Catherine Burke
Position/Status
- Senior Lecturer
E-mail Address
cb552@cam.ac.uk
Phone
(+44) 01223 767566
Qualifications
- BA (Hons) in History, University College, Cardiff
- MEd (Networked Learning / Telematics) University of Sheffield
- PhD in Social and Labour History, Sheffield City Polytechnick
Membership of Professional Bodies/Associations
- History of Education Society, UK
- British Educational Research Association (BERA)
Profile
Catherine Burke is Senior Lecturer in History of Education at the University of Cambridge. She is an historian currently engaged with cultural and material histories of educational contexts and of childhood in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Prior to moving to Cambridge in October 2008, she was Senior Lecturer in Education at the School of Education, University of Leeds. She received her PhD from Sheffield City Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University) in 1983. Her thesis was a regional case study in the development of socialist and other working class political organisation in the context of a northern industrial city and its bourgoisie. She gained her initial teaching experience in Sheffield working for the Adult Education Service and later in Higher Education at The University of Sheffield Division of Adult Continuing Education and Bretton Hall College. She has considerable research experience in the roles of co-director or principal investigator, and has worked on several collaborative interdisciplinary and research projects and investigations. Her current research examines the relationship between innovation in teaching and the design of formal and informal learning spaces; the view of the child and young person in the design of education; the history of 20th century school architecture and its pioneers. A major focus of the research is bringing an historical awareness to current initiatives to 'transform' education via school building renewal. Current research projects include 'The view of the child and young person in Museum and Gallery design' funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Catherine is a member of the Executive Committee of the History of Education Society (UK) and is currently lead convenor of the Histories of Education Network of the European Conference on Educational Research. She has researched and written on the history of school architecture, the participation of children in the design of school, as well as on contemporary school architecture.
Two recent co-authored research books are The School I'd Like. Children and Young People's Reflections on an Education for the 21st Century.London. RoutledgeFalmer (2003), and School London Reaktion Books (2008).
Academic Area/Links
- Cultural Histories of Education
- History of networks in educational innovation
- Visual methodologies in the participation of children in the design of education
Research Topics
- History of 20th century school architecture: relationships between designers, policy makers, HMI and teachers in international contexts
- Children and young people's participation in the design of museum and gallery spaces as informal contexts for education
Current Research Project(s)
- Principle Investigator. The view of the child in the design of museum and gallery spaces as sites for learning exploration and discovery (AHRC)
Course Involvement
- Education Tripos
Principal Publications
Burke, C. and Grosvenor, I. (2008). School. London: Reaktion Press.
Burke, C. (2008). 'Play in focus: children's visual voice in participative research' in: P. Thomson (Ed.) Doing Visual Research with Children and Young People. London: Routledge.
Burke, C., Gallagher, C., Prosser, J. and Torrington, J. (2008). 'The View of the Child: Explorations of the Visual Culture of the Made Environment.' in: Tom Inns (Ed.) Designing for the 21st Century. Interdisciplinary Questions and Insights.. London: Ashgate.
Burke, C. and Grosvenor, I. (2007). 'The Progressive Image in the History of Education: Stories of Two Schools'. Visual Studies, 22 (2), 155-168.
Burke, C. and Grosvenor, I. (2007). 'Designed spaces and disciplined bodies: E.R.Robson's grand architectural tour.' in: Greetje Timmerman, Nelleke Bakker, Jeroen J.H. Dekker (Ed.) Cultuuroverdracht als pedagogisch motief. Historische en actuele perspectieven op onderwijs, sekse en beroep.. Groningen: Barkhuis.
Burke, C. (2007). The View of the Child: Releasing 'visual voices' in the design of learning environments. Discourse, 28 (3), 359-372.
Burke, C. with Prosser, J. (2007). 'Childlike perspectives through image-based educational research.' in: J. G. Knowles and A. Cole (Ed.) Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: perspectives, methodologies, examples and issues. Sage.
Burke, C. and Ribeiro de Castro, H. (2007). 'The School Photograph: Portraiture and the Art of Assembling the Body of the School Child'. History of Education, 36 (2), 213-226.
Burke, C. (2007). 'Inspiring spaces: creating creative classrooms'.Curriculum Briefing, 5 (2), 35-39.
Burke, C. (2005). 'The School Without Tears'. E. F. O'Neill of Prestolee School'. History of Education, Volume 3, 263-275.
Burke, C. (ed) (2005). 'Containing the School Child:Architecture and Pedagogies'. Double Special Issue of the Journal Paedagogica Historica. Taylor and Francis.
Burke, C. (2005). 'Contested Desires: The Edible Landscape of School'. Paedagogica Historica, 41, 571-587.
Burke, C. and Grosvenor, I. (2005). 'School Buildings, a safe haven, not a prison.' in: C. Cable and I. Eyres (Ed.) Primary Teaching Assistants. Curriculum in Context. David Fulton.
Burke, C. (2005). 'The Edible Landscape of School' in: M. Dudek (Ed.) Children's Spaces. London: Architectural Press.
Burke, C. (2005). 'Light in the History of Schooling' in: M.Lawn and I. Grosvenor (Ed.) Materialities of Schooling. London: Symposium Books.
Burke, C. and Grosvenor, I. (2003). The School I'd Like. Children and Young People's Reflections on an Education for the 21st Century. London: RoutledgeFalmer.