed.
Activities
  • Toddlers, Tech and Talk End-of-Project Conference (London, October 2024) – Led and hosted by Dr Lorna Arnott, bringing together policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, with strong national visibility.
  • Hands-On Augmented Reality Workshop for Teachers (欧美高清, 2024) – Organised and delivered by Dr Stavros Nikou in collaboration with the Scottish Educational Research Association Digital Education Network.
  • Digital Safeguarding CLPL Session (Online, 2024) – Delivered by Tracy (Educational Institute of Scotland partnership) for primary and secondary practitioners across Scotland.
  • Invited Talk: Asia Education Technology Symposium (Hong Kong, 2024) – Invited speaker: Dr Stavros Nikou, presenting on emerging technologies in education.
  • Keynote and Invited Talks in Early Years Digital Education (2024–2025) – Dr Lorna Arnott delivered multiple keynote and invited presentations, including Toddlers, Tech and Talk (2024), NALDIC Early Years SIG (March 2025), and Education Scotland’s Scottish Digital Literacies Week (May 2025).

This subtheme is to enable research based on STEM across the educational landscape. This means from Early Childhood to university, and beyond the confines of formal education.

Areas are developed through the interests of the members of the subtheme, but examples are:

  • Primary science development linked to work completed on confidence and ITE
  • Early Childhood work linked to KE projects in both science and technologies
  • Technicians’ roles in school, FE and HE settings
  • Secondary to University transition in physics
  • Equity, equality, diversity and inclusion in science
  • Experiences of students following concurrent degrees
  • Developing technological education in primary and secondary settings
  • Developing technologies across the STEM curriculum
  • Teaching maths and numeracy through other subjects.

We are particularly interested in areas which bring together two or more ‘fields’ within the STEM landscape.

Lead
Subtheme members
Selected Publications
  • , Laura Gray and Iain Moore
  • , Laura Gray, Stuart Farmer, and Iain Moore. Physics Education Vol 59 (2024) 
  • Practical methodologies in physics workshop, Laura Gray and Iain Moore. Institute of Physics 49th Stirling Teachers' Meeting (2024)
Projects

Current projects include:

  • Understanding energy in science
  • Undergraduate physics teaching: laboratories, resilience and transition
  • Electrical circuits in secondary school

Projects under development are:

  • Bridging the quantum gap: Towards a public understanding of quantum technology
  • Electrical circuits: Developing level 3 and 4 understanding
  • Scaling up: How drawing graphs can be taught better

Researchers in this subtheme are experienced and interested in art practices that foster inclusivity and address issues associated with equity and efficacy. We aim to deconstruct, challenge and reshape educational theories and practice through an arts lens, focusing on culturally sustaining pedagogy.

Through our research, we intend to work collaboratively with practitioners, community partners, policymakers and learners.

Leads
Subtheme members:

This subtheme encompasses a range of work in the 欧美高清 Institute of Education targeting professional learning and agency through research. Positioning educational professionals as researchers, it encourages and explores the process of ‘systematic enquiry made public’ (Stenhouse 1981) across roles, contexts, ages and stages of the education system, including:

  • Colleagues in the early childhood, primary, secondary, special, college and higher education sectors
  • Student teachers, classroom teachers, mentors and leaders
  • Educators located in island, rural and urban environments locally, nationally and internationally.

Common is the privileging of partnership approaches between the university and professional communities using collaborative and creative approaches to bridge methodology and pedagogy in such a way as to co-construct a dynamic and useful dialogue that supports improved practice and learner outcomes.

Members of this subtheme identify themselves as teacher researchers. They foreground their learning about the endeavour of teaching and learning while working with others. The aim is to practise what we preach and create authentic partnerships whereby knowledge is co-constructed and shared collaboratively. The group aligns with a social justice and democratic intent and as such foregrounds the ethical prerogative of professionals engaging critically with their practice with the aim to better understand their classroom and the learners in their care.

Projects in this subtheme may be research, knowledge exchange or teaching orientated representing areas of activity within and across the group whereby teachers and other education professionals engage with research as part of their professional learning aligned with the Scottish National Model for Professional Learning and the GTCS Professional Standards. This sub-theme particularly extends work out of the Supporting Teacher Learning PG Cert, which has GTCS Professional Accreditation, but also includes approaches used on our Doctorate of Education (EdD), ITE programmes, and Into Headship qualification, as well as approaches used within our undergraduate and postgraduate research projects and dissertations.

Activities in this subtheme target how and why we support teachers and other educational professionals to engage in and with research. It will propose and empirically explore theory, methodology and pedagogy for supporting teachers in professional learning through research and target the potential impact of such an approach. A practitioner enquiry approach will be a fundamental core aspect of this sub-theme and the activity it represents but will not be the only approach included.

Lead
Subtheme members

The subtheme aims to support a critical, evidence informed, contextually appropriate and theory-rich understanding of learning, pedagogy, and curriculum in HE settings, and one that facilitates the translation of research into practice. It will provide a forum to support research on HE contexts, guided by the need for a critical, inclusive, theory-informed and socially-just praxis.

Higher education pedagogy as we envisage it encompasses both scholarship and research activities, and focuses on all aspect of pedagogy in higher education contexts. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) teaching and lecturing practices, assessment, curriculum and course design, skills and literacies in HE, student self-regulated learning, interdisciplinary pedagogies, and HE educators' engagement with theory and evidence.

The subtheme brings together colleagues and research students who share an interest in pedagogies in higher education and in how students learn and study in university context, providing a forum to support research excellence and impact on the student experience in this area.

Leads
Subtheme members
Recent Publications
  • Firth, J. (2025).
  • Quirke, W., McCrorie, K., & Proctor, S. (2025). Journal of Curriculum Studies, 1–19. 
  • Sims,R.,Tran,P.,Banat,H.,Panahi,P.,&Dilger,B.(2025). Written Communication, 42(2), 371–404. 
  • Firth, J., & Salehjee, S. (2024). Engaging student teachers with evidence: Trainers’ perspectives of barriers and opportunities. Pedagogika, 73(4), 397–414.
  • Marshall, J., & Adams, P. (2024). . Education 3–13, 1–16. 
Projects
  • Leveraging Conversational AI for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Nikou; 2025–2026; Funded by NetDragon.
  • Students as Assessors (Phase Two) Marshall with colleagues across HaSS, Engineering & Science Faculties; ongoing workshops and staff guide development.
  • Exploring the Multi-Level Impact of Virtual Exchange (VE) & COIL Roxburgh, Quirke, Moore & Brandeis partners; ethics approved.
  • Queer Critical Literacies in Global Contexts: Transnational Voices on Queer(ing) Language and Literacy Education, Govender & Andrews; Bloomsbury edited volume project
  • Decolonising the Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum (‘RePosition 欧美高清’) Govender, Wells & Grant (2024); HaSS Faculty EDI Committee; 欧美高清 Resilient Communities Fund.