Dr Alexandra Morgan

Research

Much of my recent work is focused upon pedagogical practice in Schools and HE. I have secured funding for teaching and scholarship activity totalling £221,536. This funding relates to Civic Mission activity/projects focused upon improving the professional learning, recruitment and retention of teachers. These have involved events across Wales and the UK embedding research engagement in schools.  Funding has also been secured to work collaboratively in Cardiff University and other HE institutions to support and develop the educational experiences of students and to enable student research projects. 

Recent book chapters that draw on this work include: Working with Uncertainty for Educational Change (Hutt, M. MIlton, E. and Morgan, A.  2024 in prep). Educative case-making: a learner centrered approach to supporting the development of pedagogical expertise in HE (Morgan and Milton 2022).

A focus on the consideration and  development of pedagogical expertise also underpins two recent articles in professional journals the first is about the key considerations essential to developing a curriculum that supports learners' wellbeing and mental health (Morgan et al. 2023). The other is about how teachers can improve classroom practice through meaningful engagement with research-informed teacher enquiry (Morgan and MIlton 2022)

A funded study for Welsh Government focused on the impact of Covid-19 on Initial Teacher Education has also included a report, and a journal article (Double trouble: the legacy of COVID-19 for early career teachers and their pupils in Wales (Morgan and Milton 2024).

Morgan A., Davies, A.J. and Milton, E. (In press) Using discourse analysis to inform content analysis: a pragmatic, mixed methods approach exploring how the headteacher role is articulated in job descriptions.  In Kara, H., Mannay, D. and Roy, A. (eds) The handbook of creative data analysis. Bristol University Press.

Morgan, A., and Milton, E. 2024 Double trouble: the legacy of COVID-19 for early career teachers and their pupils in Wales. Practice: Contemporary Issues in Practitioner Education. 

Milton, E. and Morgan, A. 2023. Enquiry as a way of being: a practical framework to support leaders in both embracing the complexity of and creating the conditions for meaningful professional learning, Professional Development in Education.

Milton, E., Morgan, A., Davies, A. J., Connolly, M., Donnelly, D. and Ellis, I. 2023. Framing headship: a demand-side analysis of how the headteacher role is articulated in job descriptions. International Journal of Leadership in Education 26(2), pp. 339-358.

Morgan, A., Pennington, H. and Milton, E. 2023 Key considerations essential to developing a curriculum that supports learners’ wellbeing and mental health. Impact 18 pp.46-49. 

Morgan, A., Milton, E., James, D., Kneen, J., Clement, J., Bryant, A. and Beauchamp, G. 2022. Pandemic-related assessment experiences and innovations: implications for initial teacher education. Cardiff: Welsh Government.

Morgan, A., and Milton, E. 2022. Improving classroom practice through meaningful engagement with research-informed teacher enquiry. Impact. 16 pp.47-50.

Morgan, A. and Milton, E. 2022. Educative case-making: a learner centred approach to supporting the development of pedagogical expertise in HE. In King, H. (ed) Developing Expertise in Teaching in Higher Education: Practical Ideas for Supporting Educational Development. London: Routledge.  

Teaching

 Undergraduate teaching 

SIO299 What Really Happens in Schools: Assessing Policy in Practice

SIO622 Reflections on Education: Theory into Practice

SIO131 Dissertation supervisor

Personal tutor to undergraduate students 

Postgraduate teaching 

SIT100 Scholarship in the Social Sciences.

SIT004/ SIT078 MSc Dissertation supervisor

Personal tutor to postgraduate students 

Biography

Alex is currently the Co-director for Digital Education in the School of Social Sciences. She has over twenty years of experience of teaching in Higher Education, particularly in the areas of research methods, professional learning, teacher enquiry and educational practice.  She originally studied for her degree (Biosciences) and PhD (Biosciences/Computing) at Cardiff  University. During this time she also gained experience of teaching in Higher Education and at Secondary Level.She was the first person to train at Primary Level via the Graduate Teacher Training Scheme in Wales.  She went on to work in an advisory role supporting teachers to consider how they could use ICT to support teaching and learning in their classrooms in Carmarthenshire. In 2002 she joined the Education Department at Swansea University where she worked for more than ten years contributing to ITE programmes, undertaking key roles such as  Programme Director for the BSc Childhood Studies Programme; Chair of Postgraduate Taught Masters Programmes and Academic Lead for Assessment and Feedback in the School of Social Sciences and leading on externally funded research projects (funded by ESRC; Esmee Fairbairn; BECTa; Welsh Government).

She joined Cardiff University in 2011 as Programme Co-ordinator for the  WG funded  (£12 million) bilingual pan-Wales Masters in Educational Practice Programme. As a result of the expertise gained from extensive experience of working across a range of programmes to support teachers professional learning and she is frequenty invited to a range of activities involving organisations such as the National Academy of Educational Leadership; National Networks for Pedagogy and Curriculum, Professional Learning and Leadership and bespoke projects with schools; Local Education Authorities and Welsh Government. As a member of the research advisory board for the Cardiff  Initial Teacher Education Partnership  - she advises and works collaboratively across the partnership to build research capacity and engagement with school and university based teacher educators and over 200 partner schools.