I have been teaching sociology to university level learners from BTec and HND to doctoral level for over 30 years. During that time, I’ve also been an active researcher studying equality, diversity and inclusion, organisational cultures, and public health – all shaped by a strong commitment to research ethics and rigorous research methods. I use my research to inform the sessions I deliver.

My approach to learning and teaching is informed by C Wright Mills and the ‘sociological imagination’ to address the connections between history and biography, personal troubles and public issues, and individual experiences and social structures. I draw extensively upon key theorists (e.g., Bourdieu, Butler, Foucault, Goffman, Gramsci, Hall, hooks) as well as important contemporary scholars in education, sport and leisure (e.g., Hargreaves, Tomlinson, Sugden, Willis).

I like to begin with social issues and problems (e.g., racism, class relations, gender pay gap) and use sociological perspectives to explore them. I encourage learners to think critically and to form evidence-based and theoretically informed opinions. Sessions are planned to encourage learner engagement through questioning to see the general in the particular, the strange in the familiar, and individuality in social context.

Through their assessed work, where appropriate, learners are expected to be able to assess the reasonableness of common sense, evaluate the opportunities and constraints, participate actively in society, and live in a diverse world. My feedback on assessment is intended primarily to ‘feed forward’ for leaners to be better equipped as they progress through their programme of study as sociologists.