Irfan Khawaja

Senior Lecturer in Physical Education

Irfan has over 13 years teaching experience including in mainstream Primary and Secondary schools, Higher Education, and internationally in South Africa. Prior to teaching, Irfan worked in schools as part of the Extended Schools Programme in a Multi-skills Community Sports Coach role and has experience of organising high-profile school and community charity events.

Expert
Senior Lecturer
Physical Education
Inclusion

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and a member of the Association for Physical Education. I am passionate about my subject and aim to inspire future generations to succeed. I also act as a mentor for new Course Directors as they design and validate programmes of study, and I currently supervise two PhD students. Outside of my academic role, I have a huge interest in music, listening and performing, and I also love to travel and experience different cultures.

Industry Expertise

I have over 13 years teaching experience including in mainstream Primary and Secondary schools, Higher Education, and internationally in South Africa. I designed and gained validation for the original BSc (Hons) Physical Education course within Life Sciences. I also established a partnership with the Birmingham Central Sports Partnership and have staged over 80 Physical Activity festivals, working with 44 schools, and approximately 2,500 children and young people to get more people active! This showcases how I live and embed the BCU value of being the University for Birmingham.

In addition to the 44 schools in the Birmingham Central Sports Partnership, I also work with schools nationally, providing guidance on best inclusive practice. I also work with several national organisations including The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), The Association for Physical Education (AfPE), Youth Sport Trust (YST), and The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), and these partners assisted me in authoring and publishing ‘Ramadan Guidance for Schools and Educational Settings: Physical Education and Physical Activity’, which presents guidance to schools and wider education establishments on how to accommodate and support the fasting student, and fasting teacher.

My students often ask questions about the different experiences of teaching in schools, and many of these students have been recruited from schools within the Birmingham Central Sports Partnership upon graduation.

Background

Prior to teaching, I worked in schools as part of the Extended Schools Programme in a Multi-skills Community Sports Coach role and have experience of organising high-profile school and community charity events. Within my teaching capacity, I went on to become Curriculum Coordinator for Key Stage 5, before becoming Head of Department. In addition to this, I have delivered a range of INSET teacher training sessions and I have often been invited to give keynote addresses on my PhD specialist area of research focusing on Children’s Physical Activity, and Mixed-Methods. More recently, I have been invited to deliver keynote addresses on Ramadan and inclusive practice, following the successful launch and publication of ‘Ramadan Guidance for Schools and Educational Settings: Physical Education and Physical Activity’.

Students

The majority of students I teach within Physical Education at BCU go on to teach in either Primary or Secondary schools, coaching in local or national sports clubs, or work in the public services. Some of my students have also gone on to setup their own businesses. Finally, we have a large number of students who stay on with us to complete a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE), Master’s degree, and/or PhD.

Current Research

One recent project was writing and publishing ‘Ramadan Guidance for Schools and Educational Settings: Physical Education and Physical Activity’. This aims to ensure all those working within education adopt an inclusive approach for both staff and students, during the month of Ramadan. So far, there has been between 75-85% implementation of this guidance across schools nationally, and the next steps are to provide guidance to the wider UK workforce.

Check out Dr Irfan's Ramadan Guidance research