Skip to main content
Overview

Professor Steven Higgins

Emeritus Professor


Affiliations
Affiliation
Emeritus Professor in the School of Education
Fellow of the Durham Research Methods Centre
Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing

Biography

Steve Higgins is Emeritus Professor of Education at Durham University.

Steve worked in the School of Education from 2006 to 2024. Before working in higher education he taught in a liberal arts college in Vermont and in primary schools in the North East where his interest in children’s thinking and learning developed.

His research interests have include the use of evidence from research to support policy and practice decisions in education, the effective use of digital technologies for learning in schools, understanding how children's thinking and reasoning develops, and how teachers can be supported in developing the quality of teaching and learning in their classrooms. He has a particular interest in the educational philosophy of Pragmatism and the implications for teaching and learning, particularly relating to the use of research evidence to develop practice in schools.

He was a member of the TLRP/TEL-funded SynergyNet research team from 2008 -12, investigating the use of multi-touch tables in classroom learning. He has also contributed to ESRC Research Development Initiatives and the development of research capacity in Visual Methods (2006-9) and the use of meta-analysis in education research (2008-11).

He is the lead author of the Sutton Trust/EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit and has an interest the use of meta-analysis in developing understanding of effective use of research evidence for policy and practice.

His teaching areas have included primary mathematics, the use of new and emerging technologies in education and supporting effective professional development of teachers. This is particularly using approaches which focus on the development of children's thinking, reasoning and understanding. He successfully supervised more than 40 doctoral students in these areas. Steve has taught across a number of undergraduate and post-graduate programmes including PGCE, Masters and taught doctorate programmes. He was a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Some Completed Supervisions

The Impact of the Interactive Whiteboard on Medical School Students' ESL Essay Writing

Evaluating the Effectiveness of the E-learning Experience in Some Universities in Saudi Arabia from Male Students’ Perceptions

The effectiveness of a CALL multimedia classroom on L2 learners' achievements, attitudes and the word solving strategies' frequencies and the perceptions of helpfulness, when compared with learners in traditional classrooms: A quasi-experimental study

The Effectiveness of Using E-learning, Blended Learning and Traditional Learning on Students' Achievement and Attitudes in a Course on Islamic Culture: an Experimental study

What is 'digital literacy'? A Pragmatic investigation

An Exploratory Study on the Beliefs and Practices of Teacher-Child Interactions of Selected Early Childhood Educators in Singapore

“You are too out!”: a mixed methods approach to the study of “digital divides” in three Chinese senior secondary schools.

An exploratory study of teacher orchestration of collaborative Mathematics tasks in relation to learning and interaction in primary schools.

Can Motor Skills Training ImproveAcademic Performance? A Structured Motor Skills Intervention for Young Children.

The Assessment Of A New Approach To Learning Number To Achieve Arithmetical Automaticity Based On The Use Of Dedicated Manipulatives.

An ethnographic case study of young children’s experiences of technology use at home and school

Institutional Support for Academic Staff to Adopt Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) in Saudi Arabian Universities

Investigating Academic Staff Members’ Perspectives Of The Effectiveness Of The Use Of E-learning Skills In Teaching In Saudi Arabia Universities

The Effectiveness of Instructional Video in the Acquisition of Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor Skills in Practical Sports Therapy Rehabilitation.

Investigating Developmental Trends in Metacognitive Knowledge with School-aged Children using Pupil Views Templates

Factors influencing the effective use of an online collaborative learning environment as experienced by Saudi male students in King Abdulaziz University.

Investigating younger pupils' beliefs in Cyprus on the value of classroom talk for their mathematical learning related to the use of the Interactive Whiteboard: understanding dialogic teaching.

The obstacles to using technologies in primary schools to help students with mathematics difficulties in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

How can K12 Education reduce prejudice?

Challenges to Pedagogical Content Knowledge in lesson planning during curriculum transition: a multiple case study of teachers of ICT and Computing in England.

Islamic Studies Teachers’ Perceptions of Using a Blended Approach for Teaching Islamic Education Modules in Primary Schools in Saudi Arabia.

Can Digital Mind Mapping with Collaborative Learning enhance learning in Saudi primary schools?

TEACHERS IN TATWEER PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN SAUDI ARABIA AND INTERACTIVE WHITE BOARDS: TOWARDS A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODEL.

Seek, Read, Present, Question (SRPQ): A feasibility study of an integrated strategy to teach history and critical thinking in a high school in Saudi Arabia.

To what extent do university students in Saudi Arabia find a social media tool (Twitter) useful in their respective learning environments?

Enhancing the use of Educational Technologies in the Early Years.

The Function and Purpose of the Shadow Education System: An Action Research Study of Post-16 Students’ Perceptions of Private Tutoring.

A STUDY OF HOW IS TWITTER BEING USED FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY.

 

Research interests

  • Classroom Interaction and Discourse in Primary Schools
  • Digital technologies and Learning
  • Meta-analysis and Research Evidence in Education

Esteem Indicators

  • 2000: Address: He has addressed an All Parliamentary Committee for Scientific Learning and Education about the limitations of learning styles approaches and the importance of developing of learning skills and capabilities.
  • 2000: International: Hes has been a reviewer for the Academy of Finland's TULOS programme, the Netherlands' NRO Open and online higher education and Programme Council for Fundamental Scientific Education Research (PROO), Luxembourg's Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg ‘CORE Multi-Annual Thematic Research Programme’, NPRP Proposals, Qatar National Research Fund, the Archimedes and Thalis Research Programmes, NSRF Greece. Advisor to the Italian Education Ministry (Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione) on Learning to Learn in schools.
  • 2000: Invited member: Invited member of the European CRELL Network on Learning to Learn (2007-9).
  • 2000: Editorships and Editorial Boards: Member of the Editorial Team of The Curriculum Journal (2012-2018)
    Editor of ERIE (2001- 2003)

    Steve was a member of the Editorial Board of the British Educational Research Journal (BERJ) from 2009-13 and is currently and Editorial Board member for the International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments (IJVPLE) and Thinking Skills and Creativity. He reviews for a number of further journals including the British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET), Computers and Education, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (JCAL) and the International Journal of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (IJCSCL).

  • 2000: Advisor to a range of international bodies: Steve has acted as advisor to a range of international bodies such as the Italian Ministry of Education about Learning to Learn and transveral competences (2008-9) and he was a member of the European CRELL Network on Learning to Learn (2007-9). He previously served as a member of Design Council’s Learning Environments Expert Panel (2003-5). He is currently a member of the Education Endowment Foundation’s [link to: http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk ] Evaluation Advisory Group.
  • 2000: ESRC Peer Review College member: Steve has been a member of the ESRC Peer Review College since 2010.
  • 2000: Invited member: Invited member of the Design Council's School Learning Environments Expert Panel.

Publications

Authored book

Chapter in book

Conference Paper

Edited book

Journal Article

Monograph

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

Other (Print)

Presentation

Report

Supervision students