Personal statement
Before joining the School of Education, initially on a two-year secondment in 2012, David enjoyed a varied and successful teaching career of 17 years in primary schools across Glasgow and was awarded the professional title of 'Chartered Teacher' by the General Teaching Council for Scotland in recognition of the quality of his classroom practice and expertise across a number of curricular areas. He was heavily involved in a wide range of local authority and national initiatives notably in mathematical problem solving, social studies, science and technology.
David has taught on a varied range of classes across the BA and PGDE programmes in Primary Education and, to a lesser extent, also within the BA in Childhood Practice. In module leader roles, he has been instrumental in the redesign of classes to support the STE(A)M agenda and internationalised his practice in this area in working with influential organisations in China such as the Tianjin Municipal Education Commission.
From 2014-2017, he was the Depute Director of the newly established Strathclyde China Institute (SCI) and played a key role in international student recruitment into courses within the HaSS and Business School Faculties, as well as promoting research and knowledge exchange collaborations with a number of high-ranking Chinese partners.
Since 2017, he has been the Faculty Director for Student Mobility (China) successfully promoting and organising inward/ outward mobility for under and postgraduate students interested in visiting Scotland, China and South Korea for comparative education, language and cultural experiences. Recently, David has also taken over the co-ordination of the successful Erasmus programme in the School of Education as a whole, working with other colleagues to support incomng and outgoing student exchanges. In the area of mobility, he also leads a module which introduces visiting international students to the Scottish school system and encourages reflections on education in their own contexts.
From June 2020 onwards, David will serve an initial 3-year term as the 'Director for Global Engagement' within the School of Education. As a member of the School Leadership Team, he will be responsible for operationalising the School's strategic plan in collaborations with local, national and international partners and supporting other colleagues to build upon their expertise.
He has been a member of a number of Faculty/University wide internationalisation groups and is asked to give his perspective on working with Chinese partners. From October 2018 - September 2022, David will serve as the External Examiner for the MA (Hons) degree in Primary Education at the University of Aberdeen.
David's recently completed PhD, supervised by Professor Ian Rivers and Ms Joanna McPake, examines the teaching of Chinese culture in Scottish primary schools. This links to national policy developments and to the on-going work of the Confucius Institute for Scotland's Schools, based in the HaSS Faculty, with whom he enjoys a very strong relationship and is further evidence of his commitment to internationalising his practice.
In recognition of the breadth and quality of his various contributions, David was promoted to Senior Teaching Fellow in 2016. In 2019, he was the proud recipient of a 'Strathclyde Medal' for his team leadership in creating and managing Knowledge Exchange opportunities with Chinese partners. He was nominated for the Faculty 'Teaching Excellence Awards' in promoting inward/ outward student mobility in 2019 and won the 2020 category for an 'Effective and Sustained Contribution to Outstanding Student Experience' through his work in this area.
He has recently been awarded status as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), which recognised his impact on colleagues in the areas of STEM education and internationalisation practices.
David will serve as a member of University Senate until August 2024.
Research interests
- The teaching of Mandarin Chinese as second/ third language in Scottish primary schools
- The teaching of Chinese culture in Scottish primary schools
- Comparative education with a Chinese/ Scottish focus
- Study abroad experiences of student teachers
- The promotion of STEM learning in the primary school
David has successfully supervised a number of students on MEd and MSc pathways in these areas, including international students and welcomes further enquiries from those interested.
2021
MSc: 'A Comparative Study of English Curriculum Standards in Secondary Schools in China and Japan'
MEd: 'STEAM within the Secondary Classroom Environment'
2020
MSc: ‘A Study of the Challenges Faced by Chinese Undergraduate Students in Learning to Write in English in a Second Language Context’
MSc: ‘Research on Intercultural Adaptation of Chinese Visiting Students in the UK’
MEd: ‘Exploration of the use of Project-Based Learning to Increase Engagement of Socially Disadvantaged Young People in STEM’
2019
MSc: ‘A Comparative Study of Students’ Self-Regulation Strategies in Learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL)’
MSc: ‘A Comparative Study of the Practices and Professional Development Needs of Chinese STEM Middle School Teachers’
MSc: ‘A Comparative Study of the Challenges Faced by Heritage and Non-heritage Learners of Mandarin Chinese'
His PhD was a multi-layered study exploring the experiences of those delivering Mandarin Chinese in a range of schools within 3 Scottish Local Authorities. The views of pupils learning the language were also very much central to the aims of the research. This work will provide an innovative perspective on the teaching of Chinese language and culture within the context of the Scottish Government’s 1+2 policy agenda.
Professional activities
- Conference and Reception event for 2019 Chinese Government Scholarship
- Participant
- 4/12/2018
- University of Aberdeen, School of Education
- Visiting lecturer
- 1/10/2018
- Review of short-term study abroad experiences funded by Chinese Scholarship Council
- Contributor
- 21/9/2018
- 2nd Strathclyde/ Nanjing Normal University Schools of Education symposium, held in Nanjing China
- Organiser
- 29/5/2018
- 2nd Nanjing Normal/ Strathclyde University Schools of Education symposium
- Speaker
- 29/5/2018
- The Scottish Curriculum for Excellence: developments and challenges
- Speaker
- 7/6/2017
More professional activities
Projects
- Beijing Institute of Technology Zunhai (BITZ) Collaborative Partnership
- Savage, Katy (Co-investigator) Roxburgh, David (Principal Investigator)
- Partnering with senior staff from HaSS, I co-led a collaborative partnership with BITZ which saw delegations of 35 (2018) and 40 (2019) staff from BITZ attend a 4-week programme of academic development and cultural exchange. The programme was successful and initial and follow-up evaluations confirmed that teaching methods at BITZ are being transformed as a result. This initiative resulted in a strategic partnership development with Strathclyde that extended beyond the initial partnership, bringing significant income and esteem to the institution. This collaboration resulted in £26K of consultancy income to OSDU.
- 22-Jan-2019 - 02-Jan-2019
- Grant application: UK-China Outward Mobility Partnership Fund
- Roxburgh, David (Principal Investigator)
- £30,000 of funding has been awarded by the British Council (China) to support study abroad programmes at Nanjing Normal and Shandong Normal Universities, China
- 28-Jan-2019 - 31-Jan-2021
- Chinese Headteacher Visit - A conversation with Scotland
- Roxburgh, David (Academic)
- Organised in collaboration with Scottish Government and the Confucius Institute for Scotland's Schools, the event was designed for a group of 12 Head teachers from Fengtai district in Beijing who were interested in sharing their experiences and learning from the Scottish education system, particularly in the areas of education reformation, construction of campus culture, teacher training and leadership.
My involvement was sharing experiences of the delivery of 'Teacher Professional Learning' in the area of STEM integration to groups of primary/ secondary teachers in Tianjin, China and to give a general overview of what might be offered by the School of Education in areas of interest to the group. - 17-Jan-2018 - 17-Jan-2018
- Beijing Institute of Technology Zunhai (BITZ) Collaborative Partnership
- Savage, Katy (Co-investigator) Roxburgh, David (Co-investigator)
- Partnering with senior staff from HaSS, I co-led a collaborative partnership with BITZ which saw delegations of 35 (2018) and 40 (2019) staff from BITZ attend a 4-week programme of academic development and cultural exchange. The programme was successful and initial and follow-up evaluations confirmed that teaching methods at BITZ are being transformed as a result. This initiative resulted in a strategic partnership development with Strathclyde that extended beyond the initial partnership, bringing significant income and esteem to the institution. This collaboration resulted in £26K of consultancy income to OSDU.
- 30-Jan-2018 - 24-Jan-2018
- Teaching in Higher Education: training programme with Beijing Institute of Technology (Zhuhai)
- Roxburgh, David (Administrator) Holmes, Joanna (Academic) McKay, Norrie (Academic)
- 4 week training event for 33 university academics. Responsible for input from School of Education, University of Strathclyde
- 30-Jan-2018 - 24-Jan-2018
- Establishment of Summer School for HaSS students at Kyung Hee University, South Korea
- Roxburgh, David (Principal Investigator)
- I have been responsible for promotion and student support to allow HaSS students
to gain places on a 4-week summer school on the theme of 'Global Collaboration. The programme seeks to promote a better understanding of the world, in tandem with the current quests for ‘world peace’ and ‘global common good. - 29-Jan-2018 - 28-Jan-2020
More projects
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