Emeritus Professor Sue C. Middleton

Emeritus Professor, Wilf Malcolm Institute for Educational Research

Qualifications: PhD, University of Waikato, 1985; MA (Distinction), VUW 1979; Dip Teaching (Christchurch) 1969; BA (VUW), 1968

About Sue

I retired on January 31 2013 after 32 years' employment at this university. Although no longer teaching, I continue to research, write and present at conferences. Research post-retirement has addressed New Zealanders' involvements in and contributions to the global "New Education" (or Progressive Education) movement of the 1920s-40s. A new book on this theme was published in September 2019: Sue Middleton and Helen May (eds), (2019), For women and children: A tribute to Geraldine McDonald. Wellington: NZCER Press.

Since retirement, I have also published a book and series of articles  on French scholar Henri Lefebvre (1901-91) as educational thinker and applied his analytical concepts in a series of 'spatial histories' of educational ideas. For details, click here: Henri Lefebvre and Education: Space, History, Theory.  London: Routledge, 2014).I have also continued my career-long interest in women, sexuality and gender. My cv is available here.

Research Interests

Since joining the university in 1980, I have studied the local and global networks and travels of the educational ideas encountered by New Zealand's teachers and students in schools and higher education, usually combining analysis of archival policy documents with personal records such as letters and life-history interviews.

Curriculum vitae

Citations (Google Scholar).

• I've had a longstanding interest in feminist educational research. Latest publications: 
  • Sue Middleton (2021), Gender wars and sexuality education 2021: History and Politics. New Zealand JOurnal of Education Studies (online First, August 30, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-021-00220-5
  • Sue Middleton and Helen May (eds), (2019), For women and children: A tribute to Geraldine McDonald. Flyer for book
Wellington: NZCER Press.                  
• The New (or Progressive) Education Movement in New Zealand this includes 
  • A series of papers and a co-edited book on Sylvia Ashton-Warner,
  • An archival study of New Zealanders' involvement in the global NEF organisation (New Education Fellowship)
  • An archival study of NEF's predecessor, the Theosophical Fraternity in Education.
  • Henri Lefebvre and Education. I have published a paper on Lefebvre as educational thinker and a book applying his analytical concepts and methodology in a sequence of 'spatial histories' of educational ideas
• Doctoral Research in New Zealand (includes a project on Education as a discipline specifically and another on the Teaching and Learning of Māori doctoral students). To download a free copy of my 1998 monograph, click here: 'Educating Researchers: New Zealand 'Education' PhDs, 1947-97 (Wellington: NZARE State of the Art Monograph No 7)
• 'The Seven Servants of Ham': Labourers' Letters from Wellington to Surrey, 1841-1845;
• The Impact of PBRF (Research Assessment) on the Subject/s of Education;

Keywords

Henri Lefebvre as educational thinker;
New/ Progressive Education Movement 1920s-50s;
Spatial Histories of Educational Ideas;
Life-History methods;

Contact Details