Aidan Gillespie

Prior to joining the Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing team at Northumbria University, I was Senior Lecturer in Primary Education at Canterbury Christchurch university. I came to Initial Teacher Education having had a successful career as a primary school teacher, teaching in Lincoln, Italy, London and Kent. Now as Initial Teacher Education subject lead for Religious Education, I design and teach modules focussed on the role of religion in state education in the UK and the way in which religion, society and values intersect. With a research focus on spirituality, I am deeply interested in the intersection between spirituality and professional identity. Alongside my work in Initial Teacher Education, I also teach on Masters and postgraduate programmes in Education. I am the co-programme lead for the Professional Doctorate study route.

As head of subject for Religious Education across the Teacher Education programmes at Northumbria University, I have a deep interest in children’s and teaching professionals’ spirituality and how this affects their understanding of self and identity. My research has looked at the motivations arising out of spirituality including and exceeding that of recognised faiths and the interplay this has with professional agency. My current research activities examins the links between emotional investment in religious stories and how this assists in the understanding and empathetic response of children to stories and lessons from within differing religious traditions. Alongside of this, I am also researching the impact of home education during Covid have affected children’s spiritual wellbeing and parent’s perceptions of this.