Since winning his NTF, Clive has taken a strategic lead in promoting widening participation through Doctoral Education at UCLan, alongside elevating professional recognition of research supervisors nationally through his work for UKCGE.
Acting upon his beliefs in learning through literacy, Dr Clive Palmer has established a ‘knowledge democracy’ which is truly learner-centred. This outward-facing collective of research and creative thinking provides immediate resources for teaching, which students can relate to, whilst also attracting submissions from international scholars to share this impressive stage.
Dr Clive Palmer is a Senior Lecturer in Sport at the University of Central Lancashire. He draws upon his varied background in sports, engineering, the arts and philosophy to experiment with pedagogical innovations and then publishes student-centred writing emerging from them at undergraduate and postgraduate/PhD levels.
Underpinning his interest in physicality in learning, Clive has competed at the national level in three sports; Gymnastics, Athletics and Canoeing. From being an Apprentice Engineer in the RAF, he then became a school teacher and since 2000, lecturer/curriculum designer-come-research supervisor in higher education. From these experiences, Clive believes in the transferability of skills and importantly, that a university degree is primarily for educating the person, not solely for knowledge acquisition.
A strong advocate of Research Informed Teaching and recognising student voice in the learning process, Clive has pursued his ideas for learning through literacy and arts-based pedagogy. In 2007 he established the peer-reviewed Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies (ISSN 1754-2375) as an ‘academic window’ for student research. Its pedagogical remit to support learning is unique, with student-staff collaborations reaching across status boundaries and now staking an international presence in the world of qualitative research and sports pedagogy. From 12 volumes to date, 126 papers from national and international scholars stand shoulder-to-shoulder to inform the curriculum or others’ learning, wherever that may be global.
Clive is also the Editor of the Sporting Image Series of books comprising a further 300+ chapters of student-staff writing. This ground-breaking work affords a view into an arts-based pedagogy, which also ‘goes public’ to share good practices and inspire new learners. Clive has utilised Open Access websites to promote his students’ work, establishing a ‘knowledge democracy’ in the production and consumption of learners’ writing and collaborative wisdom.
Recognising the vocational-academic divide in higher education for studying Outdoor Leadership, Sport and Physical Education, Clive has been influential nationally for curriculum change, bridging this divide, specifically by generating demand for learning through literacy. His catalogue of student-centred work is now accessed by (and contributed to) by students and teachers around the world, from Australia, China, Poland, Germany, Greece, America, Canada, and UK HEIs.