Dr Stuart Moir

Lecturer

Biography

Background

I joined the University on a Bicentennial Education Fellowship in July 2012. Before then I worked as a Community Educator with a Local Authority in the Lothians. I gained a wide range of experience of informal education by working with young people and adults in various school and community settings. A key focus of this educational work was on supporting the development of political literacy to encourage civic involvement and political and electoral participation.

My current work at the University includes teaching, supervision, course organisation and academic cohort lead on the the MA (Hons) Learning in Communities programme. I also contribute to the teaching and supervision on other UG & PG programmes in Moray House School of Education and Sport. I was Programme Director for  BA Community Education programme between 2015 & 2020 and led the programme team on the design and successful approval of a new MA programme 'Learning in Communities' which replaces BACE from 2022.

My research & teaching interests include: citizenship education and learning for democracy; youth political participation and activism; youth work in schools;  professional practice learning; Marxist analysis and critique of education; adult education and popular/radical education; critical social research. 

I completed my Doctorate in Education (EdD) in May of 2020. My thesis title is, ‘How Did Young Left Wing Political Activists Learn to Become Active and Critical Citizens?’.

I served as a member of the CONCEPT journal editorial board between 1998 and 2019 and I was editor between 2012 and 2019.

Qualifications

Doctor of Education (EdD) - 2020

PG Dip, Adult & Community Education, University of Edinburgh - 1994

MA (Hons) Politics & Social Policy, University of Edinburgh - 1993

 

Responsibilities & affiliations

I am currently the external examiner for the Youth & Community Work pathway of the  BA (Hons) Education Studies programme at  the university of Hull.  I also served as external examiner for the BA (Hons) Community Education programme at the University of the West of Scotland from 2019 to November 2022.

I am a member of the Board of Governors  of Newbattle Abbey College. I am also the chair on the College's Learning & Teaching Committee.

I am a Full Member of the CLD Standards Council for Scotland and between 2015 & 2022 I served as a member of their Approvals Committee from 2015 to 2023.

Undergraduate teaching

On MA (Hons) Learning in Communities programme:

Domains of Practice 1: Engaging with the literature in Community Learning & Development (CLD)

Professional Practice Placement 1.

Domains of Practice 2: Introduction.

Domains of Practice 3: Critical Analysis.

Community Based research 3: Understanding Practitioner research.

Professional Practice Placement 3.

 

Previously on BA (Hons) Community Education programme:

Adult Education

Honours Seminar in Educational & Social theory

Politics, Policy & Professional Identity in Community Education

Community Education Professional Practice 2

Community Education Professional Practice 3

Youth Work

Community Education Dissertation supervision

 

On Initial Teacher Education programme:

Educational Studies 1b

Educational Studies 2b

 

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

My research interests include: Citizenship education and learning for democracy, critical pedagogy, Marxist analysis and critique of education, adult education and popular/radical education, youth political participation and activism, youth work in schools, critical social research and professional practice learning.

Research summary

My research contribution builds directly on my Doctoral thesis. My doctorate (EdD) was awarded in May of 2020. My thesis title was: How Did Young Left Wing Political Activists Learn to Become Active and Critical Citizens?  My thesis explores the factors that inspired left wing young people to become politically active. In particular it examines their citizenship education experiences. It asserts a critical and maximal conception on citizenship education and offers insights into how it can be improved pedagogically to promote activism for social justice. This thesis draws on and contributes to the literature in three fields: political socialisation; citizenship education; Marxist analysis of education and critical pedagogy.

I am currently the PI for a small qualitative research project funded by the Gordon Cook foundation. Along with another colleague, our research is focused on how participation in the 2020 school SQA exam demonstration supported activism and raised awareness of social justice issues. Project title is 'Responsible or active citizens? Young people’s citizenship and the 2020 Scottish Exam results demonstrations'.

Along with my colleague, Dr Ian Fyfe, I am a co researcher on a qualitative research project titled 'The x Factor: Investigating the effectiveness of out-of-school learning in preparing young people to vote.' This small-scale study will investigate the sources and impact of learning outside of formal schooling in preparing young people to vote for the first time in the recent Scottish Parliament and local government elections.

Based on a theme of my thesis I have a chapter in the following book: The Places and Purposes of Popular Music Education. The full reference of the chapter is:  Moir, S. (2022) ‘Learning to be Active: The Formative Power of Music as a Catalyst for Political Activism’, in Powell, B.P. & Smith, G.D. (eds.) (forthcoming July 2021) The Places and Purposes of Popular Music Education,  Bristol: Intellect. pp 11-16.

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/P/bo186918521.html#anchor-reviews

Current research interests

My research interests include: Citizenship education and learning for democracy, critical pedagogy, Marxist analysis and critique of education, adult education and popular/radical education, youth political participation and activism, youth work in schools, critical social research and professional practice learning.

Conference details

Contemporary Childhood Conference Borders and Boundaries - University of Strathclyde 9th September 2021

Papers delivered

Conference title: Contemporary Childhood Conference Borders and Boundaries - University of Strathclyde 9th September 2021

Conference paper: Protest, young people and schools: Exploring the constraints and possibilities of active citizenship

Participation funded by the Gordon Cook Foundation

 

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