Nathan Walker

Senior Lecturer

Programme Area Lead for Secondary Initial Teacher Education (PGCE) and Secondary PGCE PE Lead

Department of Education

01752 636700 Ext:7266

nwalker@marjon.ac.uk

Nathan Walker lecturer at Plymouth Marjon University

Role Summary

Nathan Walker is a graduate of Plymouth Marjon University and now lectures in Physical Education and Teacher Education within MTEP (School of Education). He serves as Programme Area Lead for Secondary Initial Teacher Education and Programme Lead for the Postgraduate PE route, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AdvanceHE). Alongside his university role, Nathan is an Educational Consultant for PE Scholar, host of the PE Insights Podcast, a trusted affiliate of Future Action (UK), and an External Examiner for Birmingham City University.

With more than a decade of teaching and leadership experience, Nathan has worked across the Middle East, Malaysia, China, and the United Kingdom. He has led Physical Education in BSO-accredited international schools and further education institutions, teaching learners aged 5 to 18 and shaping whole-school approaches to teaching, learning, and professional coaching. During this time he developed a strong track record in mentoring early career teachers and supporting subject mentors to strengthen the quality of professional learning.

Programme leader

Qualifications

Master of Arts - Education (Distinction)

Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education - Fellowship of the HEA (AdvanceHE)

Bachelor of Education (Hons) Secondary Education and Physical Education with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) - the University of St Mark and St John.

Teaching

Secondary PGCE (ITE) Programme Area Lead

PGCE Secondary Education - Physical Education (and all subjects)

BEd Secondary Physical Education with Qualified Teacher Status

Research

Nathan’s research interests sit at the intersection of practice, pedagogy, and identity formation. His work explores Meaningful Physical Education, constraints-led approaches and ecological dynamics, knowledge-rich curriculum design, and the mentoring and coaching of trainee teachers and subject mentors. His recent scholarship examines how professional identity is constructed through mentoring, autonomy, reflective dialogue, and lived experience, and how these processes shape the becoming of new teachers.

Through his university teaching, consultancy, podcasting, and wider partnerships, Nathan works to bridge research and practice. His aim is to contribute to a profession that is intellectually rigorous, reflective, relational, and rooted in meaningful movement experiences for all learners.

Publications

Sullivan, L., Casey, A., Parker, R., & Walker, N. (2025). Chapter 8: Learning. In L. Sullivan (Ed.), From PE dread to delight: Transforming young people's experiences in physical education (pp. 209–236). Scholarly.

Walker, N., Jafar, M., & Beckey, A. (2023). Implementing Nonlinear Pedagogy in Physical Education. Physical Education Matters, 18(1), 61-66.

Jafar, M., Walker, N., & Beckey, A. (2022). Making Physical Education a Knowledge Rich Subject. Physical Education Matters, 17(2), 19-21.

Walker, N., & Kinchin, G. (2018). Using Sport Education to teach IGCSE Physical Education: The case of one British International School. Physical Education Matters, 13(3), 35-38.

Expert Membership of professional bodies

Fellow of AdvanceHE (HEA)

Member of the Association for Physical Education (AfPE)

Member of the Chartered College of Teaching (MCCT)

Roles on external bodies

External Examiner at Birmingham City University - BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching & Physical Education

Education Consultant for PE Scholar and host of the PE Insights Podcast.

Other Interests

I enjoy spending time with my family (wife and young son), being active and outdoors, coaching grassroots football, travelling and exploring, learning to cook food from different cultures, and reading and listening to podcasts.