Dr Mark Larrad

Mark’s early career as a professional musician led to studies at the University of Liverpool where he gained his doctorate in 1992. Following his first academic appointment as a lecturer at the Royal Northern College of Music Mark trained as a primary school teacher, holding teaching and leadership roles in four schools. Subsequently, as a lecturer in higher education for many years, Mark worked in the field of initial teacher education and has supported student teachers on all routes, from employment-based and assessment only to traditional undergraduate and postgraduate pathways. In a bid to refresh his classroom practice, he returned to the classroom, firstly as lead teacher at a special school for children with severe behavioural problems, and then as a supply teacher in primary and secondary schools. He joined the staff of Bishop Grosseteste University as senior lecturer in the School of Teacher Development in 2017. Mark’s current research is centred within the realm of comparative approaches to teacher education with a particular focus on Spain. He has taught undergraduates at the University of Granada, where he has collaborated in a joint research project, and has also taught at schools in Granada and Armilla. As a musicologist, Mark’s research was centred on Spanish and Catalan music of the 19th and 20th centuries in which role he was invited, recently, to give a lecture in Barcelona on the Catalan operas of Granados at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (2017 being the centenary of the Spanish/Catalan composer’s tragic death). His cross-cultural studies in music provided many insights into his educational research where he believes an understanding of regional identity is fundamental to his work. Mark would love to hear from anyone with a professional or research interest in Spanish education or comparative approaches to teacher training and can be contacted at mark.larrad@bishopg.ac.uk