Dr Brendan Bartram

National Teaching Fellow 2012 As well as his work with undergraduates, Dr Brendan Bartram teaches MA Education to international students and coordinates an international dual degree in Education Studies and English, run in conjunction with the Hogeschool van Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His research interests include foreign language education, comparative education and international education programmes. Recent publications have examined school pupils' attitudes to foreign language learning in England, Germany and the Netherlands, and various aspects of pedagogy in higher education. Brendan is particularly interested in the experiences of international students and the experiences and support needs of UK students on international programmes in HE.   Brendan is also a firm believer in transformative education and takes the view that effective learning requires students to do something, ideally with each other. "The more you can take students through interesting experiences and exchanges using a dialogic approach, the more they will engage," he believes. Though he acknowledges it is often a challenge to get home and international students talking with each other, it is an important one to face. Not only does this, in his view, create a more convivial and relaxed classroom environment, but well designed exchanges create opportunities for critical dialogue. He says it is important to communicate to students that confronting difference is sometimes unsettling, often troubling, but always enriching as a means by which horizons shift and expand. He is honorary secretary of the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) and an editorial board member of the international journal, Educational Review. He has previously worked in secondary, further and higher education in the UK and abroad, and has worked on a number of international curriculum projects. Recent and upcoming publications include: Bartram, B. (in press) 'Going the other way : the motivations and experiences of UK learners as international students' , in Blythman, M. & Sovic, S. International Students Negotiating Higher Education: Critical Perspectives, London: Routledge Bartram, B. (2012) 'Brits Abroad: The Perceived Support Needs of U.K. Learners Studying in Higher Education Overseas', Journal of Studies in International Education