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Angela Garden

School of Education

Faculty of Arts Professional and Social Studies

Email: A.S.Garden@ljmu.ac.uk

Telephone: 0151 231 5377

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Staff Profile

ORCID

Ange Garden is Head of Education Studies and Psychology. She is a member of the Senior Management Team within the School of Education overseeing a suite of programmes within the subject area of ECC including Programme Leadership for BA (Hons) Education and Primary Studies. She has a background in Psychology. . As Employability Lead, Ange leads the programme of employability enrichment opportunities afforded to students; managing links with a wide range of local schools and partner organisations.

Areas of interest and teaching include the psychology of education, nature, sustainability, wellbeing, mental health, therapeutic approaches and multi-disciplinary working with children and families. After establishing the first Northwest University Forest School, we established a city-centre ‘Natural Curriculum Hub’ offering training in outdoor primary education to students and educators. Ange recently received a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in the promotion of sustainability in Research and Knowledge Exchange (2022). She is a Visiting Fellow at Oslo Met University and manages month-long placements for students in their outdoor kindergartens.

Ange's PhD explores the under-theorised pedagogy of the benefits of ‘space’ and ‘risk’ in outdoor learning environments such as Forest Schools. She explores the benefits of Forest Schools and nature for wellbeing and discusses alternative outdoor spaces in explorations of risk. Ange presents a pedagogical framework for therapeutic practitioners informed by the lens of Forest School pedagogies and practice positting the case for space and the child or student outdoors. She is keen to think beyond the indoor classroom and explores creative ways to engage students in their learning and assessments.

As a trained Therapeutic Forest School Leader, Ange oversees the LJMU Thrive in the Forest Qualification as well as an outdoor volunteering programme liaising with a range of partner organisations. She focusses on student mental health and wellbeing and co-led on the development of the university-wide LJMU Student Wellbeing Journal. Ange is co-chair of the Faculty-wide Institute of Health Research (IHR), Mental Wellbeing Interest Group and leads the pan-university Nature-based Solutions network of the Liverpool Research Institute for Climate and Sustainability (LiRICS).

Ange is external examiner for the Master's programme in Psychology of Education, University College London Institute of Education and is overseeing the implementation of LJMU's new MSc Psychology in Education (conversion).

Languages

English

Degrees

2015, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom, Master of Arts in Advanced Educational Practice (Distinction)
2012, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom, Post Graduate Certificate in Advanced Educational Practice (Dyslexia)
2005, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom, Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy
2001, University of Bolton, United Kingdom, Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
1998, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, BA (Hons) Psychology. BPS accredited
Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom, PhD by Published Works (in progress)

Certifications

2019, Therapeutic Forest CIC, United Kingdom, L3 Certificate in Outdoor Therapeutic Skills
2016, Mersey Forest, United Kingdom, L3 Forest School Leader Training

Academic appointments

Head of Education Studies and Psychology, Education, Liverpool John Moores University, 2020 - present
Lecturer in Psychology, Social Sciences, Edge Hill University, 2019 - 2006
Programme Leader, Education, Liverpool John Moores University, 2019 - present
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, 2006 - 2019

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