Below you’ll find one of three abstracts submitted for presentation at the Society for Educational Studies 2024 annual conference in Oxford. All three were accepted. I chose to present this one, as it aligned most closely with my current line of research. You can find the other accepted abstract here. The same abstracts were submitted for the Jubilee Centre’s 2025 […]
Cultivating radical hope Read More »
Below you’ll find one of three abstracts submitted for presentation at the Society for Educational Studies 2024 annual conference in Oxford. All three were accepted. I chose to present this one, as it aligned most closely with my current line of research. You can find the other accepted abstract here. The same abstracts were submitted for the
The corruption claim Read More »
Below you’ll find an abstract based on the sixth essay I wrote for my MA in Character Education (2022-25). The abstract was accepted for presentation at the European Character and Virtue Association’s (ECVA) 2024 annual conference in Rome. Alas, due to teaching commitments, I was unable to attend. However, I later submitted it as one
Rewards and justice Read More »
Below you’ll find the first abstract that I submitted for presentation at a conference – the Jubilee Centre’s 2024 annual conference on the theme of leadership. The abstract was shortlisted, though ultimately not accepted. Still, I consider that a good result for a first attempt! A phronimos is someone who possesses phronesis or “practical wisdom”
Ideal leaders as collective phronimoi Read More »
My thinking regarding my PhD research often changes. I will use this post to chronicle those changes, starting with my most recent thoughts. As of 26th September 2025: The following is an abstract I wrote for my student profile: Character development involves internalising virtues such as honesty, kindness, and bravery; and a virtue is internalised
The role of reflection in character development Read More »
The sixth module of my MA in Character Education (2022-25) was about leadership. This was my opportunity to articulate a vision for leading character education at my school. I had already critiqued my school’s approach to character education – especially its rewards policy – in several previous essays. Now, I had to think about what
Character is what we do in the toilets! Read More »
Below you’ll find the sixth essay I wrote for my MA in Character Education (2022-25). I struggled with this one. I had an idea that I wanted to explore – something I’d touched on in a previous assignment. I wanted to investigate the effect that rewards have on onlookers (i.e., non-recipients), an important issue given
Rewards, justice, and dialogue Read More »
For the fourth module of my MA in Character Education (2022-25), I returned to the idea that rewards can be used to lure otherwise unmotivated children into developing intrinsic (or more autonomous) motivation for virtuous behaviours (see Key concepts). In a previous essay, I outlined how this “lure” hypothesis might be tested in a controlled
Testing the lure hypothesis in school Read More »
Below you’ll find the fourth essay I wrote for my MA in Character Education (2022-25). This one was a bit different – it was for a History and Politics module, very much outside my comfort zone! I decided to explore the issue of equity, which is a constant area of focus at my school, serving
How much character development is enough? Read More »
Below you’ll find the third essay I wrote for my MA in Character Education (2022-25). In my previous essay, I explored the idea that rewards might be used to kickstart intrinsic motivation for virtuous behaviours, arguing that the hypothesis was at least theoretically plausible. In this essay, I take a step further – designing an
Intrinsic via extrinsic motivation: A possible test Read More »
