Personal statement

I have been at the University of Strathclyde since 2003, prior to this I worked as a practitioner and manager in residential child care services in Edinburgh for 10 years. 

I am the Associate Dean (Undergraduate) in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Director of Learning and Teaching in the School of Social Work & Social Policy.  I am Course Leader on the MSc in Child and Youth Care Studies by Distance Learning, a part time course aimed at child and youth care practitioners from around the world.  I also teach on the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care and the BA (Hons) Social Work.  My teaching interests centre around child and youth care, residential child care, leadership and management and organisational learning.

I have a particular interest in online and distance learning. In addition to my role with the MSc in Child and Youth Care Studies by Distance Learning I am the Lead Educator on the University of Strathclyde Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ‘Caring for Vulnerable Children’. This 6 week course ran for the first time in 2015 and has so far recorded more than 60,000 registered participants. I am a member of Strathlcyde Online and the University Learning Analytics Board, two bodies central to the development of University strategy around online and blended learning developments. 

I have also been heavily involved in the development work around new qualifications for the residential child care sector in Scotland and was a member of the Scottish Social Services Council Strategic Group which developed the Standard for Residential Child Care in Scotland.