Teacher Educator

The new Centre for Excellence for Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy seeks to appoint an outstanding teacher educator with a proven track record of delivering highly effective CPD in Modern Foreign Languages.  This is a unique opportunity to join an extensive and ambitious programme to reinvigorate language learning in secondary schools in England with a research-informed approach. The successful candidate will join a bespoke team of nationally and internationally renowned researchers and teacher educators, dedicated to ensuring that language pedagogy is strengthened and languages are re-situated at the core of secondary school education. The Centre will direct and support the work of Specialist Teachers in nine Lead Schools each working with their local Hub schools (45 schools in total) and their extended networks (an additional 90 schools).

The main aims of the Centre are (1) to develop and disseminate research-informed pedagogic knowledge, training, and resources and (2) to monitor and evaluate the Centre and its network schools' performance against the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), as specified by the Department for Education. The KPIs are to increase pupil uptake of MFL at GCSE and increase teacher knowledge and confidence in delivering the recommendations of the Review of MFL Pedagogy published by the Teaching School's Council in 2016.   Applicants are strongly advised to be familiar with this report, available here: 

Role

Reporting to the Co-Director, Dr Rachel Hawkes, and the Director, Prof Emma Marsden, the person appointed will be a key part of the Centre’s senior management team, playing a pivotal role in the development and implementation of the Centre’s work.  The main responsibility will be to manage and take a leading role in the programme of research-informed training of the Lead School Specialist Teachers, supporting and monitoring their work in the Hubs. The work will involve understanding research relating to (in particular) the learning and teaching of vocabulary, grammar, and phonics and to the role of knowledge and practice, in order to apply these ideas and principles to delivering an engaging and enduring package of CPD events and resources. 

Skills, Experience & Qualifications needed

We welcome applications from candidates with a good honours degree in Modern Foreign Languages, preferably with a combination of French, German or Spanish, as well as a suitable teaching qualification, e.g. PGCE or equivalent.  The person appointed will have extensive classroom languages teaching experience, as well as experience of leading languages CPD and a good or emerging understanding of research underpinning the Review of MFL Pedagogy.  Involvement in languages education beyond the classroom, such as the design of curriculum materials, publishing, examining, or research is also desirable.

In addition to an excellent understanding of classroom languages teaching in England and evidence of successful in-school development work with languages teachers and/or senior leadership teams, the post holder will have a clear commitment to research-informed pedagogy and curriculum development work, and ideally some experience of undertaking research to evaluate its impact.

This post is available full time or part time (with a minimum of two days per week), up to 2 December 2020 (with a possible extension until December 2022). Two part-time posts would be considered. The post is available to start on 3 December or as soon as possible thereafter. Job share applications are welcome.

Candidates may contact Professor Emma Marsden, Centre Director, for any informal enquiries (Tel: 01904 323335 / Email: emma.marsden@york.ac.uk).

Closing date: 19 November 2018

Interview date: 5 December 2018

Vacancy reference: 7137