A School of Education celebratory lecture
Presented by Professor Patricia Thomson, School of Education, University of Nottingham
The School of Education is proud to announce a special event inviting you to join us in celebrating Professor Pat Thomson's 20 years with the school.
Professor Thomson says:
"When I came to Nottingham in 2003 the first research project I did was working with Liz Brown on making a website with primary school children. It didn’t go well. The next project was an ESRC seminar series looking at critical engagement with ‘pupil voice’, working with Michael Fielding at UCL, Bridget Somekh at MMU and the National College for School Leadership. In contrast to the first project, this one went very well. Indeed, the edited book arising from the seminar, Doing Visual Research with Children and Young People, is still used a lot. Comparing the fate of these two projects might lead me – or you – to think that it is easier to theorise research with and for young people than it actually is to do. And to some extent, that is my experience.
In this lecture I will revisit the various histories of ‘research with children’, ‘pupil voice’ and ‘student participation’, including, but definitely not confined to, my own work. I will argue that research with and for children and young people remains a fruitful - and sometimes difficult - area for inquiry. I will suggest, given growing social inequities, inter and intra-national hostilities and schisms and the planetary crisis, that a strong commitment to work with and for children and young people is even more important now than twenty years ago. I will therefore signpost some ways in which future research agendas might be developed, in partnership with schools and organisations that work with and for children and young people.
Event programme
| Time |
Activity |
Location |
| 5.30 to 6pm |
Arrival and refreshments |
Business School South Foyer, Jubilee Campus |
| 6 to 7.30pm |
Lecture and discussions |
B52, Business School South, Jubilee Campus |
| 7.30 to 8.30pm |
Canapés, drinks and refreshments |
Business School South Foyer, Jubilee Campus |
(Please note: this is a face-to-face, in-person only event)
Biography
Professor Pat Thomson PSM PhD FAcSS FRSA is convenor of the Centre for Research in Arts, Creativity and Literacy (CRACL). Pat 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.
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:
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, a visiting professor at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia and The University of South Australia.
Pat chairs 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.
Awards
- Public Service Medal - 1991
- Fulbright Scholarship - 1992
- Garth Boomer Curriculum prize from the Australian Curriculum Studies Association - 1995
- Australian Association for Research in Education Outstanding Thesis - 2000
Other scholarly service
Pat is on the editorial boards for:
- Journal of Educational Administration and History
- Teaching Education
- Educational Review
- Journal of Education Policy
- International Journal of Leadership in Education
- International Journal of Research and Methods in Education
- Australian Educational Researcher
- Ethnography and Education
- Improving Schools
- Journal of Educational Administration and Foundations.
Pat reviews regularly for the Australian Research Council and other research funding bodies.