Dr Julia Sutherland

Biography

Julia is a Lecturer in Education, specialising in English, responsible for the MA and the BA in Education Studies, as well as contributing to the English PGCE. 

Julia came to Sussex from a 16-year teaching career in secondary and tertiary education, latterly as Head of Undergraduate, A Level and GCSE provision at Harlow College. She has considerable prior experience of curriculum development and has continued such work at Sussex with the innovative BA in English Education Studies, a programme designed for working teaching assistants, and recent contributions to the development of the MA in Childhood and Youth Studies. She is currently expanding the MA in Education Studies, which now has several subject-specific pathways in English, Mathematics and Science, as well as a planned International route.

Role

Julia leads the MA in Education Studies and the BA in Education Studies and teaches on the English PGCE.

Julia's research interests include:

• ways of developing dialogic, exploratory talk with secondary English students
• the development of students' reading comprehension
• 14-19 Curriculum development

Her doctoral work was based on collaborative action research with Year 8 English teachers and their classes in a range of schools in Sussex, investigating ways of developing students' exploratory talk in groups. This developed earlier research on guided reading and on coaching trainee teachers to promote pupils' thinking through collaborative talk.

The earlier projects were funded by the Training Development Agency (formerly TTA) and contibuted to the development of policy and training materials for secondary English teachers, produced by the Secondary National Strategy (see, for example, DfES website: www.dfes.gov.uk English Subject Leaders' Development Materials: Spring, 2007). 

Julia leads the MA in Education Studies (MAES) and the BA in English Education Studies (BAEES) and teaches on the Secondary English PGCE. The BAEES is an innvoative programme, designed for working teaching assistants, combining English literature, language and education studies. It enables students to draw on their professional knowledge gained in schools, while developing theoretical understanding of the three subjects. BAEES students progress to a GTP/PGCE to train as English teachers. Julia also supervises DPhil and EdD students.

In 2006, Julia received a university Teaching Award for excellence in teaching.

Sutherland, Julia (2009) Speaking and Listening. In: The Complete Guide to Becoming an English Teacher, Second Edition. Sage Publications Ltd, London, pp. 95-107. ISBN 9781847872883

Sutherland, Julia and Wilkinson, Jeff (2009) Teaching Writing: Finding a Voice. In: The Complete Guide to Becoming an English Teacher (Second Edition). Sage Publications Ltd, London, pp. 174-255. ISBN 9781847872883

Sutherland, Julia (2006) Promoting group talk and higher-order thinking in pupils by 'coaching' secondary English trainee teachers. Literacy, 40 (2). pp. 106-114. ISSN 1741-4350