Teacher Agency for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Making About this eventThis hybrid public lecture will explore teacher agency as a central feature of interdisciplinary curriculum making for social and environmental sustainability. The event opens with a panel of Moray House tutors who will share insights from their work supporting student teachers to engage in interdisciplinary learning (IDL) curriculum development. In the second half, Professor Mark Priestley will respond to the panel, drawing on curriculum theory, policy, and practice to examine the role of teachers as curriculum makers in the Scottish context. His response will foreground ecological understandings of teacher agency and highlight the critical importance of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing complex global challenges.Agenda17:00–17:30: Registration and refreshments17:30–18:30: Sharing practice from PGDE tutors: IDL and curriculum making18:30–19:30: Speaker: Professor Mark PriestleyAbstractIn this presentation I address three issues. First, I explore the idea of curriculum making, particularly when undertaken by teachers and other practitioners. This is a key area of importance for Scottish schools. Curriculum for Excellence, including in its new iteration emerging from the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, requires teachers to develop curricular practices from the conceptual framework provided by curriculum policy. Second, I explore the ecological understanding of teacher agency. Strong teacher agency is essential if teachers are to be effective curriculum makers, developing culturally responsive practice in their settings, as opposed to being technicians uncritically delivering policy prescriptions. Finally, I draw these two strands together, to explore how teachers might develop interdisciplinary curriculum, a necessity when many wicked problems facing the world cannot be easily addressed through education that is compartmentalised into separate subjects.About the speakerMark Priestley is Professor of Education at the University of Stirling. His research interests lie in the school curriculum – theory, policy and practice – and especially the processes of curriculum making across different layers of education systems. Mark was Lead Editor of the Curriculum Journal from 2018-2024, and is a member of the Scottish Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Board and a Co-Convener of the EERA network 3, Curriculum. His publications include 'Teacher Agency: An Ecological Approach' and 'Curriculum making in Europe: policy and practice within and across diverse contexts'.Joining onlineMS Teams login details will be sent to you in an auto-generated confirmation message from Eventbrite upon completion of your registration. (Please scroll down to the bottom of the message.) Please contact MHSES-REI-Events@ed.ac.uk if you do not receive this message.For any enquiries, please contact us at MHSES-REI-Events@ed.ac.uk. Tags Teacher Education, Curriculum and Pedagogy Research events Conferences, seminars and lectures Jun 25 2026 17.00 - 19.30 Teacher Agency for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Making This hybrid public lecture will be delivered by Professor Mark Priestley, Professor of Education at The University of Stirling. Hosted by the Teacher Education, Curriculum and Pedagogy Hub at Moray House School of Education and Sport, it is part of the Stewart Alan Robertson Lecture Series funded by the Robertson Endowment. In-person at G.1, Paterson's Land, The University of Edinburgh and online via MS Teams Register for free on Eventbrite
Teacher Agency for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Making About this eventThis hybrid public lecture will explore teacher agency as a central feature of interdisciplinary curriculum making for social and environmental sustainability. The event opens with a panel of Moray House tutors who will share insights from their work supporting student teachers to engage in interdisciplinary learning (IDL) curriculum development. In the second half, Professor Mark Priestley will respond to the panel, drawing on curriculum theory, policy, and practice to examine the role of teachers as curriculum makers in the Scottish context. His response will foreground ecological understandings of teacher agency and highlight the critical importance of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing complex global challenges.Agenda17:00–17:30: Registration and refreshments17:30–18:30: Sharing practice from PGDE tutors: IDL and curriculum making18:30–19:30: Speaker: Professor Mark PriestleyAbstractIn this presentation I address three issues. First, I explore the idea of curriculum making, particularly when undertaken by teachers and other practitioners. This is a key area of importance for Scottish schools. Curriculum for Excellence, including in its new iteration emerging from the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, requires teachers to develop curricular practices from the conceptual framework provided by curriculum policy. Second, I explore the ecological understanding of teacher agency. Strong teacher agency is essential if teachers are to be effective curriculum makers, developing culturally responsive practice in their settings, as opposed to being technicians uncritically delivering policy prescriptions. Finally, I draw these two strands together, to explore how teachers might develop interdisciplinary curriculum, a necessity when many wicked problems facing the world cannot be easily addressed through education that is compartmentalised into separate subjects.About the speakerMark Priestley is Professor of Education at the University of Stirling. His research interests lie in the school curriculum – theory, policy and practice – and especially the processes of curriculum making across different layers of education systems. Mark was Lead Editor of the Curriculum Journal from 2018-2024, and is a member of the Scottish Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Board and a Co-Convener of the EERA network 3, Curriculum. His publications include 'Teacher Agency: An Ecological Approach' and 'Curriculum making in Europe: policy and practice within and across diverse contexts'.Joining onlineMS Teams login details will be sent to you in an auto-generated confirmation message from Eventbrite upon completion of your registration. (Please scroll down to the bottom of the message.) Please contact MHSES-REI-Events@ed.ac.uk if you do not receive this message.For any enquiries, please contact us at MHSES-REI-Events@ed.ac.uk. Tags Teacher Education, Curriculum and Pedagogy Research events Conferences, seminars and lectures Jun 25 2026 17.00 - 19.30 Teacher Agency for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Making This hybrid public lecture will be delivered by Professor Mark Priestley, Professor of Education at The University of Stirling. Hosted by the Teacher Education, Curriculum and Pedagogy Hub at Moray House School of Education and Sport, it is part of the Stewart Alan Robertson Lecture Series funded by the Robertson Endowment. In-person at G.1, Paterson's Land, The University of Edinburgh and online via MS Teams Register for free on Eventbrite
Jun 25 2026 17.00 - 19.30 Teacher Agency for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Making This hybrid public lecture will be delivered by Professor Mark Priestley, Professor of Education at The University of Stirling. Hosted by the Teacher Education, Curriculum and Pedagogy Hub at Moray House School of Education and Sport, it is part of the Stewart Alan Robertson Lecture Series funded by the Robertson Endowment.
