Rev. Professor Peter S. Neil
Head of the school of education
Background
Peter Neil has been head of the School of Education since August 2009. Prior to that he was head of the School of Education and Lifelong Learning in Aberystwyth University and started his career in higher education in Queen’s University Belfast where he held several posts from 1991 until 2003. He has degrees from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and was ordained deacon and priest in St David’s Diocese Wales within the Church in Wales.
Academic Qualifications and Fellowships
MA (II i) German, University of Edinburgh, 1983
DipEd, University of Glasgow, 1984
TQ (SE) Jordanhill College of Education, 1984
MEd, University of Edinburgh, 1986
PhD, Queen’s University, Belfast, 1995
MDiv (distinction), Queen’s University, Belfast, 2003
MPhil, Cardiff University, 2010
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Teaching Interests
Trained as a teacher of modern languages, he taught French and German in various schools in three regions in Scotland before leaving to join Higher Education in Northern Ireland. At University level he has taught the PGCE in secondary Education (modern languages) and established a successful M.Ed. in modern languages at Queen’s. He has supervised M.Ed. dissertations in various topic areas and MPhil, EdD and PhDs again in a diverse range of topics (e.g. self-evaluation, third-world education, Irish-medium Education, modern language education). He has been an external examiner for PhD, MA, B.Ed. and BA(QTS) in several universities across the UK.
Research Interests
Professor Neil’s research covers various disciplines. His original research domain was within the area of communicative language teaching and he has carried out funded research projects on school self-evaluation, IME, diversification, school leadership and science education. He is currently working on a project, funded by ESCalate, entitled Faczine the Future, with Pamela Cowan (Queen’s) and Eileen Winter on lecturers’ experience of on-line teaching. An additional area of research emerging from his post-graduate work in theology in Wales, is that of ordinary theology and theological reflection.
Publications
Books
Neil, P and Murphy, C (2005) Enhancing the Partnership: the work of the teacher tutor. Belfast: Blackstaff Press [pp 147 + appendices and references. ISBN 0-85640-768-2]
Neil, P and Morgan C (2003) Continuing Professional Development for Teachers: from induction to senior management, London: Kogan Page [pp 218 + appendix and references. ISBN 0-7494-3741-3]
Morgan, C and Neil P (2001) Teaching Modern Foreign Languages. London: Kogan Page [pp 200+ references. ISBN 0-7494-3347-7]
Neil, P S (1997a) Reflections on the Target Language. London: CILT [pp 84+ references and appendices. ISBN 1-874016-82-8]
Book Chapters
Morgan, C and Neil, P (2004) Continuing professional development. In Nicholls, G (ed.) Introduction to Teaching: A Handbook for Primary and Secondary Teachers, 220-232, London: RoutledgeFalmer [ISBN 0-415-335-31-0]
Referreed Publications
Neil, P. (2011) Approaches to Education in Rural Churches, Rural Theology, 8 (2), 115-130.
Murphy, C, Neil, P and Beggs, J (2007) Primary science teacher confidence revisited: ten years on, Educational Research, 49, 4, 415-30.
Neil, P and Johnston, J (2005), An approach to analysing professional discourse in a school self-evaluation project, Research in Education, 73, 73-86.
McEwen, A, Carlisle, K,, Knipe, D, Neil, P and McClune, B (2002) Primary school leadership: values and actions. Research Papers in Education, 17, 2, 147-63.
Neil, P, Carlisle, K, Knipe, D, McEwen, A (2001) Principals in Action: an analysis of school leadership. Research in Education, 66, 40-53.
Neil, P, McEwen, A, Carlisle, K and Knipe, D (2001) The self-evaluating school – an action research approach. British Journal of Special Education, 28, 4, 174-181.
Neil, P S, Salters, J and McEwen, A (2001) Teachers’ use of the target language in the language classroom. Language Learning Journal 19, 12-18.
Gray, C, Mulhern, G and Neil, P (2000) Automaticity, spelling and second language learning. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 90, 890-92.
Neil, P S, Phipps, W and Mallon, R (1999) Diversification of language provision in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. Research in Education, 62, 10-21.
Neil, P S and O’Rawe, D (1998) Teachers’ and pupils’ views on ‘Science Across Europe’. School Science Review 79, (289), 89-94, March 1998.
Salters, J, Neil, P and Wright, M (1998) Modern languages and special educational needs: a review of research. Educational Research 40, 3, 364-74.
Neil, P S (1997b) An investigation into teachers' use of German in Northern Ireland grammar schools. Education Today, 47, 1, 53-9.
Neil, P S and Yarr, M (1995) Teaching foreign languages to SEN pupils: a Northern Ireland Perspective. Studies in Modern Languages Education, 3, 63-73.
Other PUblications
Neil, P, Nig Uidhir, G and Clarke, F (2000) Native English speakers immersed in another language: a review of the literature. Research Report Series, No. 19, Department of Education.
Neil, P S, Phipps, W and Mallon, R (1999) Diversification of the first modern language in Northern Ireland schools. Research Report Series No. 17, Department of Education for Northern Ireland.
Neil, P S and Mallon, R (1997) Diversification of the first foreign language: a review of the literature. Belfast: DENI (Research paper No. 4) Belfast: DENI.