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Hannah Durham

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Deputy Head of School

Faculty:
Faculty of Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
School:
School of Education
Location:
Chelmsford
Areas of Expertise:
Education and teaching

Hannah is the Deputy Head of School, Education (undergraduate courses) at ARU. She is an experienced primary teacher and leader, with a particular interest in the ways primary teachers use research to inform their practice. 

[email protected]

Background

Hannah began her career as a primary school teacher in 2009, after completing her training as a music specialist. Hannah went on to train as a SENCo, working across the primary age range to support children with SEND in an outer London infant and junior school. Hannah subsequently took an assistant headship at the same school, where she was responsible for the allocation of Pupil Premium funding and staff development.

During this time, Hannah was funded by the SHINE charity to explore the role of music and technology in maths teaching for children from deprived backgrounds.

In 2018, Hannah took a fractional post at ARU as a Senior Lecturer Practitioner in Education, splitting her time between school leadership and lecturing. She now works at ARU full-time as Deputy Head of School for Undergraduate Education courses. Hannah’s interests and expertise centre around the role of research as a tool to inform practice.

Research interests

  • Teacher’s experiences of research to inform practice
  • Teachers as researchers
  • The role of research in decision making in the Primary Classroom

Hannah’s MA research considered research-informed approaches to phonics teaching and the experiences of teachers when considering this research. Working with teachers on CPD demonstrated a gap in both policy and practice when considering how teachers experience research use in the classroom. Using grounded theory methodology, she is currently exploring the experiences of teachers when using evidence to inform practice as part of her Professional Doctorate.

Teaching

  • BA (Hons) Primary Education Studies
  • PGCert Learning and Teaching in HE

Qualifications

  • MA Education, Canterbury Christ Church University
  • PGCert Learning and Teaching in HE, Anglia Ruskin University
  • National SENCO Award (NASENCo)
  • PGCE Music 7-14, Canterbury Christ Church University
  • BMus (Hons) Music, Goldsmiths College, University of London