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Mike Younger is the current the Head of Faculty of Education at University of Cambridge, and Director of the Centre for Commonwealth Education. For further details of his career and research interests please see his individual webpage on the Faculty of Education website. Within the Faculty of Education, I had responsibility for one-year Initial Teacher Education and Training courses (PGCE secondary, primary and KS2/3, Gatsby SCITT, Graduate Teacher Programmes and the FastTrack programme) before becoming Director of Teaching / Deputy Head of Faculty in 2004, and then Head of Faculty in 2007. My main research and teaching interests are located in the field of gender. From 2000-2004, I directed - in collaboration with Molly Warrington - a ten-term DfES sponsored project on Raising Boys' Achievement. This project, involving a research team of nine co-researchers, explored intervention strategies which appeared to have the potential to raise boys' (and girls') achievements within inclusive contexts. The project involved collaborative working with primary, secondary and special schools in different socio-economic contexts across England, and subsequently generated wide-ranging interest and comment from across the world. A second major interest of mine is in teacher education and development, particularly in terms of increasing access to and diversity within the teaching profession, and promoting a symbiotic relationship between practice and theoretical perspectives. Other interests include geographical education and environmental education. My current role as Director of the Centre of Commonwealth Education has involved me in co-directing a project based in East Africa, the overall aim is to develop an understanding of practice in relation to gender and education. Working collaboratively with colleagues from East Africa, I am involved in developing research and intervention projects exploring gender processes and patterns in upper primary / lower secondary schools in Uganda and Tanzania, with particular reference to strategies which appear to have potential to enhance the retention and achievement levels of girls in secondary education. Other Commonwealth initiatives with which I am currently associated are based in India and the Caribbean. Academic Area/Links * Geography and environmental education * Whole school issues linked to gender and achievement * Teacher Education * Developing the expertise of beginning teachers Research Topics * Gender and achievement * Initial teacher education Current Research Projects * Raising Boys' Achievement in Schools in England * Developing the expertise of beginning teachers (DEBT) * Keeping Girls in School Against the Odds: Perspectives from Uganda and Kenya * The Caribbean Context: Keeping Boys out of Risk |
