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Dr Karen Walshe

Associate Professor of Education / Director of Education and Student Experience, School of Education / PGCE Secondary RE Subject Lead

4983

+44 (0) 1392 724983

North Cloisters NC138

North Cloisters, University of Exeter, St Luke's Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK

Overview

Qualifications

PhD in Education (2009)

MA in History of Modern Art and Design (1998)

B Religious Studies with QTS (1987)

Career

Associate Professor in Education, School of Education, University of Exeter (2021-present)

Senior Lecturer in Religious Education, School of Education, University of Exeter (2003-2021)

Research Assistant, University of Exeter (1998-2003)

Head of RE, Tremough school, Penryn, Cornwall (1988-1998)

Teacher of RE, Stoodley Knowle school, Torquay, Devon (1987-1988)

Research group links

Centre for Research in Professional Learning

Research

Research interests

Pre-service teachers' personal epistemologies
Teachers' professional learning
What might be meant by 'understanding' in (Religious) Education

In this short video recorded as part of the University of Exeter's "Exe Talks" series, I share some of my research into what might be meant by 'understanding' in Religious Education and explore why the metaphors we use for understanding in Education matter https://youtu.be/qug2XpV5Kaw

Research projects

PROMENTOR: Promoting Mentors’ Work in Education (Erasmus+ project funded by the European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport)
PROTEACH: Promoting teachers' success in their induction period (Erasmus+ project funded by the European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport)
Bridging the Gaps: Negotiating differing constructions of religion and religious education in initial teacher education (funded by St Luke's College Foundation)
The RE-searchers: A critical dialogic approach to RE in primary schools (funded by Culham St Gabriel's Trust)
RETAIN: Creating inclusive and collaborative learning environments (funded by the European Commission)
RE-flect: Metacognition and RE (funded by Esmee Fairbairn)
Exploring Diversity: Enhancing the training of RE teachers (funded by St Luke's College Foundation)
Understanding 'religious' understanding in RE (funded by The Farmington Institute) (http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/education/research/projects/details/index.php?id=104
The Biblos Project (phases 2-4) (funded by The Bible Society)
(report available: please download an order form from our Publications webpage)
The Parables Project
Teaching about Jesus in RE (phases 1 & 2) (funded by The Jerusalem Trust)
(report available: please download an order form from our Publications webpage)

Research networks

Religion, Spirituality and Education Network

Centre for research in Professional Learning

Association for University Lecturers in Religion and Education

International Seminar for Religious Education and Values

Devon Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education

Learn, Teach, Lead RE (South West)

Research grants

2016 Erasmus Plus
The main aim of the project is to create an effective model of teacher induction. The project will involve working with schools and HEIs in the UK, Israel, Estonia, Romania and Austria to develop and trial an intervention program designed to support beginning teachers (BT) during their induction period.
2015 St Luke's College Foundation Trust
The overall aim of the project is to help trainee teachers of Religious Education (secondary school) to examine, explore and find their way through the various (and often conflicting) understanding(s) of religion and religious education that they meet (or have met) in their: a) Undergraduate (and previous post-graduate degree if relevant) b) PGCE course c) Placement schools
2013 European Union
The overall aim of the RETAIN Project is to create and develop an inclusive and creative school environment. An important precondition for this to happen, and thereby ensuring that the children and young people obtain the relevant key competences that are needed for them to thrive in today’s society, is the presence of highly qualified teachers and school managers.
2011 The Farmington Institute
This is a small scale collaborative study with the University of Birmingham which sets out to explore teachers' understanding of 'understanding' in Religious Education.
2004 Westhill Endowment Trust
Publication of Biblos Phase 3 Research Report
2004 Saint Gabriel's Trust
Biblos Project Phase 3 Interview Analysis
2004 Hockerill Educational Trust
Biblos Project Phase 4 (New Zealand)
2004 All Saints Education trust
Publication of Biblos Phase 4 Research Report
2003 SELL Research Committee
Pump-priming visit to the Centre for Research in Religious Education, Dublin, Ireland.
2003 Jerusalem Trust Fund
Second phase of the Teaching about Jesus in RE project
0 St Luke's College Foundation Trust
Pupil perceptions of Interfaith dialogue
0 Templeton
Spiritual development: School provision and pupil outcomes
0 St Luke's College Foundation Trust
Enhancing the preparation of trainee teachers to teach world religions in schools
0 St Luke's College Foundation Trust
Exploring Diversity: Enhancing the Training of Teachers in Religious Education
0 Arts and Humanities Research Council
Opus and Dei and Education: A Political Theology in Action
0 Keswick Hall Trust
This is a small scale collaborative study with the University of Birmingham which sets out to explore pupils' understanding of 'understanding' in religious education
0 St Luke's College Foundation Trust
This project seeks to examine the impact of learning about world religions through visits to faith communities on trainee teachers' understanding of those religious traditions.

Publications

Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year

Key publications

Baumfield V, Bethel A, Dowek A, Walshe K, Mattick K (In Press). Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review. Review of Education Abstract.

Walshe K (2020). Seeing, grasping and constructing: pre-service teachers’ metaphors for ‘understanding’ in religious education. British Journal of Religious Education, 42(4), 471-489. Abstract.

Freathy R, Doney J, Freathy G, Walshe K, Teece G (2017). Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education. British Journal of Educational Studies, 65(4), 425-443. Abstract.

Walshe KSJ, Teece G (2017). Understanding ‘Religious Understanding’ in Religious Education’. In James A, Barnes P (Eds.) Education and Religion, Routledge.

Larkin S, Freathy R, Walshe KSJ, Doney J (2016). Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms. In Kuusisto A, Lovat T (Eds.) Contemporary Challenges for Religious and Spiritual Education, Abingdon: Routledge, 45-56.

Publications by category

Books

Savini, H. Walshe, K. (2003). Biblos Secondary Teacher's Handbook. Norwich, RMEP, SCM Canterbury Press Ltd.

Walshe, K. (2003). Troubled People. Norwich, RMEP, SCM Canterbury Press Ltd.

Journal articles

Baumfield V, Bethel A, Dowek A, Walshe K, Mattick K (In Press). Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review. Review of Education Abstract.

Walshe K (2021). Introduction. British Journal of Religious Education, 43(2), 240-240.

Walshe K (2020). ‘Ah, now I see!’ Why the metaphors we use for ‘understanding’ in RE matter. RE Today, 37, 3

Stern J, Matemba Y, Lundie D, Walshe K (2019). Editorial: Why knowing this matters. British Journal of Religious Education, 41(2), 121-123.

Walshe KSJ (2016). What is meant by 'religious understanding'?. RE Today, 33, 58-60.

Larkin S, Freathy R, Walshe K, Doney J (2014). Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms. Journal of Beliefs and Values: studies in religion and education, 35(2), 175-186. Abstract.

Walshe KSJ, Larkin S, Freathy RJK, Doney J (2014). Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms. Journal of Beliefs and Values: studies in religion and education, 35(2), 175-186.

Walshe KSJ, Teece GM (2013). Understanding 'understanding' in Religious Education. British Journal of Religious Education, 35(3), 313-325. Abstract.

Freathy R, Aylward K (2010). 'Everything is in parables': an exploration of pupils' difficulties in understanding Christian beliefs concerning Jesus. Religious Education (USA), 105(1), 86-102. Abstract.

Aylward K, Freathy, R. (2008). Children's conceptions of Jesus. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 29(3), 297-304. Abstract.

Walshe, K. (2006). PSHE and the Whole Person. Into Teaching, 8, 15-17.

Walshe, K. (2006). Promoting the Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. Into Teaching, 6, 21-22.

Walshe, K. (2006). The problem of Bullying. Into Teaching, 9, 5-7.

Aylward, K. (2006). Who do you say I am? Young people's conceptualisations of Jesus. Journal of Religious Education (Australia), 54(4), 27-36.

Walshe, K. (2005). Caring and Tutoring. Into Teaching, 3, 17-18.

Walshe, K. (2005). Pastoral Care. Into Teaching, 1, 6-7.

Walshe, K. (2005). Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Into Teaching, 5, 23-24.

Walshe, K. (2005). The Whole Person. Into Teaching, Introduction, 8-10.

Walshe, K. (2005). What do young people really think about Jesus?. British Journal of Religious Education, 27(1), 65-78.

Loucaides, C., Chedzoy SM, Bennett, N. Walshe, K. (2004). Correlates of Physical Activity in a Cypriot Sample of Sixth Grade children. Pediatric Exercise Science, 16(1), 25-36.

Walshe, K. (2003). The Jesus Factor. Teaching Thinking, 11, 24-25.

Copley, T. (2001). The Jesus of Agreed Syllabuses in Key Stage 1 and the Jesus of Theology and Religious Studies. British Journal of Religious Education, 24(1), 32-40.

Walshe, K. (2000). The Bible in Upper Secondary School: Not always more boring than 'watching paint dry'. Resource, 23(1), 6-8.

Chapters

Baumfield V, Walshe K (2023). Developing Religious Education teachers’ orientative knowledge: an analysis of provision for professional knowledge formation in England. In Schweitzer F, Freathy R, Parker SG, Simojoki H (Eds.) Improving Religious Education Through Teacher Training: Experiences and Insights from European Countries, Munster. New York: Waxmann, 185-200.

Walshe KSJ (2017). Lesson Planning. In Barnes LP (Ed) Learning to Teach Religious Education in the Secondary School a Companion to School Experience, Routledge, 33-55. Abstract.

Walshe KSJ, Teece G (2017). Understanding ‘Religious Understanding’ in Religious Education’. In James A, Barnes P (Eds.) Education and Religion, Routledge.

Reports

Walshe K, Teece G (2019). PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING OF UNDERSTANDING IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 20 pages. Abstract.

Freathy G, Freathy R, Doney J, Walshe K, Teece G (2015). The RE-searchers: a New Approach to Primary Religious Education. Exeter, University of Exeter.

Copley, T. Freathy, R. (2006). Biblos in New Zealand: the 4th Report of the Biblos project. Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.

Allen G, Copley, T. Freathy, R. Jones, S. Walshe K (2006). Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education: Improving Children's learning. Exeter, University of Exeter.

Allen, G. Copley, T. Freathy, R. (2006). Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education: Improving Children's learning. Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.

Copley, T. Freathy, R. Lane, S. (2006). The Speech of Angels: an extension to the third report of the Biblos Project. Exeter, School of Education & Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter/Scope/DfES.

Copley, T. Freathy, R. Walshe K (2005). Teaching Biblical Narrative: a summary of the main findings of the Biblos Project, 1996-2004. University of Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

Copley, T. Freathy, R, Lane, S. (2004). On the side of the Angels: the third report of the Biblos Project. Exeter, University of Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

Copley, T.D (2002). The Figure of Jesus in Religious Education, the report of the Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education Project. Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.

Lane, S. Savini, H. Walshe, K. (2001). Where Angels Fear to Tread: the second report of the Biblos Project. University of Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

Walshe, K. (2000). Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education. Exeter. School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

Walshe, K. (Eds) (1999). Teaching the Bible. Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.

Publications by year

In Press

Baumfield V, Bethel A, Dowek A, Walshe K, Mattick K (In Press). Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review. Review of Education Abstract.

2023

2022

Sepúlveda Escobar P (2022). Designing a Professional Learning Community to foster professional growth: the case of ESOL teacher educators.

While much of the educational literature is inundated with studies that examine school-teachers’ Professional Development and Learning (PDL), less attention has been given to teacher educators and their own professional learning. Recently, this group of professionals has been internationally described as an under-researched and under-represented group in teacher education since attention to them and their professional learning is still in its infancy. Much of the flourishing research comes from a generic perspective without addressing the uniqueness of the specific disciplines teacher educators teach, which might influence and shape their PDL engagement. Motivated by this global research and my own local experience as a teacher educator in Chile, this study aims to examine how a Professional Learning Community (PLC) could contribute to fostering English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher educators’ PDL in Chile, bringing to light their pivotal role in the education of language teachers.

Drawing on a critical paradigm that challenges the marginalization of teacher educators, this study used a Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology to design, implement and evaluate a PLC. This methodology involved three phases. For the first exploratory phase, data were collected from a national web-based survey and a focus group with eight ESOL teacher educators working in a private university. These data enabled the confirmation of the lack of attention to teacher educators and their PDL in Chile, providing the theoretical and empirical foundation for the following phase.

In the second prototyping phase, the participants (6 in the first iteration and 5 in the second) and I outlined an initial design framework to guide the development of the PLC using the analysed data from the previous phase. This design was implemented, evaluated and refined in two iterations where focus groups and individual semi-structured interviews were used to gather the participants’ insights into the PLC experience. For the final evaluation and reflection phase, the evolution of the PLC design was revisited and refined which resulted in the finalised design framework which includes design principles and implementation strategies to build a PLC.

Since the development of this project concurred with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the discussion of the findings for each iteration and the finalised design framework revolve around how a PLC is used to promote teacher educators’ PDL, particularly during times of change and uncertainty. The findings revealed the importance of studying these professionals from a perspective on the subject-area they work in as it certainly influences their professional learning engagement. Indeed, addressing it from a discipline-related approach could disclose aspects that have not been addressed in studies about teacher educators in general. For example, ESOL teacher educators identified the need to learn about teaching English in a diverse classroom and how to prepare (future) language teachers to face these complexities.

This study also confirmed generally-recognised PLC characteristics as necessary to enact a PLC. However, other features, typically mentioned as conditions or supportive structures, are required to be brought to the surface as equally fundamental and intertwined aspects for PLC building. This calls for the need to stop segregating supportive conditions and structures from the so-called main PLC characteristics as they are equally important for the success of the community. Indeed, if these supportive structures were absent, none of those features that typically characterize a PLC (e.g. shared vision, reflective inquiry) would be developed. This study also adds to the literature on PLC providing a fine-grained account on the building and evolution of a PLC. Finally, this study also highlights the relevance of focusing on teacher educators’ self as an integral baseline to promote professional learning which would potentially stop detaching teachers as professionals from their individual selves. When PDL initiatives find the balance between the personal and the professional, teachers’ professionalism will undoubtedly be enhanced. Implications of the PLC design framework and its contribution to professional learning are discussed alongside limitations of the study and recommendation for further research.

Abstract.

Pearson A (2022). Teacher resilience: Long-serving. teachers' perspectives on factors. which have sustained them in. their careers.

Concerns have been raised over many years about both the number of teachers leaving the profession and those suffering from physical or mental ill-health, and the impact of this on students and schools as well as on teachers themselves. “Resilience” is a concept which has been used in many disciplines to explain why some people appear to have successfully navigated challenging situations, and teacher resilience has become the focus of a growing body of international research. Whilst it is often presented as a critical factor for teacher retention, student achievement and teacher wellbeing, there is no universal definition for teacher resilience, and relatively few recent empirical studies which seek the views of teachers on this concept.

This thesis investigates the experiences of eight long-serving teachers in England (with careers ranging from 14 to 25 years) to gain a better understanding of what has sustained them through their teaching career, as well as the challenges they have experienced, and how this relates to current conceptualisations of teacher resilience. Teacher-created visual timelines were used to support in-depth interviews, where participants provided considerable detail about the complexities of their journeys as they navigated their careers. Interview and timeline data were analysed using a dual analysis approach to create detailed, complex and nuanced findings.

Findings from this study indicate that teachers face multiple challenges throughout their careers, and these challenges are greatest when they involve more than one dimension of teachers’ practical, cognitive and emotional workload. Teachers are sustained by a combination of environment-centred, role-centred and person-centred factors, with this mix of factors depending on context at different points in time. Findings highlight the impact of school leadership on multiple environmental factors within the school culture and conditions, whilst person-centred factors include teachers’ approach to the role, encompassing agency, acceptance, hope and perseverance.

This research also identifies the significance of transitions between schools as a critical moment of vulnerability, which has not previously received attention in the educational research literature.

Findings also illustrate the individual nature of the relationship between teachers and their environments, and the temporal nature of the balance between challenges and supporting factors. By suggesting teacher resilience is both idiosyncratic and dynamic, this research indicates that both teachers and schools may benefit from better understanding the factors which have the greatest impact on individual teachers at a particular moment in time. Other implications are also proposed for teacher trainers, schools and policymakers, and future directions for research are recommended.

Abstract.

2021

Alnefaie SK (2021). EFL Teachers’ Perceptions in Saudi Arabia of the role of Self- Directed Learning in their Professional Development.

The central aim of this study is to explore how Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers perceive self-directed learning (SDL) in the context of their professional development (PD) to view the potential of teachers to take the initiative in pursuing their own professional development and whether this is possible in the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). SDL has been proposed as a means of achieving the aims of teachers’ PD, but it can be difficult to reach an agreed definition of the concept. However, the literature review suggests a paucity of research on the topic of SDL as a means of teachers’ PD, and research on teachers’ PD tends to focus on central PD provided by teachers’ institutions.

Therefore, this study seeks to address the gap in knowledge regarding the potential of SDL for professional development through a review of current research on the concept and an exploration of the perspectives of EFL teachers in the KSA. The study utilised semi-structured interviews to collect data from twenty Saudi EFL teachers, and the data were thematically analysed.

Whilst the majority of the participants in this study recognised the benefit of SDL for PD, arguing that it can be a cornerstone of PD, they did not consider it to be encouraged institutionally or societally in a broader sense. In addition, the data revealed that the participants usually linked responsibility for the provision for PD with the MoE that they considered responsible for this aspect. Also, the data revealed that teachers perceived that they required the help of the MoE in supporting their learning through the provision of effective PD.

Despite the participants’ belief in the benefits of SDL, the data analysis showed that some teachers do not self-direct their learning for their PD and those that do, tend to discontinue to engage in SDL activities due to several demotivating factors. Furthermore, certain teachers explained that they started to engage in SDL later, after several years of teaching while others expressed the view that they do self-direct their learning, but in an intermittent manner. The common denominator or characteristic of teachers’ SDL is that it is unplanned and difficult to sustain.

As far as the factors impacting positively or negatively on the participants’ SDL are concerned, the data suggest that a number of factors encourage teachers to learn while other factors tend to discourage them. Most of these encouraging and discouraging factors are external factors which relate to the MoE policy or the workplace environment, and a few relate to teachers’ personal factors. With regard to the SDL sources, the data showed multiple sources teachers learn from, and it was indicated that most of these sources are outside teachers’ workplaces. Finally, the study concluded with a number of implications and recommendations.

Abstract.

Walshe K (2021). Introduction. British Journal of Religious Education, 43(2), 240-240.

2020

Schmidt A (2020). Discovering Views of the Divine: an Interreligious, Transcendence-Orientated Approach to Theological Content in Religious Education.

The development of students’ theological understanding(s) in British multi-faith Religious Education (RE), specifically in schools without a religious affiliation, has been much debated (Astley and Francis, 1996; Cush, 1999; Copley, 2001, 2005; Reed et al. 2013; Chipperton et al. 2016; Freathy and Davis, 2019). Critical views on the use of theological approaches aimed at furthering such understanding(s) are often based on the assumption of a general incompatibility between the discipline of Theology – especially if interpreted in the sense of ‘faith seeking understanding’ – and certain values of non-confessional, multi-faith RE such as impartiality and tolerance of a plurality of perspectives (Smart, 1983; Netto, 1989; Brine, 2016a, 2016b). Herein, theology is generally described as presenting a risk of religious indoctrination (see Parsons 1994; Hull, 2004; Copley, 2005; Cooling, 2010). Yet, what has not been sufficiently explored is whether or not, and if so, on what argumentative grounds, this theory is tenable – by clarifying, for instance, what conditions theological approaches would have to fulfil to be adequate for schools without a religious affiliation.

Using the method of critical analysis of selected literature in a process of dialogic philosophical argumentation, this thesis seeks, first, to reveal that the (perceived) compatibility problem described above is unnecessary, only occurring if Theology and RE, and the relationship between them, are defined in mutually irreconcilable ways; and second, to propose an alternative theologically orientated approach to RE designed, specifically, for the study of multiple theistic religions in religiously unaffiliated schools. The thesis draws the following main conclusions: to ensure that approaches aimed at furthering theological understanding(s) are suitable for non-confessional, multi-faith RE, they must never presuppose faith in the divine on the part of the students (or teachers) and should be applicable to all monotheistic and polytheistic religions studied in RE, thereby offering opportunities for interreligious investigation. Moreover, in an attempt to propose an approach that meets these requirements in a way that maximises the distinctive contribution Theology can make to non-confessional RE, alongside other disciplines, the thesis promotes the view that, in this particular educational context, theology should be defined primarily, but not exclusively so, by its objects of study (rather than methods), that is the key concepts, beliefs and doctrines relating to the divine found in these traditions. and finally, this content-based and (potentially) interreligious view of theology should, in turn, be embedded in a broader hermeneutical framework within which theistic religions are explored through an interpretive lens that assumes the centrality of transcendence in religious belief, which – for theists – arguably manifests itself in an orientation towards the divine in their personal and communal lives. This is in order to balance philosophical focal points in the conceptualisation of religion(s), e.g. emphasising conceptual/doctrinal aspects, with a more life-centred view of theistic faith that defines being religious in this context as standing in a meaningful relationship with the divine.

Advantages of choosing this combined content-based/life-centred approach to furthering theological understanding(s) (e.g. as one element in a broader multi-methodological, interdisciplinary approach to RE) are that it enables students to explore the complexity of theistic belief, systematically and with the potential for careful interreligious comparison, which neither crosses the line to confessionalism, nor disregards the self-understandings and specificities of individual theistic traditions, revealed in their various ways of ‘God-centredness’. This discussion is particularly important today because current literacy-focused propositions for RE (see Clarke and Woodhead, 2015; Dinham and Shaw, 2016; CoRE, 2018) pay little attention to the role theological understanding(s) may play in developing religious literacy as a broader aim of RE.

Abstract.

Walshe K (2020). ‘Ah, now I see!’ Why the metaphors we use for ‘understanding’ in RE matter. RE Today, 37, 3

2019

Stern J, Matemba Y, Lundie D, Walshe K (2019). Editorial: Why knowing this matters. British Journal of Religious Education, 41(2), 121-123.

Walshe K, Teece G (2019). PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING OF UNDERSTANDING IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 20 pages. Abstract.

2017

Walshe KSJ (2017). Lesson Planning. In Barnes LP (Ed) Learning to Teach Religious Education in the Secondary School a Companion to School Experience, Routledge, 33-55. Abstract.

Walshe KSJ, Teece G (2017). Understanding ‘Religious Understanding’ in Religious Education’. In James A, Barnes P (Eds.) Education and Religion, Routledge.

2016

Walshe KSJ (2016). What is meant by 'religious understanding'?. RE Today, 33, 58-60.

2015

Freathy G, Freathy R, Doney J, Walshe K, Teece G (2015). The RE-searchers: a New Approach to Primary Religious Education. Exeter, University of Exeter.

2014

2013

Walshe KSJ, Teece GM (2013). Understanding 'understanding' in Religious Education. British Journal of Religious Education, 35(3), 313-325. Abstract.

2010

2008

Aylward K, Freathy, R. (2008). Children's conceptions of Jesus. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 29(3), 297-304. Abstract.

2006

Copley, T. Freathy, R. (2006). Biblos in New Zealand: the 4th Report of the Biblos project. Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.

Walshe, K. (2006). PSHE and the Whole Person. Into Teaching, 8, 15-17.

Walshe, K. (2006). Promoting the Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. Into Teaching, 6, 21-22.

Allen G, Copley, T. Freathy, R. Jones, S. Walshe K (2006). Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education: Improving Children's learning. Exeter, University of Exeter.

Allen, G. Copley, T. Freathy, R. (2006). Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education: Improving Children's learning. Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.

Walshe, K. (2006). The problem of Bullying. Into Teaching, 9, 5-7.

Aylward, K. (2006). Who do you say I am? Young people's conceptualisations of Jesus. Journal of Religious Education (Australia), 54(4), 27-36.

2005

Walshe, K. (2005). Caring and Tutoring. Into Teaching, 3, 17-18.

Walshe, K. (2005). Pastoral Care. Into Teaching, 1, 6-7.

Walshe, K. (2005). Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Into Teaching, 5, 23-24.

Walshe, K. (2005). The Whole Person. Into Teaching, Introduction, 8-10.

Walshe, K. (2005). What do young people really think about Jesus?. British Journal of Religious Education, 27(1), 65-78.

2004

Loucaides, C., Chedzoy SM, Bennett, N. Walshe, K. (2004). Correlates of Physical Activity in a Cypriot Sample of Sixth Grade children. Pediatric Exercise Science, 16(1), 25-36.

Copley, T. Freathy, R, Lane, S. (2004). On the side of the Angels: the third report of the Biblos Project. Exeter, University of Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

2003

Savini, H. Walshe, K. (2003). Biblos Secondary Teacher's Handbook. Norwich, RMEP, SCM Canterbury Press Ltd.

Walshe, K. (2003). The Jesus Factor. Teaching Thinking, 11, 24-25.

Walshe, K. (2003). Troubled People. Norwich, RMEP, SCM Canterbury Press Ltd.

2002

2001

Copley, T. (2001). The Jesus of Agreed Syllabuses in Key Stage 1 and the Jesus of Theology and Religious Studies. British Journal of Religious Education, 24(1), 32-40.

Lane, S. Savini, H. Walshe, K. (2001). Where Angels Fear to Tread: the second report of the Biblos Project. University of Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

2000

Walshe, K. (2000). Teaching about Jesus in Religious Education. Exeter. School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

Walshe, K. (2000). The Bible in Upper Secondary School: Not always more boring than 'watching paint dry'. Resource, 23(1), 6-8.

1999

Walshe, K. (Eds) (1999). Teaching the Bible. Exeter, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.

karen_walshe Details from cache as at 2023-12-02 00:34:24

Refresh publications

External Engagement and Impact

Advice to Government, Parliament, devolved and English regional administrations, other national, international, regional or local agencies; advice to non-government organisations and to private practice

Member for the Subject Review Panel for RE (Phase 1) (appointed by the RE Council for England and Wales)

As a member of the Devon Standing Advisory Council for RE (SACRE) I am actively involved in influencing RE policy at both national level and local level.

Chief External Examiner for Bath Spa University, 2013-

External Examiner for MA in Religious Studies, University of Warwick, 2012-

External Examiner for Secondary PGCE Theology, York St John University, 2010-2013.

External Examiner for Secondary PGCE RE, University of Birmingham, 2010-2013.

External Examiner for the North West and Lancashire GTP Consortium 2006-2010.

External Examiner for Secondary PGCE RE, University of East London, 2006-2010.

External Examiner for Secondary PGCE RE programme at University of East London 2006-2010.

Evidence of impact on policy and professional practice

Deputy General Secretary for the International Seminar for Religious Education and Values (ISREV)

Book reviews editor for the British Journal of Religious Education

Member for the Subject Review Panel for RE (Phase 1) (appointed by the RE Council for England and Wales)

Reviewer for the British Journal of Religious Education

Deputy General Secretary of the International Seminar on Religion, Education and Values (ISREV) (elected)

Member of the Steering Group for the DCSF funded CPD in Religious Education

Member of the Professional Council for RE (PCfRE)

Member of the Devon Standing Advisory Council for RE (SACRE) (elected)

Induction and Mentor Training of teachers working on ITE programmes at the University of Exeter.

International recognition, such as international research collaborations, visiting research posts in overseas institutions, involvement at senior levels in international research associations, acting as referee for national and international research councils.

Appointed Deputy General Secretary for the International Seminar for Religious Education and Values (ISREV)

Hosted AULRE conference at the University of Exeter, July 2009

Founding Member of the Irish British RE Research Initiative (IBREI).

Co-host of the biennial Inter-University (Ireland and England) Research Colloquium for research students in Religion and Education, Oxford, 22-24th April 2008

Research-based contributions to practitioner and academic conferences

Invited to speak at the Learn, Teach, Lead RE Conference, November 2016

Sept 2015, Annual conference for Universtiy Lecturers in Religion and Education (AULRE), St Mary's Twickenham.

Keynote speaker at the Learn, Teach, Lead RE Conference, November 2014

Keynote speaker at the North of England RE Conference, May 2013

July 2012, biennial International Seminar on Religion, Education and Values (ISREV), Finland.

Invited to speak at the Westhill Seminars on Religious Education 16-18th March 2012.

July 2010, biennial International Seminar on Religion, Education and Values (ISREV), Ottawa, Canada.

July/August 2008, biennial International Seminar on Religion, Education and Values (ISREV), Ankara, Turkey.

July 2008, annual conference of the Association of University Lecturers in Religion and Education (AULRE), Cambridge.

April 2008 biennial Religion and Education Research Colloquium, Oxford.

July/August 2006, biennial International Seminar on Religion, Education and Values (ISREV), Driebergen, the Netherlands.

September 2004, annual conference of the Association of University Lectureres in RE (AULRE), Canterbury.

In-Service Training Courses for Headteachers, RE Advisors and RE teachers

Supervisor for the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies.

Teaching

Religious Education

Intitial and Continuing Teacher Education

Modules

2023/24

Supervision / Group

Postgraduate researchers

Ahmed Alghamdi
Bjorn Fuisting
Ismael Louber
John Gerard O'Connell
Alison Pearson
Karen Scott-Boyd
Paulina Sepulveda
Laura Webb

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profile

Dr Karen Walshe

Associate Professor of Education / Director of Education and Student Experience, School of Education / PGCE Secondary RE Subject Lead

Overview

Qualifications

Career

Links

Research group links

Research

Research interests

Research projects

Research networks

Research grants

Links

Publications

Key publications

Abstract:Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

Abstract:Seeing, grasping and constructing: pre-service teachers’ metaphors for ‘understanding’ in religious education

Abstract:Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education

Publications by category

Books

Journal articles

Abstract:Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

Abstract:Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

Abstract:Seeing, grasping and constructing: pre-service teachers’ metaphors for ‘understanding’ in religious education

Abstract:Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education

Abstract:Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms

Abstract:Understanding 'understanding' in Religious Education

Abstract:'Everything is in parables': an exploration of pupils' difficulties in understanding Christian beliefs concerning Jesus

Abstract:Children's conceptions of Jesus

Chapters

Abstract:Lesson Planning

Reports

Abstract:PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING OF UNDERSTANDING IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Publications by year

In Press

Abstract:Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

Abstract:Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

2023

2022

Abstract:Designing a Professional Learning Community to foster professional growth: the case of ESOL teacher educators

Abstract:Teacher resilience: Long-serving. teachers' perspectives on factors. which have sustained them in. their careers

2021

Abstract:EFL Teachers’ Perceptions in Saudi Arabia of the role of Self- Directed Learning in their Professional Development

2020

Abstract:Discovering Views of the Divine: an Interreligious, Transcendence-Orientated Approach to Theological Content in Religious Education

Abstract:Seeing, grasping and constructing: pre-service teachers’ metaphors for ‘understanding’ in religious education

2019

Abstract:PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING OF UNDERSTANDING IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

2017

Abstract:Lesson Planning

Abstract:Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education

2016

2015

2014

Abstract:Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms

2013

Abstract:Understanding 'understanding' in Religious Education

2010

Abstract:'Everything is in parables': an exploration of pupils' difficulties in understanding Christian beliefs concerning Jesus

2008

Abstract:Children's conceptions of Jesus

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

External Engagement and Impact

Advice to Government, Parliament, devolved and English regional administrations, other national, international, regional or local agencies; advice to non-government organisations and to private practice

Evidence of impact on policy and professional practice

International recognition, such as international research collaborations, visiting research posts in overseas institutions, involvement at senior levels in international research associations, acting as referee for national and international research councils.

Research-based contributions to practitioner and academic conferences

Teaching

Modules

2023/24

Supervision / Group

Postgraduate researchers

Abstract:
Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

Abstract:
Seeing, grasping and constructing: pre-service teachers’ metaphors for ‘understanding’ in religious education

Abstract:
Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education

Abstract:
Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

Abstract:
Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

Abstract:
Seeing, grasping and constructing: pre-service teachers’ metaphors for ‘understanding’ in religious education

Abstract:
Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education

Abstract:
Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms

Abstract:
Understanding 'understanding' in Religious Education

Abstract:
'Everything is in parables': an exploration of pupils' difficulties in understanding Christian beliefs concerning Jesus

Abstract:
Children's conceptions of Jesus

Abstract:
Lesson Planning

Abstract:
PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING OF UNDERSTANDING IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Abstract:
Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

Abstract:
Characteristics of Research into Professional Learning across Professions: a mapping review

Abstract:
Designing a Professional Learning Community to foster professional growth: the case of ESOL teacher educators

Abstract:
Teacher resilience: Long-serving. teachers' perspectives on factors. which have sustained them in. their careers

Abstract:
EFL Teachers’ Perceptions in Saudi Arabia of the role of Self- Directed Learning in their Professional Development

Abstract:
Discovering Views of the Divine: an Interreligious, Transcendence-Orientated Approach to Theological Content in Religious Education

Abstract:
Seeing, grasping and constructing: pre-service teachers’ metaphors for ‘understanding’ in religious education

Abstract:
PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING OF UNDERSTANDING IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Abstract:
Lesson Planning

Abstract:
Pedagogical Bricoleurs and Bricolage Researchers: the case of Religious Education

Abstract:
Creating metacognitive environments in primary school RE classrooms

Abstract:
Understanding 'understanding' in Religious Education

Abstract:
'Everything is in parables': an exploration of pupils' difficulties in understanding Christian beliefs concerning Jesus

Abstract:
Children's conceptions of Jesus