Joe Barber

My profile

Biography

Academic and professional qualifications

BA (Hons) English

MA English: Literature & Modernity

PGCE Secondary English

Doctor of Education (current doctoral candidate, due to complete Feb 2024)

Consultancy and advisory roles

Membership of OCR’s National Consultative Forum for English Teaching

Membership of professional associations

Membership of NATE (National Association for the Teaching of English)

English Association FE & Secondary Education Committee member

Interests and expertise

After teaching 11-19 English in Great Manchester for 14 years I joined MMU’s Faculty of Education in 2015. 

During my time in teaching, I was also an assistant principal and held responsibility for safeguarding and child protection. 

My interests are teacher development, subject knowledge and subject pedagogy in English, literary theory as an aspect of English teachers’ practice, teaching grammar, the history of subject English, behaviour. I am also interested in debates around teacher education and training. 

Projects

I am currently undertaking doctoral research into student English teachers’ knowledge of literary theory in relation to the teaching of reading.

Teaching

Postgraduate teaching

I teach on the secondary and primary PGCE English programmes

Subject areas

Secondary English Education

Research outputs

Barber, J. Overland, E. Sackville-Ford, M. (eds) (2020) Behaviour Management: An Essential Guide for Student Teachers and NQTs (Routledge)

Chapter 4 in Hulme et al (eds) (2021) Mastering Teaching: Thriving as an Early Career Teacher (OUP)

Career history

2019

Winner of ‘Best Personal Tutor’ award (MMU Student Union Awards)

2020

Nominee for ‘Best Employability Support’ award (MMU Student Union Awards)