Professor Cathy Burnett BA, PGCE, MEd, EdD
Professor of Literacy and Education
Summary
I lead the Language and Literacy Education Research Group, co-ordinate the SIoE Postdoctoral Researchers Forum and am a member of the SIoE Research Leadership Group.
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About
Prior to working at Sheffield Hallam University, I worked as a primary teacher, for various theatre-in-education companies and for Derby City Education Service. I worked in teacher education for many years and have published widely for professional and academic readerships on themes including literacy education, enquiry and professional education, digital literacies, literacy and identity, on/offline space and materiality.
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Teaching
Department of Teacher Education
Development and Society
I currently teach on the Educational Doctorate and supervise a range of postgraduate students. I am interested in the relationship between enquiry and professional education and have led a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate modules designed to explore this relationship and work with teachers using enquiry in their professional practice.
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Research
My research focuses on the relationship between new technologies and literacies with a particular interest in relationships between literacies within and beyond educational contexts. My most recent co-edited book New Literacies around the Globe (published by Routledge and co-edited with Julia Davies, Guy Merchant and Jennifer Rowsell), draws on cutting-edge work to argue for new conceptualisations of literacy in pedagogy and policy. I am on the editorial boards for Literacy and Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. I have led and contributed to a series of research and evaluation projects funded by major national organisations such as Booktrust, UKLA, JISC and The Education Endowment Fund.
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Publications
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2018). Literacy-as-event: accounting for relationality in literacy research. Discourse, 1-12. (In Press)
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2018). Affective encounters: enchantment and the possibility of reading for pleasure. Literacy. (In Press)
BURNETT, Cathy (2017). Acknowledging and interrogating multiplicities: towards a generous approach in evaluations of early literacy innovation and intervention. Journal of early childhood literacy, 17 (4), 522-550.
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2017). Using stacking stories to investigate children’s virtual world play in a primary classroom. Other. Sage.
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2017). Opening the case of the IPad : what matters and where next? The Reading Teacher, 71 (2), 239-242.
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2017). The case of the iPad. In: BURNETT, Cathy, MERCHANT, Guy, SIMPSON, Alyson and WALSH, Maureen, (eds.) The case of the iPad: Mobile literacies in education. Singapore, Springer, 1-14.
BURNETT, Cathy, MERCHANT, Guy, SIMPSON, Alyson and WALSH, Maureen, eds. (2017). The case of the iPad: Mobile literacies in education. Singapore, Springer.
BURNETT, Cathy (2017). The fluid materiality of tablets: examining ‘the iPad multiple’ in a primary classroom. In: BURNETT, Cathy, MERCHANT, Guy, SIMPSON, Alyson and WALSH, Maureen, (eds.) The case of the iPad: Mobile literacies in education. Singapore, Springer, 15-30.
CAINE, Jamie, DAVIES, Julia and WILLIAMS, Bronwyn T. (2017). Game 2 Engage: Using iPads to Mediate and Develop Social Relationships in College Learning. In: BURNETT, Cathy, MERCHANT, Guy, SIMPSON, Alyson and WALSH, Maureen, (eds.) The Case of the iPad : Mobile Literacies in Education. Springer, 143-158.
JAY, Tim, WILLIS, Benjamin, THOMAS, Peter, TAYLOR, Roberta, MOORE, Nicolas, BURNETT, Cathy, MERCHANT, Guy and STEVENS, Anna (2017). Dialogic Teaching : Evaluation Report and Executive Summary. Project Report. London, UK, Education Endowment Foundation.
BURNETT, Cathy (2017). Reading the future: the contribution of literacy studies to debates on reading and reading engagement for primary-aged children. In: NG, Clarence and BARTLETT, Brendan, (eds.) Improving reading in the 21st century: International research and innovations. Singapore, Springer, 119-140.
BURNETT, Cathy (2017). Reading the future: The contribution of literacy studies to debates on reading and reading engagement for primary-aged children. In: NG, Clarence and BARTLETT, Brendan, (eds.) Improving reading and reading engagement in the 21st century. Singapore, Springer, 119-140.
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2016). Assembling virtual play in the classroom. In: Literacy, media, technology: past, present and future. Bloomsbury Academic.
PARRY, Becky, BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy, eds. (2016). Literacy, media, technology: past, present and future. London, Bloomsbury Academic.
BURNETT, Cathy, MERCHANT, Guy and PARRY, Becky (2016). Past, present, future. In: Literacy, media, technology: past, present and future. Bloomsbury Academic.
BAILEY, Chris J, BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2016). Assembling literacies in virtual play. In: MILLS, Kathy, STORNAIUOLIO, Amy, SMITH, Anna and ZACHER PANDYA, Jessica, (eds.) Handbook of Writing, Literacies and Education in Digital Cultures. London, Routledge. (In Press)
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2016). Boxes of poison: baroque technique as antidote to simple views of literacy. Journal of Literacy Research, 48 (3), 258-279.
BURNETT, Cathy (2016). The digital age and its implications for learning and teaching in the primary school. Discussion Paper. York, Cambridge Primary Review Trust.
BURNETT, Cathy, DANIELS, Karen and SAWKA, Vicky (2016). Teaching Strategies. In: WYSE, Dominic and ROGERS, Sue, (eds.) A Guide to Early Years and Primary Teaching. Sage, 125-144.
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2015). The challenge of 21st Century literacies. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 59 (3), 271-274.
BURNETT, Cathy and DANIELS, Karen (2015). Technology and literacy in the early years : framing young children’s meaning-making with new technologies. In: GARVIS, Susanne and LEMMON, Narelle, (eds.) Understanding Digital Technologies and Young Children : an international perspective. Routledge, 18-27.
MAXWELL, Bronwen, BURNETT, Cathy, REIDY, John, WILLIS, Benjamin and DEMACK, Sean (2015). Oracy curriculum, culture and assessment toolkit. Project Report. London, Education Endowment Foundation.
BURNETT, Cathy (2015). (Im)materialising Literacies. In: ROWSELL, Jennifer and PAHL, Kate, (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Literacy Studies. Routledge handbooks in applied linguistics . Abingdon, Routledge, 520-531.
BURNETT, Cathy, DANIELS, Karen, GRAY, Lyndsay, MYERS, Julia and SHARPE, Sheila (2015). Investigating student teachers’ presentations of literacy and literacy pedagogy in a complex context. Teacher Development, 19 (3), 275-293.
BURNETT, Cathy (2015). Being together in classrooms at the interface of the physical and virtual: implications for collaboration in on/off-screen sites. Learning, Media and Technology, 1-24.
OWEN, David (2014). Learning to be a teacher. In: OWEN, David and BURNETT, Cathy, (eds.) Getting into Primary Teaching. Critical Learning . Northwich, Critical Publishing, 43-63.
OWEN, David (2014). Preparing to apply for a teacher preparation programme. In: OWEN, David and BURNETT, Cathy, (eds.) Getting into Primary Teaching. Critical Learning . Northwich, Critical Publishing, 24-42.
BURNETT, Cathy (2014). Investigating pupils’ interactions around digital texts: a spatial perspective on the ‘classroom-ness’ of digital literacy practices in schools. Educational Review, 66 (2), 192-209.
BURNETT, Cathy, DAVIES, Julia, MERCHANT, Guy and ROWSELL, Jennifer (2014). Changing contexts for the 21st century literacies. In: BURNETT, Cathy, DAVIES, Julia, MERCHANT, Guy and ROWSELL, Jennifer, (eds.) New literacies around the Globe : policy and pedagogy. Routledge Research in Literacy, 5 . New York, Routledge, 1-13.
BURNETT, Cathy and BAILEY, Christopher (2014). Conceptualizing collaborations in hybrid sites : playing Minecraft together and apart in a primary classroom. In: BURNETT, Cathy, DAVIES, Julia, MERCHANT, Guy and ROWSELL, Jennifer, (eds.) New literacies around the Globe : policy and pedagogy. Routledge Research in Literacy, 5 . New York, Routledge, 50-71.
OWEN, David and BURNETT, Cathy, eds. (2014). Getting into primary teaching. Critical Learning . Northwich, Critical Publishing.
BURNETT, Cathy, DAVIES, Julia, MERCHANT, Guy and ROWSELL, Jennifer, eds. (2014). New literacies around the Globe : policy and pedagogy. Routledge Research in Literacy, 5 . New York, Routledge.
BURNETT, Cathy, DAVIES, Julia, MERCHANT, Guy and ROWSELL, Jennifer (2014). New meaning-making practices : a charter for literacy education. In: BURNETT, Cathy, DAVIES, Julia, MERCHANT, Guy and ROWSELL, Jennifer, (eds.) New literacies around the Globe : policy and pedagogy. Routledge Research in Literacy, 5 . New York, Routledge, 154-166.
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2014). Points of view : reconceptualising literacies through an exploration of adult and child interactions in a virtual world. Journal Of Research In Reading, 37 (1), 36-50.
BURNETT, Cathy (2014). Teaching, research and further qualifications. In: CREMIN, Teresa and ARTHUR, James, (eds.) Learning to teach in the primary school. Learning to teach in the primary school series . Abingdon, Routledge, 632-642.
BURNETT, Cathy (2014). Why teach. In: OWEN, David and BURNETT, Cathy, (eds.) Getting into primary teaching. Critical Learning . Northwich, Critical Publishing, 5-23.
BURNETT, Cathy, MERCHANT, Guy, PAHL, Kate and ROWSELL, Jennifer (2014). The (im)materiality of literacy : the significance of subjectivity to new literacies research. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 35 (1), 90-103.
BURNETT, Cathy (2013). Investigating children’s interactions around digital texts in classrooms : how are these framed and what counts? Education 3-13, 43 (2), 197-208.
BURNETT, Cathy (2013). Investigating pupils’ interactions around digital texts: a spatial perspective on the ‘classroom-ness’ of digital literacy practices in schools. Educational Review, 66 (2), 192-209.
BURNETT, Cathy and MERCHANT, Guy (2013). Learning, literacies and new technologies : the current context and future possibilities. In: LARSON, Joanne and MARSH, Jackie, (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Literacy. 2nd ed. Sage handbooks . London, SAGE, 575-587.
PAHL, Kate and BURNETT, Cathy (2013). Literacies in homes and communities. In: HALL, Kathy, CREMIN, Teresa, COMBER, Barbara and MOLL, Luis C., (eds.) International Handbook of Research on Children's Literacy, Learning and Culture. Chichester, Wiley Blackwell, 3-14.
BURNETT, Catherine and MERCHANT, Guy (2011). Is there a space for critical literacy in the context of social media? English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 10 (1), 41-57.
BURNETT, C. (2011). Medium for empowerment or a 'centre for everything': students’ experience of control in digital environments within a university context. Education and information technologies, 16 (3), 245-258.
BURNETT, Catherine (2011). Pre-service teachers’ digital literacy practices : exploring contingency in identity and digital literacy in and out of educational contexts. Language and Education, 25 (5), 433-449.
BURNETT, Catherine (2011). Shifting and multiple spaces in classrooms : an argument for investigating learners’ boundary-making around digital networked texts. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 12 (3), 2-23.
BURNETT, Catherine (2011). Technology and literacy in early childhood educational settings : a review of research. In: PAHL, Kate and ROWSELL, Jennifer, (eds.) Early childhood literacy. Sage library of educational thought and practice, 4 . Sage.
BURNETT, Catherine (2011). The (im)materiality of educational space: interactions between material, connected and textual dimensions of networked technology use in schools. E-Learning and digital media, 8 (3), 214-227.
BURNETT, C. (2010). Technology and literacy in early childhood educational settings: a review of research. Journal of early childhood literacy, 10 (3), 247-270.
BURNETT, Catherine (2009). Personal digital literacies versus classroom literacies: investigating pre-service teachers' digital lives in and beyond the classroom. In: CARRINGTON, Victoria and ROBINSON, Muriel, (eds.) Digital literacies : social learning and classroom practices. Sage.
BURNETT, C. (2009). Research into literacy and technology in primary classrooms: an exploration of understandings generated by recent studies. Journal of research in reading (special issue: New developments in literacy and technology), 32 (1), 22-37.
BURNETT, C. (2009). That’s more like they know me as a person": one primary pre-service teacher’s stories of her personal and ‘professional’ digital practices. Literacy (special edition: Literacy and identity), 43 (2), 65-74.
BURNETT, Cathy (2008). Primary student-teachers' perceptions of the role of digital literacy in their lives. Doctoral, Sheffield Hallam University.
BURNETT, Catherine, MERCHANT, Guy and MYERS, Julia (2007). English and ICT. In: CREMIN, T. and DOMBEY, H., (eds.) The handbook of primary English initial teacher education. Leicester/Sheffield, United Kingdom Literacy Association/National Association for the Teaching of English, 81-101.
BURNETT, C. (2006). Constructions of professional knowledge among student and practising primary teachers: paradigmatic and narrative. Research papers in education, 21 (3), 315-333.
BURNETT, C., DICKINSON, P., MYERS, J. and MERCHANT, G. H. (2006). Digital connections transforming literacy in the primary school. Cambridge journal of education, 36 (1), 11-29.
MERCHANT, Guy, DICKINSON, Paul, BURNETT, Catherine and MYERS, Julia (2006). Do you like dogs or writing? Identity performance in childen's digital message exchange. English in Education, 40 (3), 21-38.
BURNETT, Catherine and MYERS, Julia (2006). Observing children writing on screen : exploring the process of multi-modal composition. Language and literacy, 8 (2).
BURNETT, Catherine, MYERS, Julia and MERCHANT, Guy (2005). English and ICT. National Association for the Teaching of English.
BURNETT, Catherine and WILKINSON, Jeff (2005). Holy lemons : learning from children's uses of the Internet in out-of-school contexts. Literacy (formerly Reading), 39 (3), 158-165.
BURNETT, Catherine, DICKINSON, Paul, MERCHANT, Guy and MYERS, Julia (2004). Digikids. Primary English Magazine, 9 (4), 16-20.
MERCHANT, Guy, BURNETT, Catherine and KEATING, C (2004). Shooting the story. Primary English, 9 (5), 20-24.
BURNETT, Catherine and MYERS, Julia (2004). Teaching English 3-11 : the essential guide. Reaching the standard . Continuum.
BURNETT, C. (2003). Learning to chat: tutor participation in synchronous online chat. Teaching in higher education, 8 (2), 247-261.
BURNETT, Catherine, DICKINSON, Paul, MCDONAGH, Jim, MERCHANT, Guy, MYERS, Julia and WILKINSON, Jeff (2003). From Recreation to Reflection: Digital conversations in Educational Contexts. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 3 (1/2), 149-167.
BURNETT, Catherine and MERCHANT, Guy (2003). Y6 pupils have a weird experience. Primary English Magazine, 8 (4), 29-32.
BURNETT, C. and MYERS, J. (2002). "Beyond the frame": exploring children's literacy practices. Literacy, 36 (2), 56-62.
Other activities
I am Vice President and joint Research Convener for the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA). I also co-convene the UKLA Digital Literacies special interest group.
Post graduate supervision
I am currently supervising a range of PhD and EdD students including
Chris Bailey: 'Investigating the lived experience of a virtual world after school club'
Giovanna Battiston: How does a marketing team negotiate and renegotiate literacy protocols?
Karen Daniels: ‘Bodies before literacy: emerging intra-actions, discursive practices and surpluses of meaning
Helen Childerhouse: Perceptions of supporting children with SEBD in mainstream primary schools'
Lauran Doak: ‘A multimodal video analysis of the classroom communication strategies of children with autism
Christine Hibbert: ‘Reflection on practice and knowledge construction of nurses in the workplace
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