Gerard Doyle
Senior Lecturer
Primary Education
email: g.doyle@worc.ac.uk
tel: 01905 542494
Gerard joined the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester in 2020. He brings extensive experience in teacher education to the Primary Department, leading on science education, English as an Additional Language (EAL) and, the undergraduate Independent Research dissertation module.
Gerard’s experience includes a variety roles in language and primary education: he has worked in the Irish-language schools sector in Northern Ireland and as an English-language teacher in Spain. Gerard has specialised in early years aspects of primary provision with a particular focus on English as an Additional language provision in English primary schools. He has developed teacher apprenticeship programmes in the West Midlands and Cambridgeshire as part of his leadership role in school-based teacher training.
Gerard has recently completed his doctoral research investigating how student teachers develop their knowledge of teaching children learning EAL. His research used a Life History design to explore the contributions student teachers’ lives, and experiences of Initial Teacher Education make to their knowledge of EAL pedagogy.
Qualifications
- MA Psychology (University of Edinburgh) (2004)
- PGCE Primary (University of Warwick) (2007)
- Fellow of Higher Education Academy (2016)
- Doctor of Education (University of Birmingham) (2024)
Learn Upon Training completed
- Safer Recruitment
- Introduction to the Prevent Duty as it affects Higher Education
- Safeguarding Essentials
Teaching and Research
Teaching Interests
Gerard specialises in student teachers’ knowledge development for English as an Additional Language. He has particular interest in social constructivism, reflective practice and theories of professional development. Gerard’s subject specialisms are in science, design and technology, child development and learning theories.
Research Interests
- Multilingual Education
- English as an Additional Language
- Life History Research
- Professional Knowledge Development
- Primary Education
- Basil Bernstein’s Pedagogic Device
Professional Bodies
- NALDIC (National Association for Language in the Curriculum)
- ASE (Association for Science Education)
- All Party Parliamentary Group for the Teaching Profession
Publications
Publications
Doyle, G. (2025) 'Universal Design for Learning and English as an Additional Language for Pre-service Teachers in England', International Journal of Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning 1(1), 248-257.
Doyle, G. (2025) 'Mind the Gap: Navigating EAL Pedagogy in Initial Teacher Education', EAL Journal 26.
Presentation at conferences
Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN) - May 2016 -Decontextualising Teacher Education
Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) - November 2018 -Developing Teacher Apprenticeships programmes in Higher Education
National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC) - November 2021 -A qualitative inquiry into the construction of PGCE Primary student teachers’ English as an Additional Language (EAL) beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge
External Roles
External Examiner for primary postgraduate initial teacher education programmes at the University of Brighton (2018-2022)
External Examiner for PGCE Primary Education at the Manchester Metropolitan University (2025-2029)