Lecturer Joseph McKay PhD
Lecturer in Education
Summary
I am a lecturer in Education Studies with a focus on educational identity, curriculum theory, and the philosophy of education. My work explores how education forms subjects and shapes our ways of being in the world. I draw on critical and philosophical traditions to examine education as a formative, relational encounter—particularly through concepts like rhythm, representation, and poiesis.
About
I'm a lecturer and researcher in Education Studies, with a particular passion for how education shapes who we are and how we live with others. My work focuses on educational identity, curriculum theory, and the philosophy of education—especially how people come to exist as subjects within and through educational experience.
I completed my PhD at Liverpool Hope University, where I explored how students undergo transformation through interdisciplinary education. This continues to guide my teaching, which encourages dialogue, reflection, and a deeper inquiry into the meaning and purpose of education.
My teaching interests include:
* Educational identity and subject-formation
* Curriculum and pedagogy as forms of disclosure
* Philosophical and critical approaches to education
* Representation, rhythm, and the aesthetics of education
I often draw on thinkers such as Hannah Arendt, Jürgen Habermas, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Gert Biesta, Klaus Mollenhauer, and Georgio Agamben to explore education not as acquisition, but as a formative encounter with the world—where we are invited to respond, rather than consume.
With a background in computer science, audio engineering, and the arts, I bring a cross-disciplinary sensibility to the classroom. I'm particularly interested in how technology and material culture mediate educational subjectivity.
At present, I'm developing my doctoral research into a book titled Realising Education: Pedagogy, Curriculum, and Culture, and contributing to projects that explore rhythm, poiesis, and the conditions of educational formation.
If you're drawn to questions about what education is and what it can do—I'd be glad to explore them with you.
Teaching
Sheffield Institute of Education
College of Social Sciences and Arts
Higher Education
Education with Psychology and Counselling
Educational Contexts, Educational Identities in the 21st Century
Research
- Culture and Creativity Research Institute