Dr Jacqueline Watson
| Job Title | Contact | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Lecturer in Educational Research |
Jacqueline dot Watson at uea dot ac dot uk
Tel: +44 (0)1603 59 2924 |
EDU/SYS 1.21 |
Biography
I am Lecturer in Educational Research in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning (EDU).
UEA responsibilities:
- Senior Student Advisor for EDU.
- Chair of the EDU Research Ethics Committee.
- Member of the University Research Ethics Committee.
- Member of the EDU Undergraduate Exam Board.
External Responsibilities:
- Book Reviews Editor for the International Journal of Children's Spirituality.
- Co-opted Humanist member of the Norfolk Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE).
- UEA nominated member of the Keswick Hall Trust Board of Trustees.
Biography
My key area of research interest is spiritual education, including connections between spiritual and religious education and the inclusion of Humanism in Religious Education (RE) in the UK. My interest in spirituality in education began over 20 years ago when I was privileged to be taught by Jack Priestley and Terence Copley during my PGCE at the University of Exeter. After teaching religious education in Devon, I studied part-time for an MEd and then a PhD at the University of East Anglia (UEA), while continuing to teach RE (English and Drama) in secondary schools in this region. My MEd and PhD research enabled me to explore what spirituality meant in adults’ and young people’s lives, and to examine understandings and definitions of spirituality in education among teachers, educationalists and policy makers. In 2002, as a Farmington Fellow, I examined the relationship between Citizenship Education (CE) and Religious Education (RE), in the first term CE was introduced as a statutory curriculum subject in secondary schools. In 2007, I carried out research for the British Humanist Association, investigating take-up of secular worldviews in locally Agreed Religious Education Syllabuses.
I became a research associate at UEA in 2006, working first as part of an interdisciplinary team carrying out the National Evaluation of Children’s Trusts, and then with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts working collaboratively on several research projects in the field of art education. In 2010 I became a lecturer in educational research in EDU where I continue to carry out research in the field of spiritual and religious education, contribute a module called Spirituality, Education and Child to the BA in Educational Studies and supervise EdD and PhD students working in this field, as well as teaching and supervising post-graduate students in other fields of study.Key Research Interests
My research interests range across spiritual and religious education, art education, community cohesion and citizenship education, as well as issues around children and young people's participation and voice. I am currently co-editing an international book to be published by Routledge, Global Perspectives on Spiritual Education. I recently co-led and completed an Outreach Opportunities fund project to investigate the educational experiences and aspirations of children from Eastern and Central Europe.
My long term interests are in research and practice in the areas of spiritual development and religious education in schools. A particular focus has been examining responses to the recommendation in the QCA National Framework for RE (2004) to include humanism and secular worldviews in RE. I am also very interested in ideas around the relationship between religion, science and schools in post-secular, liberal democracies. I am an associate of the Centre for Spirituality and Religion in Education which is based in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning.
I have recently carried out collaborative research with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at UEA, on projects funded by Enquire, Envision and Museums Libraries and Archives East, examining young people's learning, participation and pupil voice in the context of art gallery and museum education, as well as working with the SCVA, Heritage Lottery funded, Culture of the Countryside project.
In 2008 I was part of a research project funded by Camfed, which used participative research methods with children to examine children and teachers' responses to global education. From 2004-2006, I was a researcher with the National Evaluation of Children's Trusts in the University of East Anglia, which examined policy and practice responses to the Government's Every Child Matters programme, and its call for the integration of services to improve inclusion and participation of children, young people and families.
I am Book Reviews Editor for the International Journal of Children's Spirituality. I am a co-opted Humanist member of the Norfolk Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) and a Trustee of the Keswick Hall Trust.
Postgraduate Research Students:
Rafif Hakim (FT MPhil/Phd) 2011-2014
The Art Curriculum of the Intermediate Schools for Girls in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Critical Analysis in Relation to the Development of Creative Abilities.
Kathryn Wright (PT MPhil/PhD) 2010-2016
The implicit and explicit impact of the religious education teacher’s degree qualification on their chosen pedagogy in the classroom.
Andreas Emerson-Moering (PT MPhil/PhD) 2008-2014
The philosophical foundation of Religious Studies as the explication of the concept of ‘person’.
Pauline Lovelock (EdD) 2008-2012
Can experiential pedagogies encourage children to reflect upon their spirituality?
Anyesa Sorrentino (EdD) 2010-2014
What constitutes the dyslexia friendly university and to what extent has progression towards this status been made in the last 10 years? A case study 10 years on from the Singleton report: ‘Dyslexia in Higher Education: policy, provision and practice’.
Linda Johnson (EdD) 2010-2014
Dyslexic or Failing? Nurse lecturer and nurse mentor perceptions of students who have dyslexia.
Research Publications
Refereed Journal Articles
Priyadharshini, E. and J. Watson, 2012, Between aspiration and achievement: structure and agency in young migrant lives’ Power and Education: Special Edition, Migration and Education. In Press.
Watson, J., 2011, ‘Discussion in religious education: developing dialogic for community cohesion and/or spiritual development’ International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 16(2), 97 – 108.
Watson, J., 2010, 'Including secular philosophies such as humanism in locally agreed syllabuses for religious education' British Journal of Religious Education, 32(1), 5 - 18.
Watson, J., 2010, ‘Responding to Difference: Spiritual development and the search for truth' in de Souza, M., Francis, L., O'Higgins-Norman, J. & Scott, D. (eds) International Handbook of Education for Spirituality, Care and Wellbeing (2 volumes) (Dordrecht, The Netherlands, Springer Academic Publishers)
Watson, J., 2009, 'Science, spirituality and truth: acknowledging difference for spiritual dialogue and human well-being' International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 14(4), 313 - 322.
Watson, J., 2008, ‘Can children and young people learn from atheism for spiritual development? A response to the national framework for religious education' British Journal of Religious Education, 30(1), 49 - 58.
Watson, J., 2007, 'Spiritual development: constructing an inclusive and progressive approach' Journal of Beliefs and Values 28(2), 125-136.
Watson, J., 2006, ‘Every Child Matters and children’s spiritual rights: does the new holistic approach to children’s care address children’s spiritual well-being?’ International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 11(2), 251 – 264.
Watson, J., 2006, ‘Spiritual Development and Inclusivity: the need for a critical democratic approach’ International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 11(1), 113 – 124.
Watson, J., 2004, 'Educating for Citizenship - the emerging relationship between Religious Education and Citizenship Education', British Journal of Religious Education 26(3), pp. 259-271.
Watson, J., 2003, 'Preparing Spirituality for Citizenship', International Journal of Children's Spirituality 8(1), pp. 9-24.
Watson, J., 2002, 'From Transcendence to Ethics: shaping spirituality to schools', Journal of Beliefs and Values 21(1), pp. 39-50.
Watson, J., 2001, 'OFSTED's Spiritual Dimension: an analytical audit of inspection reports', Cambridge Journal of Education 31(2), pp. 205-219.
Watson, J., 2000, 'Whose Model of Spirituality Should Be Used in the Spiritual Development of School Children?' International Journal of Children's Spirituality 5(1), pp. 91-101.
Other Publications
Watson, J., September 2007, 'Religious Education's Atheistic Turn' REsource 30(1).
Vanlint, B. & Watson, J., 2004, 'Spiritual Development, Moral Development and Citizenship Education', in Browne, A. & Haylock, D., (eds) Professional Issues for Primary Teachers (Sage)
Recent Unpublished Papers
‘Post-secular liberal democracies’ relationship with religion, science and schools’, Education in a Post Secular Society Conference, Canterbury, UK, January 2011.
‘Keeping Faith with the Common School’, EDU Seminar Series, UEA, November 2010.
‘An Enlightened Approach to Faith in the Common School’, British Association for International and Comparative Education Conference, UEA, UK, September 2010.
Reports
Watson, J. (2008) East Cluster Research Report in Enquire: Inspiring Learning in Galleries Research Reports. (London: engage) Also available at
www.en-quire.org/research.aspx
Cox, S., Robinson-Pant, A., Watson, J. and P. Yarker (2008) Exploring the global dimension: a study of attitudes, values and understanding among teacher and pupils in four Cambridgeshire schools (Report for Camfed)
Watson, J. (June 2007) Humanism in Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education . Report to the British Humanist Association. Available at
www.humanism.org.uk/_uploads/documents/Watson-Syllabus-Report.pdf
Watson, J. (June 2007) Listening to the Voices of Children and Young People:citizenship and voice in museum-school partnerships. Report to Museums, Libraries and Archives East of England.
Watson, J. (2003) Citizenship Education and its Impact on Religious Education. Farmington Fellowship Report. Norwich: University of East Anglia.
National Evaluation of Children's Trusts - Team Publications and Reports
O'Brien, M., Bachmann, M.O., Jones, N.R., Reading, R., Thoburn, J., Husbands, C., Shreeve, A. & J. Watson (2009) Do Integrated Children's Services Improve Children's Outcomes?: Evidence From England's Children's Trust Pathfinders. Children and Society, 23, 320-335.
Bachmann, M., Reading, R., Husbands, C., O'Brien, M., Thoburn., J., Shemilt, I., Watson, J., Jones, N., Haynes, R., Mugford, M. & the NECT team (2006) What are children's trusts? Early findings from a national survey, Child: Care, Health and Development, 32(2), 137-146.
O'Brien, M., Bachmann, M., Husbands, C., Shreeve, A., Jones, N., Watson, J. & I. Shemilt (2006) Integrating Children's Services to Promote Children's Welfare: Early Findings from the Implementation of Children's Trusts in England, Child Abuse Review, 15, 377-395.
NECT, 2007. Children's Trust Pathfinders: Innovative Partnerships for Improving the Well-being of Children and Young People: Final Report. Research Report 839. Department for Education and Skills:
http://publications.everychildmatters.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/RR839.pdf or http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR839.pdf
NECT, 2005. Realising Children's Trust Arrangements National Evaluation of Children's Trusts: Phase 1 Report. Research Report 682. (ref EOR/SBU/2003/120) Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health. Nottingham: DfES.
NECT, 2006. Joint Planning Joint Commissioning and Budget Pooling in Children's Trust Settings. (ref EOR/SBU/2003/120) Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health. Norwich: University of East Anglia.
NECT, 2006. Child, Youth and Parent Participation in Children's Trust Settings. (ref EOR/SBU/2003/120) Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health. Norwich: University of East Anglia.
NECT, 2006. Managing Change for Children through Children's Trusts. (ref EOR/SBU/2003/120) Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health. Norwich: University of East Anglia.
Teaching Interests
I teach on courses for the 2nd Year of the BA in Educational Studies where I am the module leader for Spirituality, Education and the Child, share teaching and curriculum development for the History and Philosophy of Education, and support teaching on Environmental Education and Outdoor Learning.
I support teaching and supervision on several additional programmes in EDU, including the EdD, PhD, Faculty Professional Development, and Masters programmes.
I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and have a PGCE in secondary education.
