Ian Axtell
Academic Lead for Professional Master’s Courses
School of Education and Social Work
- Email:
- ian.axtell@bcu.ac.uk
- Phone:
- +44 (0)121 331 7322
Ian taught in a variety of schools for 20 years before joining the School of Education at Birmingham City University. His passions are for Arts (particularly music) and Physical Education which he led in a couple of high schools. Ian has always worked in primary schools as part of his teaching role. He finished the first part of his career in education as an Advanced Skills Teacher.
Since joining the School of Education and Social Work, Ian has led Music Education and the Secondary Partnership Team. These roles helped him to develop a fascination for teacher professional learning. He seized the opportunity to become Programme Lead for the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) and Masters in Education Leadership (MEL) which aim to enhance a teacher’s own professional practice. Ian has now transformed the MTL and MEL into a suit of Professional Master’s Courses which link closely with current education policy initiatives. Ian values the opportunity to work with colleagues in schools, creating spaces for re-thinking practice so it becomes informed and enhanced through connections with education theory. Theory and practice should never be seen as separate, but embedded together to form a holistic view of professional identity.