Qualifications
- BA
- MA
- PGCert
- PhD / DPhil (University of Sheffield)
Summary
Richard Woolley is Professor and Head of the School of Education. He joined the University of Hull in November 2021, having worked previously at the University of Worcester as Head of Centre for Education and Inclusion, Deputy Head of the School of Education and Professor of Education and Inclusion. His career started in primary education in North Yorkshire, before moving to work in further and higher education in Derbyshire and then returning to primary school teaching in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. He has served as deputy headteacher and special educational needs coordinator, as well as being curriculum coordinator for several subjects across the primary phase of education. He worked in primary initial teacher education at Bishop Grosseteste University from 2003 - 2011. Richard was named a National Teaching Fellow in 2018. He is also a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Historical Society, and a Principal Fellow of the HEA. He chaired the review of the QAA Subject Benchmark for Education Studies in 2024/25.
Richard's areas of focus include:
* diversity, equality and inclusion issues in education
* Education Studies
* approaches to difficult and controversial issues in Primary Education
* citizenship and PSHE
* relationships and sex education
* religious education and children's spirituality
* the pedagogy of Holocaust education
Research interests
Richard's professional and research interests centre on areas relating to inclusion, diversity and equality, including the personal and social development of children, values and issues in primary education and special educational needs provision. He has published in the areas of children's spirituality, relationships and sex education, inclusion and tackling controversial issues in primary schools. Recent research projects have focused on anti-bullying education and an EU Erasmus+ funded project enabling lecturers to support their students who have disabilities and learning needs.