Working Within Diverse Communities
Working within diverse communities (Joint Theme Leads Dr. Graham Hallett, Dr. Susan Harness & Kelly Powell)
This theme takes a transdisciplinary approach to research participation and engagement in communities, with a focus on inclusion and finding effective ways to access and to listen to communities’ voice. It will complement and collaborate with community research, participation and engagement activities across the University and the surrounding communities. This includes community-based / community settings, schools, voluntary and community organisations, working closely with the cross curricular network Participatory Action Research and Creative methods (PARCM). The aim is to develop and support a programme of researcher-community engagement research projects.
Recent Contributions
Chris Barlow’s - Introducing a new primary PGCE Specialism
Normally when I visit Morecambe it’s not to meet up with a camera man and Paula De Santa from UOC, but for a bracing family stroll along the prom with the dog. On this occasion I was being filmed to create a video introducing the new Environmental and Experiential Specialism on our Primary Post Graduate teaching course. In between being scrutinised by passers-by eager to see if I was a visiting celebrity (or a dashing reporter), tripping over my words and stopping for occasional car alarms and a council waste vehicle, I did manage to adequately proclaim the virtues of this new and exciting specialism, a specialism that celebrates the learning potential of the child’s own locality, using the impressive backdrop afforded by Morecambe Bay as a catalyst to place-based meaningful and active learning.
The specialism runs alongside our existing primary post-graduate teaching degree and has been inspired by UOC’s involvement in the development of a bespoke Morecambe Bay Curriculum being designed by local schools, inspired by the possibility of Eden Project North coming to the Bay. Students who opt for this specialism will not only have the opportunity to be introduced to philosophies and theories relating to environmental and experiential learning, but will have input from school-based leaders in the Morecambe Bay Curriculum design, input from Dr Robert Barratt the Eden Project education director, input from our outdoor studies team in Ambleside as well as the opportunity to plan and deliver outdoor learning activities in local schools and have one of their school-based placements in a school who have adopted the Morecambe Bay curriculum.
I won’t say I am naturally comfortable in front of a camera (I have more of a face for radio), but the opportunity to work with Paula to help spread the message of this exciting new specialism was too good to miss and I’m looking forward to working with my group of environmentally minded students in September, where their specialism will begin with a day out on the Bay to conceptualise their future learning, and who know, the dog may join us.
June 2021
The Impact of Covid-19 The importance of nature: Before, during and after Covid-19
In this mini episode Dr Tracy Hayes (University of Cumbria) and Dr Mark Leather (Plymouth Marjon University) discuss the importance of nature, outdoor learning and play before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Podcast 08 July 2020 BERA
This British Curriculum Forum virtual resource brings together education professionals from different systems and sectors in education to share their ideas around curriculum development and well-being.
Media Series 14 March 2020 BERA
Vini Lander Sally Elton-Chalcraft Lynn Revell
Blog Post 27 June 2017 BERA
Recent Events
22 October 2020 University of Cumbria and Multi cultural Cumbria Race 2B BAME conference 2020. Check out the inspiring and informative interactive sessions on-line here: Unconscious bias, Anti racism in the police force, Refugees, Anti racism in schools and much more.
27 February 2020 'All Shall Have a Bite of the (Poisoned?) Apple' Social Justice in Education’. Professor Sally Elton-Chalcraft Inaugural lecture, Sentamu Lecture Theatre, Lancaster. Further information is available on-line and a link to the video recording can be found here