Dr Simon Asquith

Simon Asquith

School of Education
Associate Professor
Programmes Director: Postgraduate programmes in Educational Leadership

Contact details

Address
School of Education
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT, United Kingdom

Simon Asquith is Programmes Director of the MA/ PGDip Educational Leadership Programmes (including the Level 7 ‘Senior Leader Apprenticeship’ Programme).

He has taught and held leadership roles in the school sector in Leeds, Bradford and Cumbria and has lectured in teacher education and in geography and geographical and environmental education at Liverpool Hope University. He has held leadership roles in teacher education and education partnerships at Liverpool Hope University and the University of Cumbria. Simon was national chair of the Association for Partnership in Teacher Education and has held senior roles across teacher education nationally.

Simon is a member of the University of Birmingham’s Education Leadership Academy and in his present role works closely with education employers and leadership mentors across the sector in supporting work-based and research-underpinned senior leader development in schools.  Recent research activity focuses on school leader positioning in the context of government policy, approaches to school sector system change and leadership challenges within changing partnership contexts. He has a particular interest in the positioning of leaders, especially those leading Multi Academy Trusts and Teaching School Hubs, and in system leaders engaged in 'school-to-school support' within what has become known as the 'self-improving school system'.

Qualifications

  • Education Doctorate, University of Birmingham
  • MA Human Geography, University of Leeds 
  • PGCE, University of Leeds 
  • BA Geography, University of Lancaster

Biography

Before joining the School of Education at the University of Birmingham, Simon Asquith worked as a teacher in two other universities. Having completed his Masters study within the School of Geography and initial teacher training within the School of Education, both at the University of Leeds, he taught and held leadership positions in schools in Leeds, Bradford and Cumbria before becoming a senior lecturer in geography at Liverpool Hope University. His career in schools has allowed him to develop a particular interest and expertise in outdoor and field-based learning.

Whilst at Liverpool, Simon led modules and programmes in cultural and historical geography, the social, economic and political geographies of transition and transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, and geographical education. He helped lead a number of intensive fieldwork-based modules in Romania and France and developed a range of teacher education placement opportunities, particularly in Romania. Latterly at Liverpool Hope, Simon was Director of the undergraduate Initial Teacher Training and became increasingly involved in teacher education development work at the regional level in the North West. He developed and taught on a range of in-service programmes for schools across the North West, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland and worked nationally with the Geographical Association, particularly in connection with its journals and resources for teachers. Simon completed a number of major writing projects for educational publishers, including a number of series of books on primary geography and contributed regularly to a number of educational periodicals.

Recent research has centered on the positioning and identity of headteachers and school leaders as they lead their schools but he has also become increasingly involved in teacher education. Simon’s work with schools, universities and other providers, has impacted on and framed by shifting government policy, providing the impetus for this work and has led to interest in the ways in which professionals and academics from different contexts can work together in system change for schools and teacher education.

Simon held a range of leadership positions at the University of Cumbria including those of Partnership Manager (Initial Teacher Education), Director of School Partnerships and Associate Head of the School of Educational Partnership and Enterprise. His work at Cumbria included the strategic development of partnerships across an extensive and diverse range of partner organisations and the development of educational enterprise. He took a lead role in projects including the north west Masters in Teaching and Learning and a range of government initiatives in teacher education in partnership with schools.

At the University of Birmingham, Simon has fulfilled roles including Head of the Department of Professional Education (now Teacher Education) and Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes. Both of these roles were based in the School of Education.

For eight years Simon was national chair of the Association for Partnership in Teacher Education (APTE) growing and developing the association in its scope, representation and impact and delivering its annual national conferences for the sector. In this role he worked closely with the National College for Teaching and Leadership (formerly the Teaching Agency), National College for School Leadership and Ofsted and, as national chair of APTE, has supported the National College for Teaching and Leadership in developing and updating the then ‘Self Evaluation Document’ and Ofsted in its development of initial teacher education inspection methodology.

Recent research activity has focused on school leader identities and positioning in the context of government policy and approaches to school sector system change and leadership within changing partnership contexts.  In this Simon has particular interest in the position of headteachers, especially those working within Teaching School Hubs and those engaged in 'school-to-school support' within what has become known as a 'self-improving school system'.

Teaching

Simon leads on modules including:

  • MA Module Leader: Education, Policy and Society
  • BA Module Leader: Education, Policy and Social Justice
  • BA Module Leader: Placement Module

Research

Recent research activity has focused on school leader identities and positioning in the context of government policy and approaches to school sector system change and leadership within changing partnership contexts.  In this Simon has particular interest in the position of headteachers, especially those working within Teaching School Alliances and those engaged in 'school-to-school support' within what has become known as a 'self-improving school system'.

Other activities

Member of British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society

Affiliate Member of Chartered College of Teaching

Member of Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management
Member of Geographical Association

Member of Society for Educational Studies

Past National Chair – Association for Partnership in Teacher Education
Past Member of Executive Committee – Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers

Publications

Selected Publications

Morris, R., Perry, T. & Asquith, S. (2020) The opportunities and challenges of leaders using evidence in education. In: Gorard, S. (Ed) Getting evidence into education: Evaluating the routes to policy and practice. Abingdon: Routledge.  pp199-215.

Asquith, S. (2017) Equality of access to a primary geography education within a self-improving school system in England.  In: Catling, S. (Ed) Reflections on Primary Geography. Sheffield: Register of Research in Primary Geography/ Geographical Association. pp65-67.

Asquith, S. (2014) ‘How do you create synergy between different school priorities?’ Chapter in: Philpott, C., Scott, H. & Mercier, C. (Eds) The School Led ITE Handbook. London: Paul Chapman/Sage. 

Asquith, S. (2006) ‘Theory, Practice and Research: a Rationale for Primary Geography and Overview of Recent Developments’. Chapter in: Cooper, H., Rowley, C. &. Asquith, S (Eds) Geography 3-11: A Guide for Teachers. London: David Fulton. pp1-13.

Asquith, S. (2002) “Assessing the Standards.” In: Simco, N. & Wilson, T. (Eds) Primary Initial Teacher Training and Education: Revised Standards, Bright Future?’ Learning Matters: Exeter. pp70-81.

Garner, W., Norton, L., Asquith, S., Beaumont, A. & Caldecott, S. (2002) “The distance learning task as a pedagogical context for learning technologies: Are students' and tutors' perceptions similar?” In: Rust, C. (Ed) Improving Student Learning Using Learning Technology (Proceedings of the 2001 9th International Symposium) The Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development: Oxford.

Light, D., Dumbraveanu, D. & Asquith, S. (2000) “Smuggling and the Border Landscape of South West Romania.” In: Light, D. & Phinnemore, D. (Eds) Post-Communist Romania: Geographical Perspectives. Liverpool Hope Press: Liverpool. pp107-114.

Asquith, S. (1997) Geography Curriculum Bank Key Stage One. Scholastic: Leamington Spa.

Asquith, S. (1997) Geography Curriculum Bank Key Stage Two Places. Scholastic: Leamington Spa.

Asquith, S., Chambers, B. & Donert, K. (1996) Geography Curriculum Bank Key Stage Two Themes. Scholastic: Leamington Spa.

Asquith, S., Jervis, P., Lancaster, J., Lancaster, L. & Starkie, S. (1996) Oxford Primary Geography. Book 4. OUP: Oxford.

Asquith, S., Jervis, P., Lancaster, J., Lancaster, L. & Starkie, S. (1996) Oxford Primary Geography. Teachers’ Book 4. OUP: Oxford.

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