Stroud district councillor Natalie Rothwell-Warn has been awarded a Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) from the University of the West of England in Bristol, for research into mainstream secondary education in England.
Cllr Rothwell-Warn, who is a Green Party district councillor for Stroud Slade ward, is pictured at her graduation ceremony on November 25 at the Bristol Beacon. She took six years to complete her doctorate, most recently fitting in her part-time studies alongside her council duties and her work as a gardener.
Her achievement means she can add ‘Doctor’ to her existing title of ‘Councillor’. She already had a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree and an M.Sc in Sustainable Development in Practice. She embarked on further studies because she felt that more needed to be known about the effects of prioritising academic outcomes over the well-being of students and their teachers.
During a 23-year career as a primary school teacher, Cllr Rothwell-Warn saw the then-Conservative government begin a massive shift to prioritising academic outcomes over the welfare and development of children, a trend that continued under successive governments.
She eventually left teaching in 2011, feeling “disillusioned and disempowered”.
The 60,000-word thesis she wrote for her doctoral research explored how education policies and their enactment have had a negative impact on teaching staff and their students.
“I found that there are ethical reasons for re-evaluating policies that are detrimental to teacher and student well-being, and curriculum content that has no relevance to today’s world. We need to reassess the purpose of education.”
Cllr Rothwell-Warn’s final exam, known as a ‘viva’, involved a gruelling three hours of questioning and explanation and despite passing the viva, she was too exhausted to celebrate at the time.
“It was only at the graduation ceremony a couple of months later that it really sank in and I finally acknowledged the relief as well as the achievement,” she said.
She now plans to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship, which would give her an opportunity to consolidate her research and to share it with the public. “I do not want my work to sit in an academic journal where it won’t be seen by anybody who needs to see it. The education sector in England is on its knees and in crisis and we’re not talking about it. The current education system is failing too many of our children and young people, and teachers continue to leave the profession in their droves – and this is not being reported on widely enough.”
She added: “As a councillor, I am keen that children and young people are included in decision-making around policies that impact on them. This is a concern shared by the Green Party, which leads Stroud District Council, and we are working towards finding ways to encourage as many young people as possible to have their say and to ensure that their voices are listened to.”
Anyone who would like to contact Natalie confidentially with information, concerns or experiences about anything relating to education in England, to help with her ongoing research, can email changeschoolingsystem@gmail.com