Professor Alan SmithUNESCO Chair in Education for Pluralism, Human Rights and Democracy, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland | |
BiographyProfessor Alan Smith is holder of the UNESCO Chair in Education at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland where he is head of a research unit based within the School of Education. He has taught in Northern Ireland and Zimbabwe and was a Senior Research Fellow at the University's Centre for the Study of Conflict. His work has included research on education and the conflict in Northern Ireland, young people's understanding of human rights and the development of social, civic and political education. He has been a British Council visiting research fellow to Nigeria and Indonesia; a consultant for the World Bank in Bosnia and Sri Lanka; and recently completed a report for DFID on ‘Education, Conflict and International Development'. Professor Smith was a UK representative to the Council of Europe on Education for Democratic Citizenship and has completed an evaluation of the introduction of civic education to the Republic of Serbia, funded by UNESCO, UNICEF and the Soros Foundation. He was a member of an external advisory group on civic engagement, empowerment and respect for diversity established by the president of the World Bank. His work has led to the establishment of a £3 million programme in Education for Pluralism, Human Rights and Democracy at the University of Ulster in partnership with UNESCO. His current research includes a three-year investigation of ‘Values in Teacher Education' as part of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). He is also the holder of a three-year grant from DFID for the establishment of an International Development Unit at the University of Ulster and an EU research project on education and the legacies of conflict in the Basque Country, Bosnia Herzegovina and Northern Ireland.
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