I joined the School of Education at Swansea Metropolitan University in January 1992 as a teacher educator working with students on the primary BA (Ed) programme. In 2002 I became director of the MA (Ed) and most recently Head of Continuing Professional Development.

My research interests are wide and varied. My passion has always been understanding how we learn. As a teacher and researcher I focused on children learning. Since being in higher education I have extended this focus to include my adult students.
Following this research interest I completed my PhD in 1998 on Children as Meaning Makers. The theoretical context which underpins my research can be found in the Journal of Curriculum Studies. http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/content/879pa4t4ghdfp9yl/

Dialogic Learning and Teaching
In my thesis I put forward the concept of the Dialogic Teacher and argued that dialogic approaches to learning should inform whole class and small group interaction. Given the current interest in Dialogic Learning I am currently preparing a book based on my research for my PhD.
I have recently completed a review article on Learners' Collaborative Talk:

• Lyle, S. Learners' Collaborative Talk (2008, in press). In: M. Martin-Jones (Ed) Encyclopaedia of Language and Education. Vol. 3: Oral Discourse and Education. Springer

Published articles on dialogic approaches to learning include:

• Lyle, S. An investigation into how children age 9-11 make meaning through role play. Language and Education. Vol. 16:4, pp. 303-317.

Moving into CPD, Social Justice and Racial Equality, Conference Presentations and Current research directions:

Moving into CPD
Since moving out of ITET into CPD my research interests have become more focused on how adults learn through CPD and my recent writing reflects that interest. My most recent publications are:
With Hendley, D. A. (2007, in press) Can portfolios support critical reflection? Assessing the portfolios of Schools Liaison Police Officers. Journal of In-Service Education.

• Lyle, S. (2003) An investigation in to the impact of a Continuing Professional Development Programme designed to support the development of teachers as researchers in South Wales. Journal of In-Service Education Vol. 29:2, 295-314.

• With Devlin, L. (2008, in press) Capturing the Moment: teachers using photographs as a research tool. Routledge/Fulton

• An article on the theoretical underpinning for this book has been submitted to the Journal of Action Research:

• Lyle, S. (2007 - under review). Using photographs as a research tool in practitioner and Action Research settings.

Social Justice and Racial Equality
I am strongly committed to social justice and education for racial equality. I set up and teach on a specialist MA in Bilingual Education and teach a module on Inclusion and Racial Equality. This module is informed by my research in the field which links my interest in the impact of CPD on teachers to race equality issues.
I led a research project funded by HEFCW in 2003 to investigate recruitment of ethnic minority students into teacher education. This inspired further interest in the experiences of black and minority ethnic pupils in school and I have led students on the MA to carry out narrative research with BME pupils. The result of that research has been written up and submitted for review:

• Lyle, S. (2007, under review British Journal of Sociology of Education) Privileging pupil voice: ‘race', class and gender in minority ethnic pupils experience of school.

• Lyle, S. (2007, under review European Journal of Teacher Education) Post-Devolution Wales and Ethnic Minorities: Recruitment into Initial Teacher Education

Conference Presentations
I regularly present at conferences and have given a number of keynote presentations at conferences. My work in the field of racial equality is widely known in Wales and I have given keynote lectures at conferences for teachers, most recently in January 2007 I presented the Keynote at the ESIS Confererence on Multiculturalism Across the Curriculum in the Early Years.
My presentations at national and international conferences also reflect my research interests. Between 2005-2006, I presented the following papers at conferences:

• 2005-PRAP Conference, Utrechct Paper presented: Action research and critical reflection: a case study of School Police Liaison Officers.

• IPDA Conference, Birmingham, Paper presented: Can portfolios support critical reflection? Assessing the portfolios of Schools Liaison Police Officers

• Paper presented at CARN Conference, Utrecht, Creating Communities of Learners: working with School Liaison Police Officers

• 2006-Paper presented at ATEE Conference, Portoroz, Slovenia, Using photographs as a research tool to enhance teacher CPD.

• Paper presented at IPDA, Stirling, Investigating the impact of CPD on school improvement: a case study of Philosophy for Children.

Current research directions
My research at the moment is driven by my long-term interest in the practice of Philosophy for Children (P4C). Since November 2005 I have worked with Dr. Karin Murris, a leader in the field of P4C to train teachers in South Wales in this dialogic approach to learning. So far we have trained over 300 teachers and head teachers and 18 whole school staff. The CPD team in the School are all involved in P4C and together we are currently engaged in research to investigate the impact of P4C on teachers and their pupils. The first paper is been prepared and ready for review.
Lyle, S. & Thomas-Williams, J. (2007) Dialogic Practice in Primary Schools: How Primary Head Teachers plan to embed Philosophy for Children into the whole school.

Exciting times!

To contact Sue Lyle, email, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it