Ian is Dean of the Faculty of Education and Society and Professor at the University of Sunderland. He has over 35 years’ experience of teaching in schools and higher education.
After graduating from the University of Keele in 1979, Ian took a “gap year” during which he was a bus driver in Stoke on Trent. His academic career started as a research psychologist in Staffordshire and then he trained as a teacher and gained his PGCE. Ian began teaching in a large Merseyside comprehensive school, moving to a comprehensive school in Cambridgeshire later. Initially, he taught biology and science to O-level and biology to A-level and he later taught maths, computing and IT, becoming Head of Computer Science in the mid-eighties. He rose to Senior Teacher, in charge of the Curriculum and Pastoral arrangements for Years 9-11. Later, Ian worked at the University of Cambridge, teaching on their PGCE and researching schemes of Achievement Recording. He developed the UK’s first International Student Centred Review scheme which he launched around the world to operate in Europe, Asia and South America.
Ian moved to the School of Education at the University of Sunderland in 1993 as Senior Lecturer and was promoted to Principal Lecturer in Education. He later became Subject Area Leader for Education, before being promoted to Associate Director of the School of Education, to Associate Dean of the Faculty and then to Dean of Faculty.
In his professional life, Ian has 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.
