profile
Dr Margo Greenwood
Honorary Associate Research Fellow and Evaluator for Thinking Schools @Exeter
Overview
Margo is currently leading full-time education and social inclusion research at iNGO Sightsavers, but also continues to carry out thinking school accreditations for Thinking Schools @Exeter (formerly the Cognitive Education Development Unit) at the University of Exeter.
Margo designs and undertakes participatory research on inclusive education and, more broadly, equity, empowerment and human rights in the global South, mainly in East and West Africa. She is involved in:
- Community-based participatory research
- Training teachers, parents and young people as peer researchers
- Gender and disability in the global South
- Building Communities of Practice
- Story as methodology
- Participatory implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Margo completed her PhD in education here at Exeter in 2012, having received a scholarship from the university. Her thesis was an ethnographic study of creative practitioner approaches with young people in challenging circumstances. It explored ways of cultivating a young person's humanity and empowerment through care and challenge in school community, with a focus on mobilising the present as a source of possibility and agency.
Before becoming a research fellow, Margo taught at key stage 2, then as a secondary English and Drama teacher for several years.
A list of current research can be found under the research tab.
Qualifications
PhD in Education (scholarship)
MSc Educational Research (scholarship)
MA in Creative and Life Writing
BA(Hons)Ed in Education(English)
Professional Qualification:
Associate of Higher Education Academy, Learning to Teach in Higher Education (LTHE Stage 1&2), University of Exeter with Higher Education Academy, September 2011-May 2012
Research group links
Research
Research interests
Community-based participatory research; gender and disability in the global South; education in east and west Africa; building Communities of Practice (CoPs); participatory implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); story as methodology; training community as peer researchers; educational futures; creativity in education.
Research projects
Gender and disability education project research in Senegal and Cameroon 2017-2021 (Irish Aid funded): How do boys and girls with disabilities, their teachers and carers experience or perceive disability in mainstream primary schools; and what are the implications of these perceptions on the participation and quality of learning of boys and girls with disabilities? Lead researcher.
Pamoja project research in Kenya 2015-2020 (DFID funded – project budget £500,000, project research 10%): community researchers are finding out how boys and girls with disabilities, their parents and their teachers are experiencing school inclusion, and what they suggest as key goals of the Sightsavers project starting there. They are also following experiences and outcomes throughout the five years. See more here: https://blog.sightsavers.org/pamoja-project-research-working-towards-access-to-education-for-all/ Lead researcher.
Let’s Grow Together research in Malawi 2015-2018 (research funding £500,000 ESRC/DFID funded – CBPR element 10%): Mixed methods. CBPR element - Community researchers are asking caregivers in childcare centres and parents of infants with disabilities how they are experiencing inclusive early childhood development education and following those experiences as caregivers go through inclusion training. Co-investigator.
Connecting the Dots research in Uganda 2016-7 (£100,000 DFID funded): Mixed methods. CBPR element - Young people with disabilities are asking other young people with disabilities how they perceive their development of skills and chances of sustainable livelihood as they undergo training. Co-investigator.
Education for All project research in Sierra Leone 2016-2020 (750,000 EUROS, EC funded, research 10%): How do children with disabilities, teachers, carers and community members experience or perceive disability in primary schools in the Bombali region of Sierra Leone; and what are the implications of these perceptions on the participation and quality of learning of boys and girls with disabilities? Lead researcher.
Hear My Voice CBPR research in Tanzania 2015 (£100,000K DFID funded): http://journal.km4dev.org/index.php/km4dj/article/viewFile/308/395 Co-investigator. A similar project was also undertaken in Bangladesh as a pilot study
CREAT-IT 2013-2015 (funded by EU Comenius Fund, 40k) - Working with Sarah Hennessy, Charlotte Slade, Kerry Chappell and Alison Black and collaborating with five other European partners. The aim of the project was to develop and support science teachers by integrating creative and cultural activities derived from the arts into their curriculum, therefore engaging students to participate in collaborative, project and case study based activities. http://creatit-project.eu/
Youth Sport Trust and DFE 2013: How schools provide creative futures for children with special educational needs and disabilities particularly in relation to sports. Working with Anna Craft, Will Katene, Rebecca Costello and Alison Black.
Dance Partners for Creativity 2008 – 2011 (AHRC funded). Research assistant for Professor Anna Craft, Dr. Kerry Chappell and Linda Rolfe at Exeter, and with Veronica Jobbins at Laban. ‘What kinds of creative partnerships are manifested between dance-artists and teachers in co-developing the creativity of 11-14 year olds, in dance in education, and how do these develop?
EVALUATION REPORTS FOR:
Soundwaves - a Daisi project in Devon and Torbay from 2012 to 2015, designed to ensure that opportunities exist for children and young people in challenging circumstances to access the National Plan for Music Education. www.daisi.org.uk/artists/310soundwaves
IncluDance - A cross channel arts project starting in April 2013, working with young people who are socially excluded to create a piece of dance work. www.attik.org.uk/project/includance/
FACILITATOR FOR:
Cambridge Primary Review Network Centre School Labs www.primaryreview.org.uk 2013-15
Youth Sport Trust School Labs: School Labs is a support for local schools as they pursue inclusion in sport. 2013-14
COMMISSIONED SCOPING REPORTS:
Royal Opera House Bridge (Arts Council England funded): to identify productive partnerships within ITT in the region; to explore the level of engagement of the cultural sector in ITT; to gauge levels of interest and provision for those entering the teaching profession to learn about creative and cultural provision; to signpost where needs-led collaboration with ROH Bridge might be most fruitful.
COMMISSIONED RESOURCES:
ESRC funded: drawing on the discussions and ideas arising from the Future of Education seminar series, the guide offers a set of practical activities designed to support educators in considering the place of the future in their work.https://s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/esrcfutures/docs/BuildingAgency_EducatorGuide.pdf
AHRC funded: Dance Partners for Creative Partnership resource - exploring the how and what of creative partnerships in Key Stage 3 dance education. http://education.exeter.ac.uk/projects.php?id=339 (downloadable pdf)
Links
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Conferences
Publications by year
2018
2017
2016
2015
Teaching
Guest lecturer for:
Education and Professional Studies (EPS): Action Research (PGCE all subjects)
MEd Creative Arts: Documenting and assessing creativity in education; Creative engagement
MSc Educational Research: Presenting your research
MA Education (part-time): Action Research module (online lectures)