Dr Shirley Gray

Senior Lecturer in Physical Education

Biography

Background

Before becoming a lecturer in physical education, I was a secondary school teacher of physical education and then a teaching fellow at the University of Edinburgh.  In general, my research attempts to explore how teachers understand and enact curriculum policy, and how they might be supported in their learning to provide their students with positive learning experiences in physical education. More specifically, I am involved in research projects that explore: gender issues in physical education, social and emotional learning in physical education, teaching for personal and social responsibility, pupil motivation and the professional learning of teachers.

Undergraduate teaching

  • Professional Practice and Enquiry 2
  • Physical Education Perspectives 4: Motor skill acquisition: Non-Linear Pedagogy   
  • Applied Sports Science 1a 1: Motor skill acquisition – An Introduction to Information Processing and Dynamical Systems Theories of Skill Acquisition
  • Physical Education Pedagogy and Curriculum 3
  • Physical Education Perspectives 3: Motor skill acquisition – Dynamical Systems, Direct Perception and Constraints
  • Health and Wellbeing 1 and 2

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

I would be happy to supervise students interested in carrying out research in the following areas:

  • Gender and education
  • Motivation and learning
  • Curriculum and pedagogy
  • Teacher professional learning
  • Health and wellbeing in schools
  • Teaching for personal and social responsibility

Current PhD students supervised

2024 to date  Menghan Xiong - Femininity negotiation and body perception: Explore the experience of Chinese women's basketball players under the traditional gender culture

2022 to date  Vincent Coleman - Working with teachers to understand and develop trauma-aware practice in PE.

2020 to date   Chenqi Wang - Exploring digital body and health cultures among a selection of East Asian female university students based in Britain.

2017 to date   Graham Condie - Understanding the lives of young people with cerebral palsy in the context of sport and leisure.

 

Past PhD students supervised

2023   Stephanie Hardley: Understanding pupil health and wellbeing in schools. A study to explore the experiences of pupils from disadvantage households who attend schools predominantly attended by pupils from affluent households.

2021    Ella Williams (MScRes): Understanding girls' experiences of curricular football in physical education.2017    Sarah MacIsaac (Bicentennial Fellowship): ‘Healthism discourse in the physical education context’.

2017    Sarah MacIsaac (Bicentennial Fellowship): ‘Healthism discourse in the physical education context’.

2015    Edward Hall (internal funding): ‘Understanding the context and practice of an elite women’s rugby coach over the duration of one season’.

2011    Shaun Phillips (Funded by a College Postgraduate Research Studentship): ‘The influence of carbohydrate supplementation on endurance capacity, sprint performance, and physiological responses to adolescent team games players to prolonged, high-intensity intermittent exercise.’

2011    Danielle Bryant (ESRC funded): 'Teacher stress, learned optimism and coping strategies'.

Research summary

Research Interests

  • Curriculum
  • Pedagogy
  • Social and emotional teaching and learning
  • Embodiment in PE
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gender issues in PE and sport
  • Teacher learning

Current Research Projects 

  • Co-developing trauma aware pedagogies in PE with pre-service teachers. A collaborative project with Dr Thomas Quarmby (Leeds Beckett University), Dr Rachel Sandford and Dr Oliver Hooper (both Loughborough University).
  • The UK PE Collaborative: Facilitating cross-border dialogue among PE teachers for critical thinking and innovation. A collaborative project with Dr. Nicola Carse and Stephanie Hardley (University of Edinburgh), Dr. Julie Stirrup, Dr. Rachel Sandford and Dr. Oliver Hooper (Loughborough University), and Dr. Anna Bryant (Cardiff Metropolitan University).
  • Physical Education as a Core Subject in England: A collaborative project with Dr. Rachel Sandford and Dr. Oliver Hooper (Loughborough University). 
  • ‘Critical digital health pedagogies for PE teachers’.  A collaborative project with Dr. Sarah MacIsaac (University of Edinburgh), Dr Maria Jose Camacho Minano (University of Complutese) and Prof. Emma Rich (University of Bath).
  • Understanding the concept of embodiment in PE. A collaborative project with Dr. Karen Lambert, Dr. Justen O’Connor and Lisa Young from Monash University in Australia. 
  • Understanding how ITE students learn to teach Health and Wellbeing as a responsibility of all in the Scottish curriculum. A collaborative project with Dr. Louise Campbell and Dr. Donna Dey (University of Dundee) and Dr. Deb Holt (University of Edinburgh).   

Member of PCRE: www.ed.ac.uk/education/pcre

Project activity

Current research projects include:

  • Co-developing trauma aware pedagogies in PE with pre-service teachers. A collaborative project with Dr Thomas Quarmby (Leeds Beckett University), Dr Rachel Sandford and Dr Oliver Hooper (both Loughborough University).
  • The UK PE Collaborative: Facilitating cross-border dialogue among PE teachers for critical thinking and innovation. A collaborative project with Dr. Nicola Carse and Stephanie Hardley (University of Edinburgh), Dr. Julie Stirrup, Dr. Rachel Sandford and Dr. Oliver Hooper (Loughborough University), and Dr. Anna Bryant (Cardiff Metropolitan University).
  • Physical Education as a Core Subject in England: A collaborative project with Dr. Rachel Sandford and Dr. Oliver Hooper (Loughborough University). 
  • ‘Critical digital health pedagogies for PE teachers’.  A collaborative project with Dr. Sarah MacIsaac (University of Edinburgh), Dr Maria Jose Camacho Minano (University of Complutese) and Prof. Emma Rich (University of Bath).
  • Understanding the concept of embodiment in PE. A collaborative project with Dr. Karen Lambert, Dr. Justen O’Connor and Lisa Young from Monash University in Australia. 
  • Understanding how ITE students learn to teach Health and Wellbeing as a responsibility of all in the Scottish curriculum. A collaborative project with Dr. Louise Campbell and Dr. Donna Dey (University of Dundee) and Dr. Deb Holt (University of Edinburgh).   

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