I am Professor of Religious and Cultural Education in the School of Education within the College of Social Sciences.

I am active in Initial Teacher Education (MEduc Primary, MA in Religious and Philosophical Education and PGDE Primary and Secondary), CPD and Postgraduate Teaching and Research supervision, including Masters, PhD and EdD programmes. A large proportion of my work is in research and publishing.

I am also the Editor of Journal of Philosophy of Education (2010-)

Research interests
I have taught, written and broadcast nationally and internationally on religion, postsecularism, literature, music, folklore, education, history of education, sectarianism, childhood studies, environmental education and the development of Catholic education in Scotland and beyond. Teacher education remains central to my interests, encouraging a wider exploration of professional values and professional formation more generally. I served on the National Partnership Group (NPG) for the implementation of Teaching Scotland's Future––the Donaldson Report on the reform of Teacher Education in Scotland as well as its successor body, the National Implementation Board (NIB) and the Shadow Board of the new Scottish College for Educational Leadership (SCEL). I was Convener of the Scottish Teacher Education Committee (STEC) and was also a member of the Education Committee, Council and Executive of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).

I am currently engaged in, or have just completed, a number of significant publications projects with a range of colleagues in areas such as the effectiveness of Religious Education, the cultural history of early childhood, the origins of industrial schooling and Scottish children's literature.