Miles Smith

Associate Dean - Academic Partnership Network

Academic Partnership Network

01752 636700 Ext:6513

msmith@marjon.ac.uk

Role Summary

Miles is Associate Dean for the Academic Partnership Network, with particular responsibility for the university’s education programmes delivered through partnership arrangements. Alongside his leadership role, he remains actively engaged in teaching and learning, contributing to Marjon’s commitment to innovative, inclusive, and values-led education.

At university level, Miles is a member of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee, the Regulations and Process Review Group, the Academic Partnerships Committee, and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Steering Group. He also chairs the Marjon Athena Swan Team and leads the Men’s Network, both of which focus on advancing gender equality and promoting inclusive practice across the university community.

Miles has extensive experience across diverse sectors of education, including English Language Teaching and the Primary Phase. His research and teaching continue to explore participatory and critical approaches to education, with a focus on collaboration, agency, and professional practice. He is currently undertaking a PhD investigating co-constructed research with children and historical education.

Programme leader

Qualifications

Miles is currently undertaking his PhD in the area of historical education (February 2021-present)
Fellowship of Advance HE
MA (Hons) English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, King’s College, University of London
QTS, Norfolk & Suffolk Initial Teacher Training
cTESOL, Oxford House College, Barcelona
BA (Hons) History, University of Warwick

Teaching

Miles teaches on the BA (Hons) Primary Education and BA (Hons) SEND and Inclusion programmes. He leads and contributes to modules including Research Methods and Critical Enquiry into Primary Mathematics, and he supervises undergraduate honours projects.

With more than twenty years’ experience across the education sector, Miles has worked with a wide range of learners—from young children to adults in higher education. His teaching and research interests include curriculum studies, the role of history in children’s learning, qualitative and participatory research methodologies, and critical, emancipatory perspectives on education.

Miles’ pedagogy is student-focused and values-driven. He believes learning should be active, experiential, and personalised, with meaningful connections to community and professional practice. He seeks to engage students through collaborative, inquiry-based learning experiences that reflect the values and aspirations of the teaching profession.

Research

Miles is currently undertaking his PhD through Plymouth Marjon University. He is looking at the value and purpose that children attribute to their learning experience, specifically within the area of historical learning.

This research involves children as co-researchers, engaging in the design of research methods to explore their experience of learning history.

Publications

Race, R., Smith, M., Hadfield, C., Holdgate, H., Katsogridakis, G., Leather, M., Ovenden-Hope, T., Phillips, L., & Winter, J. (in press). A University Portrait of Practice and Provocations when Decolonising Curriculum. Equity in Education & Society.

Brian Simon BERA Funding (March 2023) & Primary Investigator for Plymouth Marjon University Project, leading to publication of:

Smith, M., Hayes, T., Leather, M., Major-Smith, K., Milner, A., & Fewings, G. (2024). Far away from the ivory tower: The impact of university education on disadvantaged people and their communities. British Educational Research Association. https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/far-away-from-the-ivory-tower

Smith, M. & Walters, N. (2024). The Place of Games within a Reception and Year 1 Curriculum. Primary Mathematics, Summer 2024, 16-18.

Smith, M. (2023). Working with your supervisor. In J. Gourd (Ed.), Educational Research for Early Childhood Studies Projects: A Step-by-Step Guide for Student Practitioners (pp. 17-29). Routledge.

Smith, M. & Clark, J. (2023). A collaborative mathematical project between school and university. Primary Mathematics, 27(1), 11-23.

Bonet, P. & Smith, M. (2022) An enquiry into children's political consciousness through Roleplay Learning. Research in Teacher Education, 12(1).

Expert Membership of professional bodies

Fellowship of Advance HE
Member of Historical Association
Member of HEIRNET (History Educators International Research Network)
Member of HTEN (History Teachers Education Network) Primary
Member of Open University Press Editorial Advisory Board