Senior Lecturer in Education
I am a Senior Lecturer in Education. I have been teaching in further and higher education for 20 years. After completing my A Levels, I worked in retail management for a number of years before returning to study degrees in education as a mature student.
Being responsible for staff development and training in a further education college, I became interested in how we learn and the impact that education can have on our journey through life.
My experience has shaped my commitment to widening access and participation to university education so that others can benefit from the transformative effect that education can have. What I love most about my job are the connections and positive interactions which develop through the student-teacher relationship and how we learn from and with one another.
Outside of the University, I contribute to networks for Auto ethnography, The Association of Moral Education and the Relation-Centered Education Network (RCEN).
When I am not at work, I enjoy training for triathlon events and spending time with family.
Teaching and supervision
I am Deputy Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Education Studies. My teaching expertise is within areas of pedagogy, moral education and practice and autobiographical research in education. I am directly involved in modules such as; Philosophy and Education, Ethics in Education, Comparative Education and the Undergratuate Dissertation.
Encouraging the use of dialogue and enquiry in my teaching is important towards developing students confidence in the subject they are studying, therefore, seminars are active and student participation is essential, making for lively debates and discussions.
In additon to my undergradute teaching role, I also supervise students on the MA in Education and students following Professional Doctorate programmes and PhD study. I am also part of the Univerity's Research Ethics Review Panel.
As the Research Lead for the Initial Teacher Education Team (ITE), I mentor and support colleagues in their research practice projects and curriculum development. As a member of the Centre for Research in Education (CRE), I coordinate the Centre's monthly research seminar series. Here academics share their research into a wide range of educational contexts with staff, students and partners across the university and with partners.#
Research interests for potential research students
My PhD was entitled 'Embracing Vulnerability: Moral Practice within Higher Education'.
The study explores moral education within Higher Education from the perspective of the practitioner. The methodology I adopted was autoethnography, making my practice the primary research data. Other areas of research interest is critical thinking, philosophy for children programme (P4C) and Teacher Education and assessment practice.
I am interested in supervising students who are researching aspects for moral practice, reflective practice, relational pedagogies, critical thinking and philosophy of education.
Research
Forthcoming Articles and Presentations:
- Duffy, K. McEwan, F. Perry, K. Priest, K. (2022). Fostering independence and autonomy in student self and peer assessment. Presented at RAISE, University of Lincoln, 7-8th September 2022.
- Duffy, K. Brown, A (forthcoming). Teacher Assessed Grades: The effect upon the student-teacher relationship. Presented at CRE UoS. 14 December 2022.
- Duffy, K (forthcoming). Cultivating moral imagination with future educators: The dilemma of teacher assessment. Presented at FES faculty conference, Professions Facing, June 2022.
My PhD was entitled 'Embracing Vulnerability: Moral Practice within Higher Education'.
The study explores moral education within higher education from the perspective of the practitioner. The methodology I adopted was auto ethnography, making my teacher diary the primary source for research data. Other areas of research interest is critical thinking, philosophy for children programme (P4C) and Teacher Education.
I have supervised dissertations in areas such as British Values, Critical Thinking, Gender in Dance Education, the role of Apprenticeships, Creative teaching in Prison Education, Observations of Teaching and Learning and the role of Ofsted.
Publications
Article
Duffy, Kate (2016) Saved by my Electronic Diary! How to trust your own diary as your primary date collection method. 8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies. ISSN 2340-1117
Duffy, Kate and Atkinson, Michael (2010) How do we create lasting and radical change in Post 14 Education?. Teaching in Lifelong Learning: A Journal to inform and improve practice, 2 (1). pp. 56-66. ISSN 2040-0993
Conference or Workshop Item
Duffy, Kate and Ross, Dionne (2016) Recognising Character Development In Our Learning Autobiographies. In: 8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, 4-6th Jul 2016, Barcelona, Spain. (Unpublished)
Duffy, Kate and Ross, Dionne (2016) RECOGNISING CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN OUR LEARNING AUTOBIOGRAPHIES. In: 8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, 4-6 Jul 2016, Barcelona.
Duffy, Kate (2013) Evaluating the use of a Teacher’s Diary to illuminate the moral dimensions of a teacher educator’s everyday work. In: Association for Moral Education Annual Meeting 2013, 24 - 27 Oct 2013, Montreal, Canada. (Unpublished)
Duffy, Kate (2013) Supporting Part Time Students Through Transition from Further Education to Higher Education: Fostering Conditions for a Caring Community. In: Edulearn13, 1 - 3 Jul 2013, Barcelona, Spain.
Duffy, Kate (2011) Changing moral attitudes of female educators in Further Education and Work-based learning. In: International Conference on Moral Education Cultivating Morality: Human Beings, Nature and the World, 24 - 28 Oct 2011, Nanjing, China.
Thesis
Duffy, Kate (2019) Embracing Vulnerability: The Moral Dimensions of Practice within Higher Education. Doctoral thesis, University of Sunderland.
- Moral education and ethical teaching practice
- Theories of teaching, learning and assessment
- Research in education – qualitative methods
- Philosophy for children and community of philsophical enquiry
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