Overview
I joined Exeter University in 2017 as a Doctoral Researcher based at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health in Truro, Cornwall. My PhD examined how schools can nurture healthier and more environmentally aware young people, using mixed methods including evidence synthesis and qualitative approaches.
Since completing my thesis, I have worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher in The Graduate School of Education before returning to Public Health and Sports Sciences as a Lecturer. I am Coordinator of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health (SPHR) Public Partners Advisory Network (PPaN), and I am also a qualified Primary School Teacher and have worked in schools since 2013, teaching across Key Stage 1 and 2. I also have experience as a Curriculum Leader for Physical Education and in designing and delivering a range of outdoor experiential learning activities and social and emotional learning interventions for children.
Qualifications
- PhD Medical Studies
- MSc Environment, Culture and Society
- BA Hons Primary Teacher Education with Qualified Teacher Status
Research
Research interests
My research interests include children and young people's wellbeing, the implementation of evidence-based practice in educational settings, and public involvement and engagement in research. I am particularly interested in the connections between these areas.
In terms of methods, I have a particular interest in evidence synthesis, qualitative approaches, and realist review. I am also passionate about developing new approaches in public involvement and engagement which generate co-production and creativity
Research projects
Currently, I am working on a project funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) which is examining the implementation of evidence-based practice in the school context. Particularly, how implementation is conceptualised, how it works, for who and in which contexts. I work with colleagues across Public Health and Education on four research packages including theoretical evidence review, a mixed method study of senior leaders based in English schools, evidence mapping, and realist synthesis.
The findings of this project will inform the evidence base around school-based implementation as well as informing guidance and resources for schools developed by the EEF
Grants
- Education Endowment Foundation 2021-2022: A review of the evidence of implementation in education to inform an update to the Education Endowment Foundation guidance report ‘Putting Evidence to Work: A School’s Guide to Implementation’
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Proctor R, Guell C, Wyatt K, Williams AJ (In Press). What is the evidence base for integrating health and environmental approaches in the school context to nurture healthier and more environmentally aware young people? a systematic scoping review of global evidence. Health and Place
Conferences
Proctor R, Guell C, Wyatt K, Williams AJ (2019). WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE BASE FOR INTEGRATING HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDAS IN THE SCHOOL CONTEXT TO IMPROVE HEALTHY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE BEHAVIOURS? a SYSTEMATIC SCOPING REVIEW OF GLOBAL EVIDENCE.
Author URL.
Publications by year
In Press
Proctor R, Guell C, Wyatt K, Williams AJ (In Press). What is the evidence base for integrating health and environmental approaches in the school context to nurture healthier and more environmentally aware young people? a systematic scoping review of global evidence. Health and Place
2022
Proctor R (2022). Healthy Green Schools: Investigating how schools can nurture healthier and more environmentally aware young people.
Abstract:
Healthy Green Schools: Investigating how schools can nurture healthier and more environmentally aware young people
Background/Aims -
With complex problems relating to climate change and human health shaping society in the twenty-first century, the ability of schools to foster awareness and proactive behaviours around these issues is of pressing concern to public health practitioners, educators, and policymakers. This exploratory and iterative thesis maps what is known about the extent and range of integrated health and sustainability approaches undertaken in schools globally. It explores why schools have acted around these issues and how.
Methods -
A mixed-methods research approach makes use of current evidence to inform effective and responsive further inquiries. The thesis consists of three empirical research studies that were designed and undertaken sequentially, as follows:
1. Systematic scoping review of global evidence (Chapter 3)
2. Thematic synthesis of global evidence (Chapter 4)
3. In-depth qualitative case study of New Zealand Enviroschools
(Chapters 5 and 6)
Findings -
The systematic scoping review of global evidence collated 87 sources. The four main areas in which integrated approaches were implemented were: teaching and learning (n= 27), physical environment adaptations (n= 23), ecologically focused policy development (n= 13) and whole-school holistic approaches (n= 12). Evidence has increased in the last two decades and is heterogeneous in nature, with few sustained attempts to explain the potential role of theory in design, implementation, and evaluation of healthy green approaches.
The thematic synthesis generated four key drivers of integrated approaches: an awareness of the urgency of issues related to the environment and human health; a need for systemic solutions to wicked problems; increased levels of reflective curiosity; and a focus on transformative actions. Across the evidence, integrated approaches were thought to foster connected systems (between upstream and downstream school influences) and connected thinking (through action-oriented, place-based experiences). The evidence suggests that holistic approaches that seek to reorient whole-school culture through action and policy are deemed most likely to reflect the urgency and systemic nature of the climate emergency. Across disciplines, three theories resonate with integrated school-based action and policy: (eco)sociological theories (education), transformation theories (social science), and salutogenesis (public health).
The in-depth qualitative case study of New Zealand ‘Enviroschools’ reveals the importance of quality relationships with others, environments, and oneself in the design, implementation, and sustainability of an approach that aims to foster healthier and more environmentally aware young people within the mainstream school context. Implementation strategies such as planning using a sustainability lens, co-ordination between regional and national networks, and providing those involved with feedback in context, were associated with building and nurturing quality relationships across the school community by encouraging connections and a shift in mindset around change.
Implications -
The findings generated in this thesis outline why a mainstream movement towards an integrated conceptual ‘third space’ may be necessary at the intersection between health, environment, and education. This ‘third space’ refers to an integration of health (first space) and environment (second space) into a socioecological (third space) that is united in its complexity rather than divided into separate complex problems. A movement towards an integrated conceptual ‘third space’ may connect previously disaggregated systems and thinking to reveal transformative and pragmatic ways in which schools can develop, implement, and sustain action and policy which nurtures healthier and more environmentally aware young people.
Abstract.
2019
Proctor R, Guell C, Wyatt K, Williams AJ (2019). WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE BASE FOR INTEGRATING HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDAS IN THE SCHOOL CONTEXT TO IMPROVE HEALTHY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE BEHAVIOURS? a SYSTEMATIC SCOPING REVIEW OF GLOBAL EVIDENCE.
Author URL.
rachel_proctor Details from cache as at 2023-03-23 20:45:21
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External Engagement and Impact
Committee/panel activities
Deputy Chair of NIHR SPHR Early Career Researcher Network (ResNet).
Teaching
I teach and tutor postgraduate students on the Master’s in Public Health (MPH).