Kathleen Kerrigan is a lecturer in the School of Educationwho has led and taught a number of programmes in educational leadership including the Postgraduate Certificate in Middle Leadership and Management in Schools, and the MEd in Educational Leadership. She served as Deputy Director of the St Andrews Foundation for Catholic Teacher Education from 2021-2025.  

Prior to joining the University of Glasgow in January 2018, Kathleen worked with the Scottish College for Educational Leadership (SCEL) where she was Development Officer responsible for SCEL’s online learning resource.  As part of the SCEL team, Kathleen contributed to the development and delivery of leadership learning opportunities for educators across Scotland.

Kathleen taught in Scottish secondary schools for over twenty years, during this time she held middle leadership posts in Support for Learning and also in Home Economics. Her Masters thesis explored pupil perspectives of strategies used to support learning in mainstream schools, her doctoral thesis explored the leadership learning of secondary school middle leaders in Scotland.

Kathleen contributed to local authority working parties to support the implementation of new curriculum and policy and collaborated with local authority colleagues to develop and deliver a twilight programme for teachers in Support for Learning & Inclusion. 

Kathleen has delivered lectures, workshops and seminars for educators across Scotland with a particular focus upon Middle Leadership and SCEL's Framework for Educational Leadership. She was a Professional Learning Ambassador for the General Teaching Council for Scotland and is a committee member of the Scottish Professional Learning Network 

Research interest include middle leadership, teacher professional learning, the development of leadership capacity and leadership learning in initial teacher education.

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• Webster, Anita
  Leading as vocation and practice: middle leadership in Catholic primary schools in Scotland

Doctoral Supervision

Kathleen co-supervised the following doctoral theses, which are now successfully completed:

• Principalship of high-performing primary and middle schools in southwest China’s urban area.
• Developing capacity to enhance quality in career and technical education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Masters Supervision

Kathleen has supervised master's dissertations in a range of areas including:

• The leading practice of middle leaders in primary schools.
• Exploring the role of middle leaders in supporting the literacy development of gypsy/traveller pupils in Scotland.
• Vision to reality: Middle leaders and GTCS Professional Update
• Alternative curricula in mainstream secondary education.
• Factors affecting the implementation of play pedagogy in the primary classroom and how middle leaders can support play-based learning.
• Learner participation to improve educational outcomes in Scottish schools: A framework to enhance learner participation through the Drama curriculum.
• From excellence in the classroom to excellent leaders: can mentoring support professional learning for aspiring middle leaders in Scottish education.
• Finding ways to support and encourage teachers to use data to enhance teaching
• Establishing the professional learning needs of secondary teachers in a Scottish secondary school in recovery post-pandemic.
• Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on equitable pupil attainment and implications for educational recovery – a thematic review of relevant literature.
• Ready for probationary year? A study of perspectives from Drama teachers & those who support them.
• Pupil perspectives of engaging in a health and wellbeing intervention in a Scottish secondary school.
• The influence of family learning on pupil engagement in a Scottish secondary school.
• Teachers' perspectives of iPad use in the primary school classroom. 
• Factors contributing to better learning, better relationships and better behaviour in a Scottish primary school.
• Factors affecting the mental health and wellbeing of Scottish primary classroom teachers in the workplace.
• Using digital technology to assess pupil learning.
• The use of Gibb’s reflective cycle in responding to close reading question types.
• Developing deep thinking skills in young people within the Broad General Education (BGE).
• A critical discourse analysis of Teaching Scotland's Future.
• Factors influencing girls to discontinue with STEM subjects in the senior phase.
• Maths Recovery: The impact of a targeted group recovery program on attainment in primary numeracy and mathematics.
• Teacher perspectives of leading collaborative learning in Chinese classrooms.
• Learning for Sustainability: A critical discourse analysis of aspects of current guidelines for schools in Scotland.

Kathleen has led and taught a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses

Programme Leadership

Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and Learning

Postgraduate Certificate in Middle Leadership and Management in Schools

MEd in Educational Leadership

BA Childhood Practice

Leadership Skills for Childhood Practice (course leader)

Leading in Integrated Childrens Services

Master of Education in Educational Leadership

Developing as a Middle Leader (course leader)

Leading Change for Improvement (course leader)

Leading Professional Learning (course leader)

Leading 21st Century Learning (course leader)

Designing and Developing a Practitioner Enquiry (course leader)

The Educational Leadership Dissertation (course leader)

MEduc

The Educational Leadership Elective

Education and Society

What"s the Point of education? 

Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE)

Research and Enquiry-Led Learning and Teaching

School experience tutor

Professional & learned societies

• 2018: Committee Member, The Scottish Professional Learning Network
• 2019: Full registration and Professional Learning Ambassador, The General Teaching Council for Scotland
• 2016: Member, The British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society
• 2016: Member, The International Professional Development Association

Academic and Professional Body Membership

• British Educational Leadership Management and Administration Society (BELMAS)
• Committee Member Scottish Professional Learning Network (2019-2025)
• Full registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland

Within the School of Education

• Deputy Director of the St Andrews Foundation for Catholic Teacher Education (2021-2025)
• Complaints Investigator for the School of Education