Mr William Quirke
Teaching Fellow
Education
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.
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.
Publications
- Working towards Target 2030 : supporting the development of new targeted sustainability initiatives in education settings in Scotland
- Quirke William, McCrorie Kathryn
- 12th Annual Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD) (2024)
- Supporting culturally responsive practice in Scottish Initial Teacher Education : a transdisciplinary Social Studies approach
- Quirke William, McCrorie Kathryn
- Sustainable Teacher Education Empowering Artic Futures (2024)
- Geography in the Broad General Education in Scotland : tensions. opportunities and suggestions for the future
- Hammond Lauren, Quirke William, Curley Angela, Milne John
- Teaching Geography Vol 49, pp. 69-72 (2024)
- "Learning about research was confusing until we started creating our own questions and research" : enacting student voice through a 'Students as Enquirers' project
- Wall Kate, Hanna Amy, McCrorie Kath, Quirke William, Lauder-Scott Nova, Sims Rebekah, Ross Lorna, Elizabeth , Marysia , Brooke , Amy , Freya , Sophie
- Curriculum Journal Vol 35, pp. 137-140 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.237
- Supporting the Development of New Targeted Sustainability Initiatives in Education Settings to Develop Strategic Competence and Collaboration Competence
- Quirke William
- Guide to ESD in Practice Guide to ESD in Practice (2024)
- From StrathCEKO to StrathCAN : building a community of climate education ambassadors from the bottom up in a higher education institution
- Strachan Scott, Quirke William, Sprick Reiner Sebastian, Gallou Eirini, Collins Robert, Faulkner Suzanne
- 11th Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development (2023)
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
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
- Navigating the place of Learning for Sustainability in Initial Teacher Education
- Speaker
- 14/11/2024
- Scottish Association of Geography Teachers
- Speaker
- 26/10/2024
- Island schools – leading global innovation
- Speaker
- 12/9/2024
- Knowledge Production in Geography: Should the school subject do more to engage with a greater diversity of geographical methods?
- Invited speaker
- 12/3/2024
- Edge Foundation Island Education Network Meeting
- Invited speaker
- 27/2/2024
- Education for Sustainable Development CLPL
- Advisor
- 8/2/2024
Projects
- 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-May-2022