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Pat Thomson

Professor of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences

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Biography

Professor Pat Thomson PSM PhD FAcSS FRSA is known for her interdisciplinary engagement with questions of creative and socially just learning and change. Much of this work has been in collaboration with Professor Christine Hall.

She now works part time and is no longer accepting new PhDs.

Pat 's academic writing and research education blog 'patter' is archived by the British Library and posts are frequently republished elsewhere. She tweets as @ThomsonPat and has an academic writing 'patter' facebook page. Her research activities can be seen on a range of websites - , the RAPS project, the TALE project, Performing Impact, Cultural Value and Live Art, and Quality in Alternative Education. She worked collaboratively with Professor Toby Greany to investigate school leaders work during the pandemic, this led to an ESRC project looking at the sustainability of school leadership across the four UK nations.

At present, she is an Adjunct Professor at the Free State University, South Africa, and a Visiting Professor at Deakin University, Victoria. She also works part time at the University of South Australia.

Pat chaired the research group of the APPG for Art Craft and Design Education. In 2023 they published a major report on Art and design education - Art Now.

She has been 'resident ethnographer' with the Tate Schools and Teachers team with whom she has a long term partnership, she has also researched with Nottingham Contemporary and the Serpentine galleries.

Some history: Pat joined the School of Education in 2003 and completed a five year term as Director of Research during which time she coordinated the School's successful RAE submission. She also worked for five years as Director of the Centre for Advanced Studies. Before coming to The University of Nottingham, she directed the professional doctorate in education and an offshore PhD programme at the University of South Australia. She was Deputy Director of the Centre for Studies in Literacy, Policy and Learning Cultures. She previously managed strategic planning in the state education department. Before that, she was principal of Paralowie R- 12 for eleven years, deputy principal at The Parks, and founding Coordinator of Bowden Brompton Community School. She has represented Australian principals on national policy making bodies and at international conferences, and was President of the South Australian Secondary Principals Association. She was a member of national and state policy making bodies and has extensive experience in equity policy development. She was awarded a Public Service Medal in 1991, a Fulbright Scholarship in 1992, the Garth Boomer Curriculum prize from the Australian Curriculum Studies Association in 1995, and the Australian Association for Research in Education Outstanding Thesis award in 2000.

Other scholarly service: Pat is on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Educational Administration and History, Teaching Education, Education Review, the Journal of Education Policy, International Journal of Leadership in Education, International Journal of Research and Methods in Education, the Australian Educational Researcher, Ethnography and Education, Improving Schools and the Journal of Educational Administration and Foundations.

She reviews regularly for the Australian Research Council and other research funding bodies.

Teaching Summary

I offer various academic writing courses to PhDers at Nottingham and in universities around the world

Research Summary

Her current research focuses on creativity, the arts and change in schools and communities, and postgraduate writing pedagogies. She maintains an interest in the changing work of school… read more

Selected Publications

  • THOMSON, PAT, 2020. School scandals: Blowing the whistle on the corruption of our education system Policy Press.
  • THOMSON, PAT, 2023. Refining your academic writing: Strategies for reading, revising and rewriting Routledge.
  • THOMSON, PAT and HALL, CHRISTINE, 2023. Schools and Cultural Citizenship: Arts education for life Routledge.
  • HEFFERNAN, AMANDA, THOMSON, PAT and BLACKMORE, JILL, eds., 2024. Resistance in educational leadership, management and administration Routledge.

School of Education

University of Nottingham
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Wollaton Road
Nottingham, NG8 1BB

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