SURE

I am Associate Dean (Head of Research, External Engagement and Resources) of Education and Society at the University of Sunderland. I'm also Professor of Higher Education and am Head of Postgraduate Research Programmes for the University. I have over 30 years' experience of teaching in schools and higher education, moving to teacher education in 1993. After graduating from the University of Keele in 1979, my career started as a research psychologist in Staffordshire and then I trained as a teacher. I began teaching in a Merseyside comprehensive school, moving to Cambridgeshire later. Initially, I taught Science and later moved to Computing and IT, becoming Head of Information Technology in the mid eighties. I rose to Senior Teacher, in charge of the Curriculum and Pastoral arrangements for forms 3-5 (now Years 9-11). Later, I worked at the University of Cambridge, researching and developing schemes of Achievement Recording and developing the UK's first International Student Centred Review scheme which I launched around the world operating in Europe, Asia and South America. I moved to the School of Education at the University of Sunderland in 1993 as Senior Lecturer and was later promoted to Principal Lecturer in Education. I was Programme Leader for the Secondary Programme of School and College-based Initial Teacher Training and later became Subject Area Leader for Education, before being promoted to Associate Director of the School of Education (Head of Initial Teacher Training and Quality Enhancement) and then to Associate Dean of the Faculty with responsibility for Research, External Engagement, Resources and Staffing in the Faculty which includes Education, Culture and Social Sciences. In my professional life, I have travelled widely, providing educational consultancy in South America, Egypt and Saudi Arabia as well as most countries in Europe for governments and other agencies such as the United Nations and the British Council. My main research interests are Web-based Learning, Management of Education, Competence-based assessment in Higher Education, and Quality Assurance and Enhancement in Compulsory and Higher Education. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a member of the British Computer Society and a Chartered IT Professional.