Dr. Mandy Swann

Biography

Mandy Swann is a University Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, where she has been involved in teacher education research and teaching and learning since 2005. With a background as a primary school teacher, her research interests focus on issues surrounding anti-determinist pedagogy, professional learning, and parental involvement in education, using ethnographic research methods. Swann leads the faculty’s research project, Learning Limits, which explores how teachers can develop alternative teaching and learning approaches that do not rely on deterministic beliefs about ability. This project aims to highlight the complex ways in which fixed ideas and practices can unintentionally limit student learning. She developed the concept of 'transformability' of children, emphasizing that all children can become powerful learners if provided with supportive conditions. Swann has established the Learning Limits Network to connect educators and researchers interested in these ideas and has served on various editorial boards. She has published extensively, including her book "Creating Learning Limits" and articles on topics such as teacher professionalism and pupil perceptions of learning. Swann is deeply engaged in her community, co-founding a charity that promotes arts-based approaches to re-engage disaffected learners and collaborating with artists to benefit local teachers and families.

Research Interests

Experience

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