Past event
This English in Education SIG conference responds to the DfE’s 2023 strategy for sustainability and climate education which perpetuates disciplinary boundaries by locating sustainability education in Science, Geography and Citizenship. The possibilities afforded by Arts disciplines – including English and language arts – are not acknowledged. We are concerned that this DfE framing may exacerbate disciplinary separation of approaches to sustainability education, impeding young people’s experiences of learning about climate change and their understanding of it; and thus limit their conceptions of their own potential agency to act.
The conference offers a forum for English specialists and interested others to consider how sustainability education and related pedagogies can be embedded in English education. What changes to current curricula and practice might be made? What might comprise a truly transformative model of English for sustainability? What unique contribution to sustainability education can English make?
These concerns are of local, national and international importance, and we hope to reflect this significance through conference contributions. The day will include input from the University of East Anglia’s Climate/Creative Group and the University of Bristol Climate Action Group, as well as invited presentations and workshops, including an opportunity to participate in an outside activity in Berkeley Square and to visit a city-centre nature reserve adjacent to the venue.
Programme Below
University of Bristol
Ralph Pite teaches English Literature at the University of Bristol and specialises in ecocritical studies. His most recent book, Edward Thomas’s Prose: Truth, Mystery, and the Natural World will be published by OUP in October 2025; he’s...
Associate Professor in Education at University of Bristol
Dr Lorna Smith is an associate professor in Education at the University of Bristol. A former Head of English, she has been involved in English initial teacher education (ITE) for 20 years and has led the secondary English PGCE course at Bristol...
Professor of Language Arts and Learning at University of East Anglia
I am Reader in English Education at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. I am an experienced English teacher educator, and came into teaching as a secondary-phase specialist in English and Media up to A-level. I currently lead a professional...
Educator in Secondary English Education at Leeds Trinity University
Dr Victoria I. Ekpo is an educator specialising in English Language, Linguistics and Literature Education, as well as Philosophy of Education and currently works as a college liaison for Leeds Trinity University in the Academic Partnerships Unit....
Senior Lecturer ITE at University of the West of England
Terra Glowach is a Senior Lecturer in ITE at the University of the West of England. She researches teacher-led approaches to decolonising Secondary Education in England.
MRes Student/ Philsophy Ethics and Religious Studies teacher at University of Bristol
Alexandra Brown is a Philosophy, Ethics and Religious Studies secondary school teacher, academic, visiting lecturer, writer and poet whose work focuses on Christian theologies of liberation (namely Black Liberation Theology, Womanist theology and...
Professor of Neuroscience and Education at School of Education at University of Bristol
Paul’s work has been focusing on issues at the interface of cognitive neuroscience and educational theory, practice and policy. He has applied diverse research methods from computational brain imaging studies to classroom observations in order...
Associate Professor at University of the West of England
Verity Jones is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Verity leads the RESPECT team, and her research interests relate to social and environmental justice.
Lecturer at University of the West of England Bristol
Kalpa Ghelani, a former primary school teacher and Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead for the PGCE, teaching on both undergraduate and postgraduate Initial Teacher Education programmes. Kalpa's...
Primary School Teacher at Cambridge International School
Daniela Rothwell is an experienced educator and early career researcher with a background in primary teaching, teacher training, and curriculum development. She currently teaches a Cambridge International School in the Czech Republic, and serves...
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