Profiles
Peter Brett
Peter Brett
Senior Lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences education
Room D207, Cradle Coast Campus, Cradle Coast Campus
Dr. Peter Brett is a Senior Lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences education in the Faculty of Education based at the north west Cradle Coast Campus. He is an experienced teacher educator with specific professional expertise in the areas of history education and civics and citizenship education and has a number of journal and book chapter publications in these areas. He was involved in a variety of ways in the launch of citizenship education in England from 2002-2008 and is the current President of the Social and Citizenship Education Association of Australia. He is a co-editor of Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences: Teaching and Learning across Australia [7th edn., Cengage, 2019].
Biography
Peter completed his PhD in History (early nineteenth century British popular politics) at the University of Durham in 1991 and worked as a History teacher in a 13-18 high school in Northumberland, England from 1989-1993. He worked as a Secondary teacher educator at the University of Cumbria from 1993 to 2008 before arriving at the University of Tasmania in November 2011. He was seconded as a continuing professional development consultant on citizenship education to the UK government's Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2003-2005), he was a member of the Steering committee of the collaborative CitizED project (2003-2006), and a chair of examiners for a GCSE Citizenship Studies program (2002-2010). He was the lead author on a Council of Europe project to exemplify competences for beginning teachers in relation to Education for Democratic Citizenship (2009).
He currently works mainly with primary teachers on Humanities and Social Sciences education within the B.Ed. programme, is supervising nine Ph.D students and has several recently completed successful candidates. Peter has been both the B.Ed. (Primary Course Co-ordinator (2013-15) and Graduate Research Co-ordinator (2016-18) for the School of Education, jointly responsible in the latter role for supporting the progress of around 130 Higher Degree Research candidates. He is a trained Initial Teacher accreditor and has served on several Inter-State accreditation panels.
Career summary
Qualifications
- PhD (1991) 'The liberal middle classes and politics in three provincial towns - Newcastle, Bristol and York c.1812-1841', University of Durham, United Kingdom
- PGCE (1986), University of Manchester, United Kingdom
- BA (Hons) (1985),Modern History (First Class), University of Durham, United Kingdom
Languages (other than English)
- Italian
- French
Memberships
Professional practice
Peter was co-editor of the SCEAA journal The Social Educator before assuming the President’s role in June 2018. He has been a history education consultant with the Tasmanian National Trust as part of a National Teaching and Learning Project linked to National Trust properties (2014-16). He is a co-editor of Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences: Teaching and Learning across Australia [7th edn., Cengage, 2019], the best-selling HASS text in Australia for pre-service teachers. He was a liaison academic on a Faculty of Education/Tasmanian Department of Education Literacy/Numeracy project in 2013/14. He has been a lead author on collaborative Faculty research projects linked to the ‘impact’ of teacher education programmes and pre-service teachers in schools.
Administrative expertise
In addition to his recent Faculty leadership roles, Peter has recent senior leadership experience in schools, having served as a Director of Learning (Communication, Culture, and Community) at an 11-18 Academy school in the north of England from 2008-2010. He was a staff representative on Academic Senate from 2014-16 and has advocated for the expansion of teaching and research undertaken at the regional north west campus as one of the co-ordinators of the Cradle Coast Campus Community of Practice.
Teaching
History education; Civics and citizenship education; Teaching and learning about identities; Global education; Political literacy; Active citizenship and participation; Teaching controversial issues; Museum education
Teaching expertise
Peter has taught Humanities and Social Sciences teachers across the early years, primary, secondary, and 16-19 age phases. As a course co-ordinator he was responsible for quality assuring all units within the B.Ed. (Primary) program and also prepared the program for accreditation by the Tasmanian Registration Board. He wrote the first annual course report for this program (2014). The main unit for which he is responsible (ESH360) is very favourably evaluated by students.
Teaching responsibility
ESH260 - Introduction to Humanities and Social Sciences Education
ESH360 - Humanities and Social Sciences Education (Advanced)
43B - Bachelor of Education (Primary)
Research Appointments
- University of York, External Examiner on M.A. in Global/Citizenship education, 2004 – 2007.
- Institute of Education, London. External Examiner, PGCE Citizenship 2005-2008.
Research Invitations
Peter provided advice in late 2014 to the Constitutional Education Fund of Australia (CEFA) in relation to the establishment of an Australian Constitutional Centre with a remit to promote and stimulate good practice in civics and citizenship education.
View more on Dr Peter Brett in WARP
Expertise
- History education
- Civics and citizenship education
- History of Education
- Teaching and learning about identities
- Global education
- Political literacy
- Active citizenship and participation
- Teaching controversial issues
- Museum education
Research Themes
Peter's research aligns to the research theme of 'Creativity Culture, and Society'.
In citizenship education Peter is especially interested in the promotion of political literacy and active citizenship. In one recent paper he argued that, 'We need some powerful messages to Australian Education departments and school principals so that they can clearly grasp the wider benefits for their schools in taking maximal approaches to citizenship education seriously. The evidence is overwhelming that the most effective active citizenship projects engage with real, authentic, live, local, national, or global contemporary issues….. At its best, citizenship education is integral to a whole school culture, contributing to value-oriented knowledge, action-based skills, and change-centred competences that empower young people and strengthen social justice (Social Educator, 2014 – see below).'
Peter has also worked with different colleagues recently exploring the relationship between citizenship education and persuasive advocacy in literacy contexts. Tasmania is a place rich in fundamental and contested political debates, especially around environmental issues, where there are a range of opportunities for young people to exercise their democratic views. There can be a real power in engaging young people in deliberative democratic practices. This naturally includes the articulation of ideas in writing. He argued that 'persuasive writing can be taught in a principled way, with the citizenship curriculum landscape providing authentic public audiences for persuasion, whilst also preparing students for high-stakes literacy tests' (Journal of Social Science Education, 2014, see below).
In history education Peter argues that 'History for young children should be a combination of visual extravaganza, soap opera, puzzle and detective story'. He has worked closely with Tasmanian local museums recently, seeing them as rich educational institutions which play an important role within the local Community in helping to 'foster an emotional attachment to the past that can make learning enjoyable and memorable' (Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2014). He argues that 'historical learning should be about critical engagement with the past, conflicting perspectives on the past, and the presentation to young people of ongoing and sometimes contentious debates about the past rather than a consensual agreed upon product' (Citizenship, Social and Economic Education, 2013 – see below)
Collaboration
Peter was on the Steering Committee of CitizED - a major UK teacher education project on Citizenship Initial Teacher Education, sponsored by the Training and Development Agency from 2002-2008. More recently he has collaborated with University of Tasmania colleagues on an internal ‘Impact in ITE’ project.
Current projects
Peter worked with a federally-funded National Trust Teaching and Learning Project (2013-2016) as the Tasmanian representative and project liaison individual working across four properties. In 2018 his main project was the co-editorship of the HASS pre-service teacher Cengage text (with Associate Professor Libby Tudball (Monash) and Professor Rob Gilbert (University of Queensland).
Fields of Research
- Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum and Pedagogy (excl. Economics, Business and Management) (130205)
- English and Literacy Curriculum and Pedagogy (excl. LOTE, ESL and TESOL) (130204)
- Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators (130313)
- Curriculum and Pedagogy (130299)
- Educational Administration, Management and Leadership (130304)
- Communication and Media Studies (200199)
- Education Assessment and Evaluation (130303)
- Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History) (210303)
- Creative Arts, Media and Communication Curriculum and Pedagogy (130201)
- Specialist Studies in Education (130399)
- Mathematics and Numeracy Curriculum and Pedagogy (130208)
- Secondary Education (130106)
- Higher Education (130103)
- Primary Education (excl. Maori) (130105)
- Curriculum and Pedagogy Theory and Development (130202)
Research Objectives
- Pedagogy (930201)
- Teacher and Instructor Development (930202)
- Curriculum (930399)
- Teaching and Instruction Technologies (930203)
- Teaching and Instruction (930299)
- Education and Training Systems (930599)
- Education and Training (939999)
- Assessment and Evaluation of Curriculum (930301)
- Education and Training Systems Policies and Development (930501)
- School/Institution (930499)
- The Media (950204)
- Learner and Learning Processes (930102)
- Management and Leadership of Schools/Institutions (930401)
- Syllabus and Curriculum Development (930302)
- Learner and Learning Achievement (930101)
- Workforce Transition and Employment (939908)
Publications
Historically, Peter's single piece of work which has had the widest impact is: Brett, P. et al. (2009) How all teachers can support citizenship and human rights education: a framework for the development of competences, Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg.
Of four A1 2013 publications, the two publications here are pre-eminent specialist journals in the field of citizenship education:
* Brett, P. (2013). Citizenship education in England in the shadow of the Great War, Citizenship Teaching & Learning, 8 (1) pp. 55-73.
* Brett, P. (2013). Beyond 'navel-gazing' and 'mush': Learning about identity in Australian classrooms, Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 12 (1) 3-17.
The first of the three A1 2014 publications (below) was published in in a top quartile education journal:
* Brett, P. (2014). 'The Sacred Spark of Wonder': Local Museums, Australian Curriculum History, and Pre-Service Primary Teacher Education: A Tasmanian Case Study. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(6) 1-19.
* Brett, P & Thomas, D.P. (2014). Discovering argument: linking literacy, citizenship education, and persuasive advocacy, Journal of Social Science Education, 13 (4) 61-72.
* Tudball, L. & Brett, P. (2014), What matters and what's next for civics and citizenship education in Australia?, The Social Educator, 32 (2) 4-15.Peter also has five current (accepted) 2015 book chapters or journal articles.
Total publications
32
Journal Article
(17 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Kertesz JL, Brett P, 'Defining and designing impact consciousness in teacher education', Teaching Education pp. 1-18. ISSN 1470-1286 (2019) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/10476210.2019.1583728 [eCite] [Details] Co-authors: Kertesz JL | |
| 2018 | Brett PD, Fitzallen N, Kilpatrick S, Morrison C, Reynolds B, et al., 'Learning the Words: supervising teachers and the language of impact in an initial teacher education programme', Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43, (8) Article 7. ISSN 0313-5373 (2018) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.14221/ajte.2018v43n8.7 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 1 Co-authors: Fitzallen N; Kilpatrick S; Morrison C; Reynolds B; Kertesz J; Quentin-Baxter M; Mainsbridge C | |
| 2018 | Brett P, 'Retrieving the civic dimension in history: Creating meaningful and memorable links between History and Civics and Citizenship in primary classrooms', The Social Educator, 36, (2) pp. 15-29. ISSN 1328-3480 (2018) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2017 | Brett P, ' An engaging and different experience': blog posting in a humanities and social sciences teacher education unit', The Online Journal of Distance Education and e-Learning, 5, (2) pp. 1-13. ISSN 2147-6454 (2017) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2017 | Corbett M, Brett P, Hawkins C-L, 'What we're about out here: the resilience and relevance of school farms in rural Tasmania', Journal of Research in Rural Education, 32, (4) pp. 1-12. ISSN 1551-0670 (2017) [Refereed Article] Co-authors: Corbett M; Hawkins C-L | |
| 2017 | Muhammad Y, Brett P, 'Some challenges in teaching citizenship in an Islamic context: Pakistan Studies teachers' perspectives and practices in relation to teaching about identity', Citizenship Teaching & Learning, 12, (3) pp. 279-298. ISSN 1751-1917 (2017) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2016 | Brett P, ''Frost still clings to the shadows': Port Arthur, convict history, pedagogy, and place', International Journal of the Inclusive Museum, 9, (4) pp. 33-46. ISSN 1835-2014 (2016) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2016 | Coleman B, Brett P, Beasy K, 'Geospatial technologies and twenty first century citizenship: opportunities and barriers in the humanities and social sciences classroom', The Social Educator, 34, (1) pp. 16-27. ISSN 1328-3480 (2016) [Refereed Article] Co-authors: Coleman B; Beasy K | |
| 2015 | Brett P, 'Interpreting Home Hill house museum and the legacy of Joseph and Enid Lyons: Challenges and educational opportunities', reCollections, 10, (2) pp. 1-22. ISSN 1833-4946 (2015) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2015 | Muhammad Y, Brett P, 'Beyond binary discourses? Pakistan studies textbooks and representations of cultural, national, and global identity', IARTEM e-Journal, 7, (3) pp. 74-101. ISSN 1837-2104 (2015) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2014 | Brett P, ''The sacred spark of wonder': local museums, Australian curriculum history, and pre-service primary teacher education: a Tasmanian case study', Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39, (6) Article 2. ISSN 0313-5373 (2014) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.14221/ajte.2014v39n6.8 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 4 | |
| 2014 | Brett P, Thomas D, 'Discovering argument: linking literacy, citizenship education, and persuasive advocacy', Journal of Social Science Education, 13, (4) pp. 61-72. ISSN 1618-5293 (2014) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.2390/jsse-v13-i4-1350 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 5 Co-authors: Thomas D | |
| 2014 | Tudball L, Brett P, 'What matters and what's next for civics and citizenship education in Australia?', The Social Educator, 32, (2) pp. 4-15. ISSN 1328-3480 (2014) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2013 | Brett P, 'Citizenship education in England in the shadow of the Great War', Citizenship Teaching & Learning, 8, (1) pp. 55-74. ISSN 1751-1917 (2013) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2013 | Brett P, 'Beyond "navel-gazing" and "mush": Learning about identity in Australian classrooms', Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 12, (1) pp. 3-17. ISSN 2047-1734 (2013) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.2304/csee.2013.12.1.3 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 1 | |
| 2013 | Brett P, ''An event of no small importance': The inspection of Tasmanian schools in the 1920s and 1930s', Tasmanian Historical Research Association Papers and Proceedings, 60, (3) pp. 158-174. ISSN 0039-9809 (2013) [Non Refereed Article] | |
| 2013 | Muhammad Y, Brett P, ''The misdeeds and follies of morally bankrupt elite'? Framing rioting and ethnic violence in Karachi - a case study', Global Media Journal: Pakistan Edition, 6, (2) pp. 1-17. ISSN 2070-2469 (2013) [Refereed Article] |
Chapter in Book
(11 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Brett P, Tudball L, 'The Humanities and Social Sciences in the Australian Curriculum', Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences, Cengage, R Gilbert, L Tubdall, P Brett (ed), Melbourne, pp. 30-58. ISBN 9780170424165 (2019) [Other Book Chapter] | |
| 2019 | Brett P, 'Developing Language and Literacy', Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences, Cengage, R Gilbert, L Tubdall, P Brett (ed), Australia, pp. 189-215. ISBN 9780170424165 (2019) [Other Book Chapter] | |
| 2019 | Brett P, 'Sustainability', Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences, Cengage, R Gilbert, L Tubdall, P Brett (ed), Melbourne, Australia, pp. 457-484. ISBN 9780170424165 (2019) [Other Book Chapter] | |
| 2019 | Brett P, Duff K, 'The past in the present: Bringing history and civics and citizenship education to life in early years settings', Making humanities and social sciences come alive: early years and primary education, Cambridge University Press, D Green and D Price (ed), United Kingdom, pp. 103-119. ISBN 9781108445436 (2019) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2019 | Brett P, Muhammad Y, 'Addressing Social Justice and Cultural Identity in Pakistani Education : a Qualitative Content Analysis of Curriculum Policy', Education, Ethnicity and Equity in the Multilingual Asian Context, Springer Singapore, J Gube and F Gao (ed), Singapore, pp. 397-427. ISBN 978-981-13-3125-1 (2019) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2019 | Brett P, 'Learning History', Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences, Cengage, R Gilbert, L Tubdall, P Brett (ed), Melbourne, Australia, pp. 242-268. ISBN 9780170424165 (2019) [Other Book Chapter] | |
| 2016 | Brett P, 'Making Connections Between Civics and Citizenship and Education for Sustainability', Civics and Citizenship in Australia: Challenges, Practices and International Perspectives, Bloomsbury Academic, A Peterson, L Tudball (ed), United Kingdom, pp. 165-185. ISBN 9781474248198 (2016) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2016 | Muhammad Y, Brett P, 'The Challenges of Undertaking Citizenship Education Research in Pakistan', What is Next in Educational Research?, Sense Publishers, S Fan, J Fielding-Wells (ed), The Netherlands, pp. 41-50. ISBN 9789463005227 (2016) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2016 | Thomas DP, Brett P, 'Putting on the Style: Enhancing Citizenship Education with a Persuasive Writing Framework', What is Next in Educational Research?, Sense Publishers, S Fan, J Fielding-Wells (ed), The Netherlands, pp. 285-295. ISBN 9789463005227 (2016) [Research Book Chapter] Co-authors: Thomas DP | |
| 2015 | Brett P, Hay I, Shorter D, 'Enhancing students' persuasive writing through professional learning and action research', Linguistics and language education in new horizons: The link between theory, research and pedagogy, Nova Science Publishers, S Fan, T Le & Q Le (ed), New York, pp. 385-399. ISBN 978-1-63482-800-0 (2015) [Research Book Chapter] Co-authors: Hay I; Shorter D | |
| 2015 | Brett P, Yule R, 'Global citizenship, media literacy and advocacy', Linguistics and language education in new horizons: The link between theory, research and pedagogy, Nova Science Publishers, S Fan, T Le & Q Le (ed), New York, pp. 141-156. ISBN 978-1-63482-800-0 (2015) [Research Book Chapter] |
Review
(1 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Brett P, 'Sustainable school transformation: An inside-out school led approach', British Journal of Educational Studies, 62, (4) pp. 475-476. ISSN 0007-1005 (2014) [Review Single Work] |
Conference Publication
(2 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Brett P, Kilpatrick S, Fitzallen NE, Mainsbridge C, Reynolds B, et al., 'Evidencing the impact of pre-service teachers: shifting the conversation', Proceedings of the 2016 Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, 27 November - 1 December 2016, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, pp. 1-13. ISSN 1324-9320 (2016) [Refereed Conference Paper] Co-authors: Kilpatrick S; Fitzallen NE; Mainsbridge C; Reynolds B; Kertesz J; Thomas S | |
| 2015 | Brett P, Moltow D, 'Exploring the intersections between philosophy and civics and citizenship education in Australia', Program of the 2015 International conference on redesigning pedagogy and the 11th International CitizED Conference & Arts, Humanities and Literature Conference 2015, 2-4 June, National Institute of Education, Singapore, pp. SYM040c. (2015) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Moltow D |
Other Public Output
(1 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Brett P, Mompoint-Gaillard P, Salema MH, 'How all teachers can support citizenship and human rights education: a framework for the development of competences', Council of Europe Publishing, UK, pp. 1-88. (2009) [Government or Industry Research] |
Grants & Funding
Funding Summary
Number of grants
1
Total funding
Projects
- Description
- The aim of this project is to work with four secondary schools and one district high school and their associated primary schools as a cluster, in an actioned-based research approach, that has a strong focus on teacher staff professional learning using the school principal as curriculum leader as a key element. The project will work to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes of high school students targeting the transition from primary to high school as a key determinant of likely success. The purpose of the action research is to explore issues, share best practice pedagogy, beliefs and practices to investigate how the performance of students in Years 7 and 9 can be improved.
- Funding
- Department of Education Tasmania ($200,000)
- Scheme
- Contract Research
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Fraser SP; Callingham RA; Beswick K; Hay I; Moltow DT; Chick HL; Brett P; Muir T
- Period
- 2013 - 2015
Research Supervision
Peter's Higher Degree Research Supervisory load has increased year on year from 2012. Two (international) Ph.D. candidates for whom he is the lead supervisor are approaching completion. He has also recently assumed lead and support supervision responsibility for five new Ph.D. candidates.
Peter invites inquiries about research higher degree (RHD) supervision on topics investigating citizenship education, history education, museum education, curriculum policy and pedagogy, political literacy or the teaching of controversial issues.
Current
10
Completed
3
Current
| Degree | Title | Commenced |
|---|---|---|
| PhD | An Exploration of Multidisciplinary Conceptual and Perceptual Considerations of the Relevance of Gratitude to Cancer Care and the Consequent Implications for Medical Education | 2015 |
| PhD | Cosmopolitanism, Global Citizenship and International-mindedness: Exploring the articulations of global citizenship education in International Baccalaureate curriculum international schools | 2015 |
| PhD | Exploring the Civic and Political Education Curriculum in Nepal: Shaping a democratic culture of youth | 2016 |
| PhD | The Exploration of the Concept of Citizenship in Teaching Material and Syllabus of Level 10-12 with Special Reference to Pakistan | 2016 |
| PhD | How Does the Teaching of "Reasonableness" Inform Students' Perceptions of Social Justice? | 2017 |
| PhD | Unlocking Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Adolescent Young Women: A Tasmanian case study | 2018 |
| PhD | Globally Mobile Students: What knowledge, resources and strategies do teachers, schools and school communities need in order to support effective integration of new students when they join existing cohorts at times other than standard intake times? | 2018 |
| PhD | The Past and Present of University-Based Paramedic Education | 2018 |
| PhD | Revisiting Appreciative Inquiry-based Teaching Learning with Gratitude in Action for Building Appropriate School Culture and Transforming Learning: Multiple perspectives | 2018 |
| PhD | Sustainability in Tasmanian Schools: Investigating Good Practice, Impacts and Issues | 2019 |
Completed
| Degree | Title | Completed |
|---|---|---|
| PhD | Early Adopters of Geospatial Technologies for Teaching Geography in Australian Secondary Schools Candidate: Bianca Jade Coleman | 2018 |
| PhD | Impacts of the Curriculum on Teaching and Learning in Nepal Candidate: Ganga Bahadur Gurung | 2018 |
| PhD | Pakistani National Identity, Cultural Diversity and Global Perspectives: A policy trajectory study of the national curriculum for secondary school Pakistan studies in Punjab Candidate: Yaar Muhammad | 2016 |