After obtaining a degree and PhD in chemistry at the University of Birmingham, Ann Childs taught science in secondary schools in the UK and West Africa for eleven years, seven of these as a head of chemistry and head of science.
Since 1995 she has been involved in science teacher education at Oxford University where she is a fellow of Lady Margaret Hall.
Ann would welcome informal contacts from prospective doctoral students interested in the following topics:
- Explaining science/chemistry in secondary science classrooms – what makes an effective explanation?
- Interaction between teachers and students in second language classrooms in science where English is the medium of instruction
- Developing teacher education in science of both pre and in-service science teachers
- Educating the teacher educators – what is the knowledge base of a teacher educator in mathematics and science?
Research
Books
Summers, M., Kruger, C., Childs, A., Corney, G., & Mant, J. (2002). Teaching Sustainable Development in Primary Schools. ASE.
Childs, A., Njuguna, B., Mayaka, A., & Siele, D. (2000). Macmillan Secondary Chemistry for Kenya.
Summers, M., Kruger, C., Childs, A., & Mant, J. (2000). One small step – Understanding the Science of Environmental Issues. ASE.
Kruger, C., Summers, M., Mant, J., Childs, A., & McNicholl, J. (1998). Teaching energy and energy efficiency effectively. ASE.
Book chapters
Childs, A., Hillier, J., Amini, J., Farmer, S., Jorda, J., Hearn, S., & Starr, R. (2022). DEVELOPING THE PRACTICE OF TEACHER EDUCATORS: The role of practical theorising. In Practical Theorising in Teacher Education: Holding Theory and Practice Together (pp. 179-196). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003183945-15
Hillier, J., Cullinane, A., Harris, R., Jakoby, S., Childs, A., & Erduran, S. (2022). PRACTICAL THEORISING IN A CHANGING CONTEXT: Enabling beginning science teachers to negotiate different expectations in the reality of schools. In Practical Theorising in Teacher Education: Holding Theory and Practice Together (pp. 66-80). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003183945-7
Childs, A. (2022). Science pedagogies from an international and comparative perspective. In Debates in Science Education: Second Edition (pp. 147-165). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003137894-13
Mutton, T., Burn, K., Thompson, I., & Childs, A. (2021). The Complex Policy Landscape of Initial Teacher Education in England: What’s the Problem Represented to Be?. In Teacher Education Policy and Research (pp. 57-71). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3775-9_5
Brocklehurst, D., & Thompson, I. (2018). Double stimulation for reluctant readers: a literature circle intervention in a secondary English classroom. In G. Stylianides & A. Childs (Eds.), Classroom-based Interventions Across Subject Areas: Research to Understand What Works in Education (pp. 7-23). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315170077
Fancourt, N., & Childs, A. (2018). Building research capacity and relationships in schools: the consequences of involvement in Closing the Gap. In A. Childs & I. Menter (Eds.), Mobilising teacher researchers: tacking educational inequality. Routledge.
Childs, A., & Fancourt, N. (2017). Building research capacity and relationships in schools: the consequences of involvement in ’Closing the Gap’. In A. Childs & I. Menter (Eds.), Mobilising Teacher Researchers: Challenging Educational Inequality. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315160320
Childs, A., Firth, R., & Thompson, I. (2017). Who, how and why? Motives and agendas for key stakeholders in closing the gap. In Mobilising Teacher Researchers: Challenging Educational Inequality (pp. 11-33). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315160320
Fancourt, N. (2017). Research ethics in ’Closing the Gap’: equipoise in randomised controlled trials in education. In A. Childs & I. Menter (Eds.), Mobilising Teacher Researchers: Challenging Educational Inequality. Routledge. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f0c8d9b9-41cb-4025-99df-924fe356d0f3
Childs, A. (2015). Chemistry. In Learning to Teach Science in the Secondary School: A companion to school experience (pp. 87-100).
Childs, A., & McNicholl, J. (2014). Practical theorizing: designing tasks for science explanations. In I. Thompson (Ed.), Designing Tasks in Secondary Education Enhancing Subject Understanding and Student Engagement. Routledge.
Childs, A., Edwards, A., & McNicholl, J. (2014). Developing a Multi-Layered System of Distributed Expertise: What does Cultural Historical Theory Bring to Understandings of Workplace Learning in School-University Partnerships?. In Workplace Learning in Teacher Education (pp. 29-45). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7826-9_2
McNicholl, J., & Childs, A. (2010). Taking a sociocultural perspective on science teachers’ knowledge. In Cultural-Historical Perspectives on Teacher Education and Development: Learning Teaching (pp. 45-62). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203860106
McNicholl, J., & Childs, A. (2010). Taking a sociocultural perspective on science teachers’ knowledge. In Cultural-Historical Perspectives on Teacher Education and Development: Learning Teaching (pp. 45-62). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203860106-12
Journal articles
An, J., & Childs, A. (2023). Teacher questions, wait time, and student output in classroom interaction in EMI science classes: An interdisciplinary view. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 13(2), 471-493. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.38283
Ellis, V., Correia, C., Turvey, K., Childs, A., Andon, N., Harrison, C., Jones, J., & Hayati, N. (2023). Redefinition /redirection and incremental change: A systematic review of innovation in teacher education research. TEACHING AND TEACHER EDUCATION, 121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103918
Cullinane, A., Hillier, J., Childs, A., & Erduran, S. (2022). Teachers’ perceptions of Brandon’s Matrix as a framework for the teaching and assessment of scientific methods in school science. Research in Science Education, 53(1), 193-212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-022-10044-y
Farmer, S., & Childs, A. (2022). Science teachers in northern Scotland: their perceptions of opportunities for effective professional learning. TEACHER DEVELOPMENT, 26(1), 55-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2021.1989481
Oancea, A., Fancourt, N., Robson, J., Thompson, I., Childs, A., & Nuseibeh, N. (2021). Research capacity-building in teacher education. Oxford Review of Education, 47(1), 98-119. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1842184
An, J., Macaro, E., & Childs, A. (2021). Classroom interaction in EMI high schools: Do teachers who are native speakers of English make a difference?. System, 98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102482
Childs, A., & Baird, J.-A. (2020). General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and the assessment of science practical work: an historical review of assessment policy. Curriculum Journal, 31(3), 357-378. https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.20
An, J., Macaro, E., & Childs, A. (2019). Language focused episodes by monolingual teachers in English Medium Instruction science lessons. JOURNAL OF IMMERSION AND CONTENT-BASED LANGUAGE EDUCATION, 7(2), 166-191. https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.18019.an
Ellis, V., & Childs, A. (2018). Innovation in teacher education: Collective creativity in the development of a teacher education internship. Teaching and Teacher Education, 77, 277-286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.10.020
Childs, A. (2017). Swimming with the shoal. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 13(2), 539-548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-017-9815-3
Miller-Friedmann, J., Childs, A., & Hillier, J. (2017). Approaching gender equity in academic chemistry: lessons learned from successful female chemists in the UK. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 19(1), 24-41. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6RP00252H
Burn, K., & Childs, A. (2016). Responding to poverty through education and teacher education initiatives: a critical evaluation of key trends in government policy in England 1997-2015. Journal of Education for Teaching, 42(4), 387-403. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2016.1215547
Ellis, V., Gower, C., Frederick, K., & Childs, A. (2015). Formative interventions and practice-development: A methodological perspective on teacher rounds. International Journal of Educational Research, 73, 44-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2015.06.002
Sorensen, P., Twidle, J., & Childs, A. (2014). Collaborative approaches in initial teacher education: lessons from approaches to developing student teachers’ use of the Internet in science teaching. Teacher Development, 18(1), 107-123. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2013.878378
Sorensen, P., Twidle, J., & Childs, A. (2014). Collaborative approaches in initial teacher education: lessons from approaches to developing student teachers’ use of the Internet in science teaching. Teacher Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2013.878378
McNicholl, J., Childs, A., & Burn, K. (2013). School subject departments as sites for science teachers learning pedagogical content knowledge. Teacher Development, 17(2), 155-175. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2012.753941
McNicholl, J., Childs, A., & Burn, K. (2013). School subject departments as sites for science teachers learning pedagogical content knowledge. Teacher Development, 17(2), 155-175. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2012.753941
Childs, A., Burn, K., & McNicholl, J. (2013). What influences the learning cultures of subject departments in secondary schools? A study of four subject departments in England. Teacher Development, 17(1), 35-54. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2012.753945
Childs, A. (2013). The work of teacher educators: an English policy perspective. JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR TEACHING, 39(3), 314-328. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2013.799848
Menter, I., & Childs, A. (2013). Teacher education in the 21st Century in England: A case study in neo-liberal policy Revista Espanola de Educacion Camparada. Spanish Journal of Comparative Education, 22, 93-116.
Childs, A., Burn, K., & McNicholl, J. (2013). What influences the learning cultures of subject departments in secondary schools? A study of four subject departments in England. Teacher Development.
Childs, A., Tenzin, W., Johnson, D., & Ramachandran, K. (2012). Science Education in Bhutan: Issues and challenges. International Journal of Science Education, 34(3), 375-400. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2011.626461
Childs, A., Tenzin, W., Johnson, D., & Ramachandran, K. (2012). Science Education in Bhutan: Issues and challenges. International Journal of Science Education, 34(3), 375-400. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2011.626461
Childs, A., Sorensen, P., & Twidle, J. (2011). Using the Internet in science teaching? Issues and challenges for initial teacher education. Technology Pedagogy and Education, 20(2), 143-160. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939x.2011.588413
Childs, A. (2011). Environmental learning: insights from research into the student experience. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, 17(3), 429-431. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2010.548157
Childs, A., Sorensen, P., & Twidle, J. (2011). Using the Internet in science teaching? Issues and challenges for initial teacher education. TECHNOLOGY PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION, 20(2), 143-160. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2011.588413
Burn, K., Childs, A., & McNicholl, J. (2007). The potential and challenges for student teachers’ learning of subject‐specific pedagogical knowledge within secondary school subject departments. The Curriculum Journal, 18(4), 429-445. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585170701687886
Summers, M., & Childs, A. (2007). Student science teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development: an empirical study of three postgraduate training cohorts. Research in Science & Technological Education, 25(3), 307-327. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635140701535067
Childs, A., & McNicholl, J. (2007). Science teachers teaching outside of subject specialism: Challenges, strategies adopted and implications for initial teacher education. Teacher Development, 11(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530701194538
Childs, A., & McNicholl, J. (2007). Investigating the relationship between subject content knowledge and pedagogical practice through the analysis of classroom discourse. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, 29(13), 1629-1653. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690601180817
Sorensen, P., Twidle, J., Childs, A., & Godwin, J. (2007). The use of the Internet in science teaching: A longitudinal study of developments in use by student-teachers in England. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, 29(13), 1605-1627. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690601137676
Childs, A., Twidle, J., Sorensen, P., & Godwin, J. (2007). Trainee teachers’ use of the internet–opportunities and challenges for initial teacher education. Research in Science and Technological Education, 25(1), 77-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635140601053591
Mcnicholl, J., & Childs, A. (2007). Understanding the relationship between subject content knowledge and pedagogy through the analysis of classroom discourse. International Journal of Science Education, 29(13), 1629-1653.
Twidle, J., Sorensen, P., Childs, A., Godwin, J., & Dussart, M. (2006). Issues, challenges and needs of student science teachers in using the Internet as a tool for teaching. Technology Pedagogy and Education, 15(2), 207-221. https://doi.org/10.1080/14759390600769680
Summers, M., Childs, A., & Corney, G. (2005). Education for sustainable development in initial teacher training: issues for interdisciplinary collaboration. Environmental Education Research, 11(5), 623-647. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620500169841
Childs, A. (2004). The RoutledgeFalmer reader in science education. BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES, 52(3), 317-318.
Summers, M., Corney, G., & Childs, A. (2004). Student teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development: the starting-points of geographers and scientists. Educational Research, 46(2), 163-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013188042000222449
SUMMERS, M., CORNEY, G., & CHILDS, A. (2003). Teaching Sustainable Development in Primary Schools: An empirical study of issues for teachers. Environmental Education Research, 9(3), 327-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620303458
Summers, M., Kruger, C., Childs, A., & Mant, J. (2001). Understanding the science of environmental issues: development of a subject knowledge guide for primary teacher education. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, 23(1), 33-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690116990
Summers, M., Kruger, C., Childs, A., & Mant, J. (2000). Primary School Teachers’ Understanding of Environmental Issues: An interview study. Environmental Education Research, 6(4), 293-312. https://doi.org/10.1080/713664700
Summers, M., Kruger, C., Mant, J., & Childs, A. (1998). Developing primary teachers’ understanding of energy efficiency. Educational Research, 40(3), 311-328. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013188980400304
Childs, A. (1998). Issues Arising from Organisation Arrangements at KS4. School Science Review, 80(291), 77-79.
Reports
Fancourt, N., Oancea, A., Thompson, I., Robson, J., & Childs, A. (2017). Evaluation of wiserdeducation: a report to HEFCW. In HEFCW External Report. HEFCW. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4377edfa-2672-4f3b-9b91-1db3371e59c0
Other
Mcnicholl, J., & Childs, A. (2006). Teacher Education for the Twenty-first Century. The UWI Quality EDucation Forum, 12, Kingston, Jamaica: The Office of the Board for Undergraduate Studies.
