About

I am the Assistant Programme Lead for the PGCE (non-QTS) programme.

Teaching responsibilities

• teach on the PGCE (non QTS) programme
• supervision of doctoral students (UoS)

Professional interests

• Developing criticality
• Knowledge production
• Professional identities
• Neoliberal tensions affecting quality of programmes in teacher education

Research interests

• Democracy and deliberative democratic processes in school governance decision-making
• The role of government elites and the notion of the somatic norm, in civilising and silencing others in relation to decision-making
• Knowledge production, elites and censorship
• Professional identities and how they are constructed

Membership of professional bodies

• BELMAS - Trustee and EDI Vice Chair
• BERA
• BSA
• Chartered College of Teaching 

Qualifications

• Doctor of Education - University of Staffordshire (policy and the corporatisation of educational leadership through the lens of potential alternatives in neoliberal contexts of education)
• MA Educational Improvement and Effectiveness - Keele University
• PGCE Secondary Science and SEND - Manchester Metropolitan University
• BSc (Hons) Sport Science - Crewe and Alsager College

Recent conferences

Political Studies Conference 2023, Liverpool, UK

‘Parental Participation in Decision-making in School Governance, the Illusion of Democracy and the Challenge of New Public Management: The Case for a Deliberative Democratic System.’ 

BERA 2023, Birmingham, UK

‘The rise of technocracy and the challenge to deliberative democracy: Using political theory to rethink spaces and practices of school governance’.

 3rd International ‘Scuola Democratica’ Conference 2024, Cagliari, Sardinia Italy

Co-operative Academy Trust School Governance and parental participation in decision-making: Illusionary, Silencing and Civilising - (un)Democratic and (un)Cooperative Practices. 

ECER 2024, Nicosia, Cyprus

Brand Advantage, Risk Mitigation, and the Illusion of Democracy: tensions in educational Leadership and School Governance.

ECER 2024, Nicosia, Cyprus

(un)Democratic Practices in School Governance, Managerialism and the Somatic Norm: silencing, civilising and illusionary.

BERA 2024, Manchester, UK

Conceptualising the Interdependence of Corporate, Consumer and Democratic Citizenries of school governance and the engagement of parents.

BERA 2024, Manchester, UK

Knowledge production, post-neoliberal oligarchic sovereignty and educational leadership (re)production mediated through National Professional Qualifications.

BELMAS 2025, Brighton, UK

Knowledge production, post-neoliberal oligarchic sovereignty and educational leadership (re)production mediated through National Professional Qualifications.

Experience in industry

• Director of Apprenticeships and MAT lead delivery partner with PGCE with Marjon University
• Over 30-years teaching and leading in schools. Leadership roles included acting principal, Vice principal: curriculum, teaching and learning, data and staff development and learning.

Recent publications

• Hetherington, J.E. and Forrester, G. (2025) Illusionary, silencing and civilising - (un)democratic practices in school governance. Journal of Education Policy. Published online dx.doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2024.2349075
• Hetherington, J.E. and Forrester, G. (2023) Brand advantage, risk mitigation, and the illusion of democracy: Approaches to school governance. Educational Management, Administration and Leadership. Published online doi.org/10.1177/17411432231194852
• Hetherington, J.E. and Forrester, G.  (2022) Values-led governance and parental and community engagement in the Co-operative Academies Trust: An alternative in the neoliberal context of education? Management in Education. 36 (1): 31-41. doi.org/10.1177/08920206211051465