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Professor Ian Neal


Home / About / Academic staff profiles / Teacher Training and Education / Ian Neal

Emeritus Professor

I moved to the School of Education at the University of Sunderland in 1993 as Senior Lecturer and was later promoted to Principal Lecturer in Education. I was Programme Leader for the Secondary Programme of School and College-based Initial Teacher Training and later became Subject Area Leader for Education. I was then promoted to Associate Director of the School of Education (Head of Initial Teacher Training and Quality Enhancement), to Associate Dean of the Faculty with responsibility for Research, External Engagement, Resources and Staffing in the Faculty which includes Education, Culture and Social Sciences and then to my last position as Dean of Faculty.

In my professional life, I have travelled widely, providing educational consultancy in South America, Egypt and Saudi Arabia as well as most countries in Europe for governments and other agencies such as the United Nations and the British Council.

Teaching and supervision

I teach on the secondary professional year, providing the keynote lecture in the learning and teaching series. I supervise a number of Doctoral students working on topics such as:

  • Working relationships between academic and administrative staff within the Faculty of Education and Society
  • The role of empathy through storytelling in young driver road safety education
  • Educating and training tomorrow’s police workforce today and today’s police workforce for tomorrow
  • But sir my agent told me: establishing the practice of University of Sunderland agents in India, leading to the recommendation of improved practice

Research interests for potential research students

My main research interests are web-based learning, management of education, competence-based assessment in higher education, and quality assurance and enhancement in compulsory and higher education.
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My academic career started as a Research Psychologist in Staffordshire before training as a teacher and gaining my PGCE. I began teaching in a large Merseyside comprehensive school, later moving to a school in Cambridgeshire. Initially, I taught biology and science to O level and biology to A level. I later included maths, computing and IT, becoming Head of Computer Science in the mid-eighties. I rose to Senior Teacher, in charge of the curriculum and pastoral arrangements for forms 3-5 (now years 9-11). 

I then moved to the University of Cambridge, teaching on their PGCE and researching schemes of Achievement Recording. I developed the UK's first International Student Centred Review scheme which operated around the world, including Europe, Asia and South America.

Last updated 28 February 2024