Dr Rhiannon Love - University of Winchester

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Biography

Rhiannon is currently Route Leader for the PGCE Secondary RE programme as well as a Senior Lecturer in Primary Education, responsible for the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Religious Education curriculum content.

Prior to this, she gained 17 years’ school teaching experience across the Primary and Secondary age ranges in a variety of different types of schools. Whilst working in primary education, Rhiannon led RE and worked closely with the Diocese to support other RE leaders.

In addition to her work with RE, Rhiannon has been involved with Philosophy for Children in Primary Schools over the past 9 years, gaining her Level 1, 2 & 3 SAPERE accreditation and in 2014 became an accredited Level 1 Trainer. She has embedded Philosophy for Children into the undergraduate and postgraduate Initial Teacher Education programmes at the university, enabling students to achieve their Sapere Level 1 Philosophy for Children accreditation.

In partnership with Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Service (HIAS) and in conjunction with SACRE, Dr Alasdair Richardson and Rhiannon have been involved in the founding of a ‘Reading and Research Group’ to promote and encourage research amongst practising RE primary and secondary teachers this was made possible with a grant from Culham St Gabriel’s Trust and the group meets half termly at the University of Winchester.

Higher Education Teaching Qualification

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Areas of expertise

Rhiannon's main areas of expertise are Primary Religious Education and Philosophy for Children (P4C). Rhiannon is an accredited SAPERE trainer for P4C and runs whole school training. In addition she runs open training courses on P4C and Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development, in association with the Diocese of Portsmouth and Winchester.

Publications

Articles and chapters

Wharton, J. & Love, R. (forthcoming) Outsider positionality: Blurring the boundaries. In Brett, A. & Lee, C. (eds) The Guide to LGBTQ+ Research. Leeds: Emerald Publishing, 115-124.
Love, R. & Randall, V. (2023) Enabling Dialogic, Democratic Research: Using a Community of Philosophical Enquiry as a Qualitative Research Method. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 1-17.
Love, R. (2023) Using Philosophy for/with Children in Initial Teacher Education as a pedagogical approach to challenge neoliberalism in education. In: Kizel, A. (ed.) Philosophy with Children and Teacher Education: Global Perspectives on Critical, Creative and Caring Thinking. London: Routledge.
Love, R. & Goto, E. (2023) Embedding Philosophy for/with Children in Initial Teacher Education: A Stealth Model. In: Kizel, A. (ed.) Philosophy with Children and Teacher Education: Global Perspectives on Critical, Creative and Caring Thinking. London: Routledge.
Love, R. (2022) Gareth B. Matthews, The Child’s Philosopher. Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice, 4, 115-119.
Love, R. & Richardson, A. (2020) Religious Education - What is it trying to do? In: Bower, V. (ed.) Debates in Primary Education. London: Routledge, 168-187.
Love, R. (2019). Encouraging the teacher-agent: resisting the neo-liberal culture in initial teacher education. Childhood and Philosophy, 15, 1-27.
Love, R. (2018). Taking it slow: enhancing Wellbeing through Philosophy for Children. In Parecidos de familia. Propuestas actuales en Filosofía para Niños. Family Resemblances. Current Trends in Philosophy for Children. Madrid:Anaya.
Love, R. (2016) The case for Philosophy for Children in the English Primary Curriculum. Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, 36(1)

Non-refereed articles

2015 Primary RE News 61 Thinking about RE: Using Philosophy for Children to enhance the Religious Education provision of Initial Teacher Education
2013 Primary RE News 58 Effective learning through linking Religious Education and literacy

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Funding Awards and Professional Membership

Memberships

Co-opted member of Hampshire SACRE, representing Higher Education (HE). As part of this role Rhiannon is a member of the Monitoring Sub Group, which specifically looks at monitoring schools’ provision for RE both primary and secondary.

Member of the South Central RE Hub, a joint venture with other SACRE groups in the South Central area, aimed at providing coherent RE advice, support and training to teachers and schools.

Member of Hampshire P4C Steering Group and RE Steering Group.

HE representative on the Diocesan Board of Education (Winchester and Portsmouth Diocese).

Funding awards

Rhiannon was awarded a UCET travel scholarship in 2015 to attend a P4C conference in Vancouver and Seattle, to explore different approaches to embedding P4C in ITE.