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Storytelling research book (book announcement)

Emma Parfitt — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 13:09:00 +0000

Yay!

I am happy to announce that Palgrave MacMillian will be publishing my book on storytelling research at the end of next year. This has involved 6 months of hard work, rethinking and amazingly kind reviews and suggestions (some by the fabulous Jack Zipes).

The book will be published as part of a special series: Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education.

Photo credit: guvendemir (link to artist no longer available).

I think one of the difficulties will be finding an appropraite cover image as so many searches have resulted in primary children reading books, rather than secondary school aged youth listening to a tale. Any photographers or if you know a photographer with an appropriate image for sale please let me know.

Working book synopsis:

This book explores young people’s lives through fairy tales to demonstrate our complex relationship with storytelling including the emotional, behavioural and social aspects of story. Young people, learning & storytelling… provides excerpts from young people’s conversations following storytelling performances in secondary schools in the UK. The contents are based on storytelling research of international significance when considering the benefits of story and storytelling for learning; the interdisciplinary study of narrative; and the interaction of different narrative forms with young people’s agency (their ability to act independently and to make their own choices).

The book has two key aims, (1) to demonstrate through a unique “storytelling space” method young peoples’ complex relationship with story and their surroundings, and, (2) to make a case for the benefits of storytelling for learning and supporting interpersonal and critical thinking skills within the classroom.

It is for an educated reader with an interest in fairy tales, literature and storytelling or gaining an insight into young people’s lives, and in addition, for professionals such as: educators (from early childhood to secondary and higher education), people working in theatre, performance and drama, or those who are utilising storytelling in their work as a therapeutic tool.

The journey

The journey taken through research-based discussion and interdisciplinary theory will lead readers to reflect on the myriad of ways in which our lives connect to story. Educators and researchers can benefit from a deeper understanding of the stories that are told/read to children and the importance of discussing what topics children feel are important in those stories. In other words, to consider what lessons stories hold: the ‘civilizing effect’ of storytelling.

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Emma’s Little Red Coat – Scottish Book Trust

Emma Parfitt — Tue, 05 May 2015 19:00:00 +0000

Red riding hood

Red, there’s a reason why women claim it as their colour. It’s a power colour, interwoven with our right of passage into womanhood. This month I submitted a story to the Scottish Book Trust part a fairy tale and part biography inspired by my journey to doing a PhD. The Scottish Book Trust hosted the story for a while, but it is no longer available. The story was called Emma’s Little Red Coat. And I have the full short story below for you.

Little Emma’s Red Coat

Walls can be furry; at least the outer surface. The side where I found myself was ribbed and fleshy. I took one of granny’s knitting needles and pressed the tip against my finger. How did I get here? The options for a shy, self-deprecating girl, after university are simple: she puts away her cloak of dreams to find a job and somewhere to live. Naturally a biology degree led to cleaning, reception work, and pensions; where wolves eat little girls and call it profit. I used my meagre wages to travel: I hiked in Peru, worked with children in India, dove in the red sea, yet my palms itched for something more.

In stories the main character takes a while to figure out what they want. It takes a long time to worm your way out of a wolf’s stomach with only a pair of knitting needles. Trust me.

My granny was a clerk of the court. She knew the law inside out. She also liked to knit and read horror novels. The paths we chose weren’t neat little woollen knits. Granny’s wool became as red as blood. Clickety-clack, she weaves the wool into a coat to see me through winter.

I never had the chance to ask Granny about academic life because she died before I understood many things. I do not think she would be proud of the girl I was: quiet voice, long hair, crippling fear. Isn’t that what a girl is brought up to be? The good news is that I rebelled, silently, slowly. She would be proud of me now.

The “truth” of Granny’s journey, and my journey, is complex: mouthfuls of pins, flowers and feathers. Do you know the story well? Perrault lied: my granny never knitted me a cloak, she crocheted a shawl. Mr and Mr Grimm lied too: Stranger Danger? There was no hunter.

I raked myself free of the wolf’s belly without scissors or axes. I used the tools that my granny left me: curiosity, imagination and perseverance. I strove to escape the clichés of womanhood; scorned red shoes and threw porridge pots at would be suitors. I was dubbed Ice Queen by people too wrapped up in their furs to be open to “the other”. They did not see the woman who listened to the heartbeats of trees, laughed like a child, read for hours, and danced while ironing.

Have you noticed that in folk tales women’s blood is constantly spilled? Keep to the path little girl; be good, be docile; hide your face, curl your hair and avoid giving off the wrong impression. There are still plenty of wolves in the forest but it is not those wolves you have to be wary of.

I returned to university to create a story of my own making. I researched oral storytelling in schools; spoken, verbal, uttered. The social space created by stories. I am not saying the whole world is comprised of fiction, but I have certainly wove a fiction out of this journey.

The knitting needles are sticky in my hands. I will put them down. I do not need them anymore. I do not need the self-criticism and self-doubt. I must ignore those harmful words from parents, teachers, peers, which still echo in my ears. I need to have hope, I need to be nurtured and supported. To break the spell that led to the smooth and fleshy stomach of the wolf.

So let us, other, woman, man, run, run like my grandmother did towards something more satisfying. This is where our journey begins and ends.

Storytelling research

If you would like to know more about my work some initial thoughts are published here:-

Parfitt, E.L. 2014. Storytelling as a trigger for sharing conversations. Exchanges: the Warwick Research Journal. 1(2).

Young people, learning & storytelling was published with MacMillan in 2019.

Publications

A Friendship of Thistles

Seascape

Shattered Roses

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PhD Agony

Emma Parfitt — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 08:16:00 +0000

(based on the genius song “Agony” from Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim)

Did I abuse this (educational opportunity)
by showing distain?
My brain’s feeling mashed up.
I might just lose it;
tormented I’m reeling
from frontal lobe pain!

Agony!
VIVA’s out of my reach
When you’ve had an idea
Yet that idea it still defies speech

Alone at my desk
I sit by the hour
Tearing my hair
Tense and confused, frequently screaming
A song of despair
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-

Agony!

Caught my tongue in a draw
Trying to write is like trying
To fight Je Suis Charlie, and more

Agony!

Oh, the fees that they charge!

If I had funding…

If I had funding I’d

buy butter not marg.

I’m not grammatically
savy,
fanatical,
charming,
attentive,
gifted,
as bright as the person

I’m trying to be

You are everything government bodies

could wish for.

Then why don’t

they fund you?

I really don’t know!

Professors know nothing of sadness
They have jobs and there aren’t
aren’t any jobs, as you’re
nearing the ending
you’re deadline approaching
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-

Agony!

Unemployment!

Debt!

My life’s far from a peach

If the rich had a heart

I would eat it for tea

Agony!

That can sting like a lemon!

I will survive my PhD

(hopefully)

[please note that this is a satire of the PhD experience, based on my own experiences and those of others… not to be taken seriously… hopefully]

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Minneapolis Research Trip Sept 2014

Emma Parfitt — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 13:56:00 +0000

In September I was invited to Minneapolis by Professor Jack Zipes to participate in the work of Neighborhood Bridges. This involved presenting my research to staff, teachers and teaching artists of Neighborhood Bridges, meeting with academics, and going into a number of different schools to see the project in action.

A brief overview of Bridges

Walker Sculpture Garden (Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburgh)

Bridges is recognised by the US Department for Education as a national model for arts education. Highly trained teaching artists take storytelling and drama into schools and work with the teacher and their classroom from autumn to spring. The breadth of the work is impressive as Bridges works with almost forty teaching artists and teachers in schools across Minneapolis. I assisted four teaching artists in the class room during their first sessions. The teaching artist works with the teacher and a classroom of approximately twenty to thirty young people within primary and secondary schools. Throughout the year the classroom works on encouraging the students’ individual and group storytelling and drama skills, including creativity and the ability to question story from their own experiences. The year cumulates with storytelling performances created by the students at the Children’s Theatre Company which is an opportunity to see performances from other schools and meet other classrooms on the program. Dr Deborah Ingram at the University of Minnesota, and others, assess the program to ensure critical literacy targets are met.

Presenting storytelling research at Warwick

After introducing myself to roughtly forty teachers and teaching artists on September tenth Maria Asp at Bridges kindly arranged a two hour slot on the fifteenth. This was an opportunity to hear the perspectives of various teaching artists, teachers and Bridges staff. My research aims to investigate if oral storytelling, within a school context, can be used to understand and/or assist the transitions of young people of 12-14 years into adult roles. To answer this question a total of thirty focus groups were conducted across three schools over five weeks using an innovative storytelling method called the storytelling space because it creates an area within a school separate from conventional goal-focused education.

After presenting an outline of this work I asked how storytelling research might support the work currently done in education. A number of themes arose during this discussion.

The social aspects of storytelling

Bridges Program Director and Teaching Artist Maria Asp reflected, ‘To me it just seems right on that the social trigger is where the learning happens. That’s because everything that we know about true critical pedagogy is that learning is relational, that when they’re in a space where they’re knowledge is valued, and their experiences, if it’s family or whatever, is seen as valuable sources, as opposed to another author or something, that’s where kids, that’s where they show their greatest compassion and understanding for each other.’

Education

The group discussed how current assessed education stifles potential and creative thinking. Maria Asp said ‘Making space for non-scripted teaching is an argument that I think storytelling could support’ for example in terms of information retention. Storytelling in education over text-based work led has in the group’s opinion led to an astounding recollection of details from Bridges’ storytelling games from the start of the year. Narratives are remembered, they see this in action working with the classrooms. Sandy Agustin, Teaching Artist, points out education is ‘about asking questions it’s not about right or wrong. It’s what do you think?’

Bridges teaching artists described the way in which storytelling breaks barriers so teachers see pupils differently and vice versa. They have seen how the program improves class relationships, and how the teachers learn and enhance their own skills over the year and beyond. Engaging the teachers engages the students.

The role of the storyteller

The group I presented to were surprised, and shocked!, when the storyteller was asked to leave the room during the research focus groups (the storyteller’s role being to deliver the story then leave the group to their discussion). The purpose of this, due to lack of time to train the storytellers in the research method, was to avoid adult-led discussion. This technique avoided leading the storyteller to perform in a particular way to enhance the research goals which I felt would be interference. Although by being present and conducting the research this has an effect. Tessa Flynn, Community Engagement Manager and Teaching Artist, said ‘It’s interesting too, that it’s just the kids. Just taping what they are talking about’.

Professor Jack Zipes said, ‘you’ve got to talk to the storyteller. They’re going to emphasise certain things. All teaching artists in bridges go in with the intention to animate students, to think about particular problems. The way they tell their stories will emphasise certain things.’

This I saw in action whilst assisting Bridges in different schools across Minneapolis. The teaching artists told the same introductory story of Minnie and St Paul; a folk tale about the founding of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St Paul). However the relationship between the two characters, Minnie and Paul was retold in many different ways. Jay Scoggin for example emphasised Minnie’s gratefulness to Paul for building a bridge to return her cows to her that had wandered onto his land. In Katy McEwen’s version Paul gave Minnie back her cows, which allowed Katy to ask the classroom what else Paul could do to say sorry. A student suggested that Paul could offer Minnie another cow and Katy wove the idea into the story. Aaron Radatz’s version of Paul captured his love of pranks so that Paul purposefully hid the cows in his barn as a joke as he cleverly drew the students into the story. And Tess Flynn had her classroom feeling comfortable enough to be acting out the character of Minnie, copying her actions of Minnie’s cranky personality whilst telling the story.

Storytelling is relational, and in education research the relationships between storyteller and teacher has time to evolve into a richer learning experience. In the Bridges program the storyteller facilitates discussion of the story by placing questions in the students like ‘who has the power in this story?’.

Differences between US and UK research

I was able to obtain school approval to record the audio of student’s conversations. Shannon McManimon who did her PhD on Bridges wasn’t allowed to record and had to take notes by hand. This creates an obstacle to research. Though she noted, as I did, most of the time the students forgot that they were being recorded. And that a researcher by being present is an interfering presence. Shannon’s PhD was based about a story she narrated: ‘who told the story was no longer important because they had taken ownership of that story’.

I was stuck with how to end this blog because there is much more that came out of the discussions. However it is most fitting to end with a question from a Bridges member of staff.

Rachel Austin Bernstein, East Metro/Early Bridges Manager

‘These students were doing this means nothing against all the standardised test scores. Yet this is serious educational research. That’s a different research language than analysing test scores. How can we compare the two different kinds of research?‘

With many thanks to Professor Jack Zipes, to everyone involved with Neighborhood Bridges Project for being so welcoming, and the Sociology Department at Warwick for their support

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The Well at the World’s End: Storytelling, Health & Well-being (Fri 4th July)

Emma Parfitt — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 15:44:00 +0000

My trip to the conference (Well at the World’s End) and the Beyond the Boarders storytelling festival inspired the following short piece which I dedicate to everyone present this year.

[Picture from Redbubble.com]

Memories beside the sea – a micro story

The trees watched the people as they approached; but the people weren’t aware that the trees were watching. For time unmeasured the trees of the grove danced with the wind beside the sea. One day some people came. The trees didn’t understand why. The figures looked like small saplings to the trees. Saplings that pounded their roots on the ground but not in the earth; that drank water but not with their roots; that sang but not with the liquefied earth that the trees felt effortlessly flow through their trunks and branches. These saplings pounded the earth and drank water until they couldn’t walk, and sang until they couldn’t talk. And when the sun had set and risen three times the saplings, being uprooted, left for another place. The trees saw what the people did not know. The trees remembered that one day people came and may return to share their grove beside the sea. Until then the trees of the grove danced with the wind beside the sea.

Introduction

Amidst the ancient stone walls of St Donat’s Castle, with the sea stretching out beyond the large glass windows, a gathering of minds unfolded. We pulled our chairs close, and the air buzzed with anticipation. The topic? Stories—those elusive threads that weave through our lives, connecting us to meaning, metaphor, and each other. Organized by Steven Killick (Cardiff) and Alette Willis (Edinburgh), this event promised to unravel the future of storytelling research.

1. Reinventing Presentations

The day began with a hiccup—the dreaded PowerPoint glitch. But necessity breeds innovation. On the spot, I reinvented my presentation, shedding the digital crutch. Perhaps it was serendipity; my impromptu delivery felt more authentic, more alive. Sometimes, the unplanned path leads to richer pastures.

2. The Power of Connection

Alette Willis captured the essence of the morning session in a single word: connect. Storytelling, she asserted, enables connections. In a world fractured by disconnection, stories bridge the gaps. They link us to meaning, to metaphor, and most importantly, to one another. As practitioners and researchers, we grappled with a fundamental question: How do we convince the skeptics—the nonbelievers—that stories matter? Why should they fund research into this intangible magic?

3. Dialogues and Diverse Voices

The discussions flowed like a river of narratives at A Well at the World’s End. Here’s a glimpse:

Prue Thimbleby: Stories in care settings—nursing homes, breast reconstruction appointments. How can narratives amplify voices?
Elizabeth Vooght: Playfulness therapy and Kamberelis’s work—a tantalizing connection to my own research.
Dafydd Davies-Hughes: Storytelling with young probationers in Welsh communities—unlocking potential.
Fiona Collins: Her storytelling revival questionnaire—revealing the heartbeat of storytelling.
Laura Simms: Stories as repair tools—transforming ex-child soldiers, rebuilding communities.
Janet Dowling: Bereavement narratives and therapeutic practice—a delicate dance.
Suzie Doncaster: Confidence in communication—how stories empower.
Nicola Grove: Using storytelling to support those with learning difficulties—bridging gaps.
Emily: Women’s stories of their bodies—across art forms, a symphony of voices.
Jess Wilson: Storytelling in psychiatric nursing—compassion and connection.
Trish Chilton: Social construction and meaning-making—researching stories creatively.
Rosa Durand: Federal police in Mexico—training officers to tell stories for peace.
Karen Lewis: The George Ewart Evans Centre For Storytelling—a hub of exploration.

4. Steve Killick’s Call to Action

As the morning sun bathed the castle, Steve Killick stepped forward. His words resonated: “Stories are a powerful way of working with people.” But it’s not enough to feel it; we must prove it. Research—the missing stitch in our tapestry—must fill in the gaps. Let’s weave stories into evidence, and evidence into understanding.

Conclusion to A Well at the World’s End Conference

In the castle’s shadow, we left with hearts full of stories. The conference had done its magic—connecting us, inspiring us. As we venture forth, let’s remember that stories are more than words; they are lifelines. So, fellow storytellers, let’s spin our tales, stitch by stitch, until the whole world is wrapped in their warmth.

And there you have it—a retelling of our conference, a patchwork of voices. May our narratives continue to intertwine, creating bridges across time and space.

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Tanith Lee

Emma Parfitt — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 16:56:00 +0000

Thanks to Tanith Lee I’ve planned a live lounge for Iggy members to discuss Wolfland. Wolfland is one of my absolute favourite reworkings of Little Red Riding Hood so I would recommend this one.

Who is Tanith Lee?

Tanith Lee is a British fantasy author. She is the author of more than 70 novels and almost 300 short stories. The story is one in a collection of reworked fairy tales ‘Red as Blood’ edited by Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling and it might remind you of a very familiar fairy tale you know! Special permission has also been granted by Tanith Lee herself to distribute the story to Iggy members who want to take part in the live lounge.

What will the live lounge do?

We’ll be looking at the story critically and discussing writing style and fairy tale motifs along with as well as reflecting on images in the writing, and what the story tells us about femininity and gender. Such as what the author captures about men and women’s perceived roles in society.

It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Thank you

I appreciate Tanith’s persmission to share the short story with young people for this workshop. It was lovely to recieve a personal email, expressing her interest with the intensions I had for the workshop. Thinking about story and our relationship with it, is always to be encouraged!

My own writing

Who is Emma Parfitt?

Emma Parfitt is a proofreader with 18 years of writing experience with businesses, academics and creative writers. She obtained a Creative Writing MA (St Andrews University) and a PhD in Storytelling (Warwick University). Then set up her own proofreading business and became a published author of fiction as well as academic literature such as Young People, Learning & Storytelling (Palgrave Macmillan).

Get in touch!

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Funding Success

Emma Parfitt — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 12:17:00 +0000

When I met with Jack Zipes in November 2013 to talk about my research into storytelling he kindly invited me to Minneapolis, US, to work with Neighbourhood Bridges, a charity for underprivileged youth advancement in literacy and communication skills. Neighbourhood Bridges is recognised by the US Government for as a national model for arts education. The catch of course being that I had to raise the money to go.

I was advised and supported in my application to the departments IMPACT fund by my supervisor, Mick Carpenter, Anton Popov and Martin Prince (MYPLACE), and Nickie Charles. This Monday in a meeting with the head of the Sociology department Professor John Solomos I was awarded funding for my trip this coming September.

Success!

A big thank you for everyone who gave me advice and support.

This month I also met with Professor Simon Williams, due to his interests in the Sociology of Emotions. He gave me a friendly grilling about my research questions and methodology, it really helped me clarify where I was now positioning myself. And how much reading I have to do in the Sociology of Emotions whenever I get the time between my three part-time jobs and transcription. I returned to the office and rewrote my research questions inline what I have been thinking about this year.

And that was followed by a chat with Martin Price (Director of MYPLACE) about how my storytelling research could help research with people of all ages and political engagement in terms of using storytelling, and what sorts of stories to use, to support people in opening up about political engagement.

Coming soon… a bit of publishing news!

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Childcare … Education, Emotions and the Future Seminar

Emma Parfitt — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 11:12:00 +0000

Childcare meeting a conference? What are you talking about, Emma? The name of the conference was Education, Emotions and the Future Seminar. I attended and spoke at this fascinating conference in Leicester (22 Jan 2014). The standard of speakers was very high. Here is a link to the presentation that I gave:-

Emma’s presentation

The programme for the day was as follows:-

Part 1: Education, Emotions and the Present

Keynote: ‘Spatial Disparities in Emotional Responses to Education: Feelings of ‘Guilt’ Amongst Student-Parents’ (Rachel Brooks; University of Surrey)

Detached Youth Work: Understanding (how to be with) Young People’s Emotions (Matej Blazek; Loughborough University)

Emotions and Disaffection with School Mathematics (Gareth Lewis; University of Leicester)

The Cry for Professional Intimacy (Fiona Birkbeck; University of Nottingham)

Reflection, Emotions, Shock and Puzzlement in the Education Workplace (Rajesh Patel; De Montfort University)

Part 2: Education, Emotions and the Future

Keynote: Education and the Construction of Hope (Darren Webb; University of Sheffield)

Atmospheres of Progress in a Data-Based School (Matt Finn; University of Durham)

Me! The Narrative of Education: A Changing Force in Society? (Emma Parfitt; University of Warwick)

Widening Participation and Educating Hope (Thomas Grant; University of Leicester)

Thoughts about the conference

I especially enjoyed Darren Webb, Matt Finn, and also Rachel Brooks’ talk on student-parents.

What I took away from Rachel Brooks’ talk is this. That historically there is an uneasy relationship between emotions and higher education. Emotions are typically erased or managed in the education system in place of rational thought (Beard 07, Clegg 13, Hey and Leathwood 09). This is an advantage to those from privileged backgrounds. I am not from such a background, and have found the educational transition hard between public school, to university (for a degree), finally returning for a PhD after working. With a lot more confidence, if not the bank balance … having worked parttime to fund my studies as a mature student.

One place where class and choices meet, where the topic of the talk was evident, is in the provision of childcare and the ability of women to have access to suitable childcare for their circumstances. For instance this effects women’s options to return to education/work or stay in the home to provide childcare. And different women have different needs and wants in this area.

I liked the idea Brooks mentioned of social patterning. What makes a good mother, what makes a good father, as being determined by the expectations and pressures of society around families. The ‘norm’ for a family, in terms of who cares for the child, who works, in the family home.

Women’s Guilt

Over all women felt more guilty than fathers for returning to university. Brooks’ argued that therefore normative constructions of motherhood are in conflict with education. And one could say that emphasis on attachment (in early childhood studies) and intensive parenting (and its effect on brain development) carries a cost for women more than men. How as woman can we validate decisions to keep working, or to return to education, if child care structures as they stand do not there to support this?

I found it interesting that more guilt was expressed by UK mothers than those from Denmark (the study compared two Danish, and two British univisersities). Brooks’ explained that in Denmark it is more usual for mothers to work while the child is young compared to the UK where women feel the weight of societal disapproval against the return of mothers to the workplace. Her work indicates that surrounding social networks have a big impact in women’s opportunities/resolve to return or continue with higher education. Brooks’ also mentioned that the state also plays an important role because they establish the ‘norms’ of child care. More needs to be done to support women who want to work, because women can feel this conflict between work and child care. Those that want to work also want to know their child is getting the best care.

Women in Denmark

Women in Denmark also received more support from their partners. Men were more involved with child care. Whereas in the UK men predominantly saw themselves as providers for the family and therefore less guilty than the women for not being as involved with child care. Though I also know, through personal experience, more men are opting to look after their children, and support their partners and get involved, to allow their partner to continue working.

The point is that those options should be there. Women should be supported and not made to feel guilty for wanting to work. Whether we like it or not female biology makes this difficult, naturally mothers want to be close to their child, they may want to breast-feed and there are not the structures to support this for the average working woman. The workplace favours men with families more than women, and understandably women are more and more caustious about mentioning family in a job interview than men. Because it is assumed that they will be the ones to drop everything and not show up to work if the child has the chicken-pox or whatever.

More provisions are needed for childcare

Therefore more provisions, more demands, need to be requested from employers, from the government, to allow women to be close to their children whilst working. And affordable child care for people who need to work to bring in enough money to live on.

Obviously any woman who intends to have a family will have concerns about how to balance these things. Especially that it is often the woman who is expected to make sacrifices either in terms of her career or in time spent with her children. We can’t have it all. That is the reality. But we can try to find a way that works for us … that at least should be an option.

Unfortunately we don’t all have the same gumption as Kara Westlund, a full-time municipal councillor to take our children to work. I have to ask… why not?

Who am I?

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Interview with Jack Zipes

Emma Parfitt — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 13:41:00 +0000

This month I went to Cambridge to talk to Professor Jack Zipes about my PhD in storytelling and socialization. Here is a podcast about my visit. it begins with an introduction of my work followed by a summary from Professor Zipes of his unusual career path including how he believes storytelling can benefit young people: Click for Podcast

After outlining the summer school widening participation project me and Paul Whitehouse ran at Warwick University this year and our hopes to form a permanent programme in schools Professor Zipes invited me to go to Minneapolis and observe the Neighbourhood Bridges Program that he co-founded Peter Brosius, artistic director of the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis in 1997. The Neighbourhood Bridges literacy program runs from September to May each year. There are about 15 to 20 sessions per every week in different schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul in the USA.

For more information please follow this link: Neighbourhood Bridges Project.

I am currently seeking a grant to allow me to take up this fabulous opportunity.

I have also been invited to present a roundtable at the BSA conference this year but was unable to attend due to a family wedding. However I will be speaking at Leicester University’s conference on Education, Emotions and the Future on the 22nd of January 2014.

Thus far I have been able to continue in my PhD and related projects due to the generosity of the PREP fund at Warwick University, Warwick’s English Department, and the Adam Smith Institute.

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