Mr William Quirke

Teaching Fellow

Strathclyde Institute of Education

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Personal statement

Will joined the University of Strathclyde’s Institute of Education as a Teaching Fellow in 2021. Previously, he worked in Falkirk Council as a teacher of Geography and Rural Skills and held the position of Faculty Head for Social Subjects and RMPS. During this time Will developed a keen interest in Learning for Sustainability and understanding barriers to its implementation. Tracking, monitoring and moderation in the Broad General Education phase was also an area of interest. 

Since joining the Institute of Education, Will's work and knowledge exchange activity has specialised in the fields of Sustainability Education, Geography Education and Practitioner Enquiry. He is also active in a number of national and international working groups and professional networks relating to these areas. 

Will is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers.  

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Area of Expertise

Will offers CPD/CLPL in People, Place and Environment to primary and lower secondary practitioners. Will also offers CPD/CLPL in Learning for Sustainability and Education for Sustainable Development for both primary and secondary settings.

Information on the sessions Will delivers can be found in the Institute of Education CLPL catalogue: https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/education/career-longprofessionallearning/ 

Will leads the Strathclyde Institute of Education Sustainable Development Group.

As an active member of the StrathCAN network, Will is an experienced Climate Fresk facilitator and specialises in delivering interdisciplinary climate education experiences. 

Prize And Awards

Fulbright Global Challenges Teaching Award: Climate Change
Recipient
1/8/2024

More prizes and awards

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Teaching

Module Leadership:

  • Course Tutor for PGDE Geography
  • Module Leader for the MEd module X3969 - Learning for Sustainability
  • Co-Module leader for the PGDE module X9674 - Professional Learning through Enquiry
  • Module Leader for the BA module X2204 - Learning for Sustainability: Theory and Practice 
  • Member of the PGDE Course Management Team

 

Tutor/Lecturer:

  • X3969 – Learning for Sustainability (MEd)
  • X9574 – Professional Learning through Enquiry (PGDE)
  • X9573 – Education Studies, Professional Values (PGDE)
  • X9577 – Curriculum and Pedagogy: Geography (PGDE)
  • X7460 – Professional Skills: Professional Practice (PGDE)
  • X7331 – Teaching Social Studies Creatively (BA)
  • X9284 – Learning for Sustainability: Theory and Practice (Interdisciplinary Module)
  • X7334 - Social Research Methods (BA)
  • X9651 - Practitioner Enquiry for Professional Learning
  • Masters dissertation supervision (MEd/MSc)
  • Undergraduate dissertation supervision
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Research Interests

In 2024 Will was awarded the Global Challenges Teaching Award (Climate Change) by the US-UK Fulbright Commission. In partnership with The Division of Science of Brandeis University, Massachusetts, Will and colleagues are co-creating a Virtual Exchange/Collaborative Online International Learning initiative. https://fulbright.org.uk/our-community/meet-our-fulbrighters/ 

Will represented the Strathclyde Institute of Education in the Erasmus+ Island Schools (iSHRINK) project. This project saw Will working collaboratively with colleagues in institutions in The Netherlands, Greece, Iceland and Spain to bring schools from across Europe’s islands together around sustainability challenges. Further information can be found on the projects website https://www.islandschools.eu/  

Will has been interviewed about his work and research on the Institute of Education podcast. You can listen through the following link https://tinyurl.com/585t8zkj  

Will is a co-convener of the Strathclyde Children and Young People Sustainability Network which supports research, teaching and knowledge exchange activities that promote children and young people’s participation in realising the Sustainable Development Goals

Will is currently a Doctoral student on the University of Strathclyde’s EdD programme. His doctoral research explores the distribution of public open spaces in urban areas and its influence on the wellbeing of adolescents.

Professional Activities

What knowledges for what sort of geography education in Scotland?
Organiser
20/11/2025
SERA Conference
Participant
19/11/2025
Colleen Hitchcock
Host
29/10/2025
HaSS Faculty Learning Enhancement Committee working group: ESD Learning Outcomes (Event)
Member
10/2025
Learning for Sustainability Professional Learning for Forth Environment Link (FEL)
Consultant
6/8/2025
Meet a Project Team: Will, Iain and David.
Speaker
13/6/2025

More professional activities

Projects

Virtual Exchange/ Collaborative Online International Learning Project
Quirke, William (Principal Investigator) Hitchcock, Colleen (Principal Investigator)
The delivery of a VE/COIL project between undergraduate students at the University of Strathclyde and Brandeis University based on the topic of the Climate Crisis. This project is supported by the US-UK Fulbright Commission Global Challenges Teaching Award.
01-Jan-2025 - 19-Jan-2025
Island Schools iShrink
Quirke, William (Co-investigator)
The Island Schools project will connect Europe’s island schools with one another to create innovative education based around sustainability challenges. With project partners from Iceland, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain and Greece, the project will have top universities working on education and sustainability work with island schools to co-create learning materials which place the emphasis on pupils’ active citizenship and the sustainable future of their islands.
02-Jan-2022

More projects

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Contact

Mr William Quirke
Teaching Fellow
Strathclyde Institute of Education

Email: w.quirke@strath.ac.uk
Tel: Unlisted