Dr David Lewin (Project Lead)
David Lewin is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Education at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. With a background in Theology and Religious Studies, as well as a brief but significant career in Computer Science, his work engages with topics at the intersections between philosophy of education, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of technology. His current research focuses on notions of didactical and pedagogical representation and reduction. He co-leads the ‘Experiments in Educational Theory’ research group based at the University of Strathclyde (www.exet.org), and is project lead for the ‘After Religious Education’ project.
Bob Bowie is Professor of Religion and Worldview Education, Canterbury Christ Church University. Prof Bowie is a leader in the field of research in Religious Education directs the National Institute of Christian Education.
Alexandra Brown
Alexandra Brown is a Philosophy and Religious Studies teacher, academic and poet whose work focuses on theologies of liberation, Islam within the Black American experience, and issues of social justice pertaining to gender, race, class and decolonisation the education system. Alexandra studies and engages with Christian and Muslim theological thought, whilst also observing the cultural influences of Rastafari. Theologically and philosophically, she aligns with Black Liberation Theology, Womanism and Afro-Pessimism.
Dr Kate Christopher
Kate teaches part-time in a Secondary school in East London and works as an independent RE adviser, working with teachers to develop the curriculum. Kate’s PhD is in Philosophy of Education, bringing philosophical thinking to bear on what is claimed for RE in schools. Kate’s interests are in curriculum design and the capacity of Religion and Worldviews to offer a more textured and critical understanding of the world for 21st Century pupils.
Chris Cotter is Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Chester, and IASH-CTPI Duncan Forrester Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Specializing in all things 'non-religious', Chris completed his doctorate at Lancaster University in 2016, focusing upon the discourses on ‘religion’ in the Southside of Edinburgh, the concepts of ‘non-religion’ and ‘the secular’, and the ensuing critical and theoretical implications for Religious Studies. He completed a three-year Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh in August 2020, following a brief academic break to work for the Scottish Green Party.
Daniel Hugill
Daniel currently works in a school in East London as Teacher of RE and Teaching Development Coordinator. He is the former Chair of the National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE) and was a mentor for the South East region on the REsilience Project working to build teachers' confidence in dealing with controversial issues in RE. He worked as a Lead Practitioner in RE for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and was the Local Authority Advisor to the London Borough of Havering SACRE. His academic background is in Systematic Theology, Ethics, and Geology.
Dr Rachael Jackson-Royal
Rachael is a head of Religious Studies in a school in Birmingham. She is the exams and Higher Education Officer for NATRE and helps to deliver high quality CPD for teachers both in the local group she runs and within other events such as Strictly RE. She is an author of various textbooks and has also participated in numerous different research projects including Shared Space with Bristol University and the use of Texts in RE with Canterbury and UCL. Her doctorate focuses on combining certain pedagogical practices within the teaching of RE; an area that she is still passionately interested in. Rachael is also very keen to help as many teachers as possible engage with research which she tries to foster through numerous activities including her mentoring of beginning teachers in the New To RE programme and in the section she edits within Professional Reflections in RE today.
Dr Morten Korsgaard, Associate Professor of Education, Malmö University. Dr Korsgaard’s research addresses conceptual issues in education such an exemplarity and inclusion. He is Chair of the research group Philosophical Studies of Education.
Dr Janet Orchard is Senior Lecturer in Education, University of Bristol. With strong research interests in RE, Dr Orchard takes a comparative interest in the relationship between philosophy of education and teacher education and is developing a new model of critical reflection for teachers called ‘Philosophy for Teachers’ in England, Hong Kong and South Africa.
Suzanne Newcombe is a Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the Open University and the honorary director of Inform, an educational charity that exists to prevent harm based on misinformation on new and minority religious and spiritualities which is based in TRS at King's College London. In both these capacities she has been working to promote better public understandings of religion in contemporary society, authoring and coordinating several free online courses promoting these aims. Over the last two years she has been a key part of a collaborative project between The Open University, Inform and the Faith and Belief Forum researching perceptions of the Religion and Worldviews (CoRE 2018) proposals outside the classroom. Within the Open University she has leading a project researching best practice on promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within the context of university-level Religious Studies teaching.
Emma Salter is Senior Lecturer in the School of Education and Professional Development, University of Huddersfield. Her research interests include education theory; especially curriculum and pedagogical studies; Religious Education; Climate change education; Jainism in educational contexts.
Martha Shaw is Associate Professor in Education at London South Bank University, where she leads the Education for Social Justice research group. With a background in secondary teaching in Sociology and Religious Education, her research focuses on religion and worldviews in education, intercultural and global citizenship education. She has worked closely with the Religious Literacy Programme at Goldsmiths, University of London where she co-led a national project into stakeholders’ aspirations for the future of RE (RE for Real). Since then Martha has continued to focus her research around the idea of ‘worldview literacy’ in the educational context.
Sahra Ucar
Sahra’s research and practice is focused on developing the epistemological and pedagogical bases of RE. She was one of the core team members for the ‘RE-Framing Education about Beliefs and Practices in Schools’ project (Woolf Institute/University of Cambridge, 2015), and editor of Cambridge teaching partnership’s mentor publication ‘Innovative Practice in Religious Education’ (IPRE). She is currently progressing towards her PhD at the University of Cambridge, exploring how alternative forms of ‘knowing’ can renegotiate epistemic trajectories to better reflect the complex workings of Islamic tradition in reflexive modernity.
Debbie Yeomans
Debbie Yeomans is a Primary RE and Collective Worship lead in Leicestershire. She is a leading teacher for the Diocese of Leicester and a member of the NATRE executive committee. Debbie uses her local influence to inspire and support excellent RE that is both academically rigorous and a vehicle for the development of primary aged students as critical thinkers. She is also passionate about ensuring the transition between primary and secondary RE is coherent and cohesive, leading to the secure development of conceptual understanding for all pupils. Debbie has developed an interest in engaging with research through the work she has done on the Culham St Gabriel Leadership programmes.