Following a diverse career in Modern Languages teaching and Leadership in secondary schools in England, Ruth joined the University of Nottingham’s School of Education in September 2016. As well as her work on the PGCE in Modern Languages, she currently leads the Schools and Society programme on the Secondary PGCE, supporting beginning teachers explore their professional identity and their wider role in promoting education for social justice. Ruth also holds various roles across the School of Education: she is the Digital Lead for the ITE Directorate, the PGCEi Spain cohort leader, and she supervises MAEd Dissertations – as well as engaging with educators locally and internationally through a range of events, publications and contributions.
Ruth has a particular interest in innovative curriculum models and in curriculum design, with a focus on approaches enabling the integration of language and culture. Her doctoral thesis centred on the value of an intercultural model of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), and she is currently co-leading an ongoing collaborative research project with local language educators, the Culture and Language Integrated Classrooms (CLiC) project.
Ruth is also interested in the way in which beginning teachers develop their professional identity – and the dispositions they need to become effective, informed educators, able to support inclusive practices and to promote social justice in education. She has recently conducted a research project on developing teacher dispositions through a scenario-based approach, exploring the importance of preparing beginning teachers for their wider professional role in schools and society.