Professor Mary Ratcliffe, BSc MSc PhD PGCE CChem FRSC

Professor Mary Ratcliffe, BSc MSc PhD PGCE CChem FRSC

Administrative responsibilityHead of School
Office phone+44 (0)23 8059 3061
Internal extension23061
EmailM.Ratcliffe@soton.ac.uk
Room number32/2065

 | Expertise / Academic Interests | Biography | SOE Research Centre Membership | Programme Tutor | Other Courses | Principal Publications | Funded Research | Awards & Memberships | 

Expertise / Academic Interests

Socio-scientific issues; evidence-based practice; science teacher education

Biography

Mary taught chemistry and science in comprehensive schools in East Anglia for 16 years, including periods as Head of Science. Since joining the School of Education she has taught on initial teacher education, Masters and research programmes. She undertakes research and development focused particularly on the teaching and learning of socio-scientific issues (including projects funded by ESRC, Wellcome Trust). She has written extensively for both practitioner and researcher audiences. She has been Chair and Trustee of ASE and serves on the editorial board of School Science Review; International Journal of Science Education.

Mary was part of the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education Network (with colleagues from the Universities of York, Leeds and King's College, London). Her research and development interests are in pupils' and teachers' reactions to socio-scientific issues and the development of effective learning and assessment practice. Research projects have included evaluations of Twenty First Century Science GCSE, innovative professional development and assessment of 'ideas-about-science'. Mary's curriculum development work has included Suffolk Science GCSE and writing texts for A level Chemistry and GCSE sciences.

As Executive Director of the Science Learning Centre South East, funded by the DCSF, she has an overview of a centre which provides high quality continuing professional development for science teachers and technicians across the South East Region.

She is currently Head of the School of Education.

SOE Research Centre Membership

Pedagogy and Curriculum

Programme Tutor

1. Chemistry Education MSc (Ed)
2. Physics Education MSc(Ed)

Other Courses

1. Institutional Management and Leadership for professional development MA (Ed)
2. Dissertation through Flexible Study MA (Ed)

Principal Publications

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Significant Publications
  • Ratcliffe, Mary, Bartholomew, Hannah, Hames, Vicky, Hind, Andy, Leach, John, Millar, Robin and Osborne, Jonathan (2005) Evidence-based practice in science education: the researcher-user interface. Research Papers in Education, 20 (2), 169-186.
  • Bartholomew, Hannah, Osborne, Jonathan and Ratcliffe, Mary (2004) Teaching students 'Ideas-about-science': five dimensions of effective practice. Science Education, 88 (5), 655-682. (doi:10.1002/sce.10136)
  • Osborne, J., Ratcliffe, M., Collins, S., Millar, R. and Duschl, R. (2003). What 'ideas-about-science' should be taught in school science? A Delphi study of the expert community. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40 (7), 692-720.
  • Ratcliffe, M & Grace, M (2003) Science Education for Citizenship,Maidenhead,UK, Open University Press,178pp
    Books
  • Millar, Robin, Leach, John, Osbourne, Jonathan and Ratcliffe, Mary (2006) Improving subject teaching: lessons from research in science education, Abingdon, UK, Routledge, 210pp. (Improved Learning)
  • Ratcliffe, Mary and Grace, Marcus (2003) Science education for citizenship, Maidenhead, UK, Open University Press, 178pp.
  • Ratcliffe, M. (ed.) (2001) On the Ball: Particle models for KS3 Science, Southampton, UK, University of Southampton, 82pp.
    Book Chapters
  • Kolsto, Stein Dankert and Ratcliffe, Mary (2008) Social aspects of argumentation. In, Erduran, Sibel and Jiménez-Aleixandre, María Pilar (eds.) Argumentation in science education: perspectives from classroom-based research. Berlin, Germany, Springer, 114-133. (Science & Technology Education Library 35)
  • Ratcliffe, Mary (2007) "Values in the science classroom - the enacted curriculum". In, Corrigan, Deborah, Dillon, Justin and Gunstone, Richard (eds.) The re-emergence of values in science education. Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Sense Publishers, 119-132.
  • Ratcliffe, Mary and Reiss, Michael (2006) Values and ethics in science education. In, Wood-Robinson, V. (ed.) ASE Guide to Secondary Science Education. Hatfield, UK, Association for Science Education, 32-39. (Initial Teacher Training)
  • Ratcliffe, Mary (2006) Citizenship education and the social implications of science and scientific learning. In, Breslin, Tony and Dufour, Barry (eds.) Developing Citizens: A comprehensive introduction to effective citizenship education in the Secondary school. London, UK, Hodder Murray, 168-175
  • Ratcliffe, M. and Reiss, M. (2006) Values and ethics in science education. In, Harlen, W (ed.) ASE Guide to Primary Science Education. Hatfield, Association for Science Education, 24-30
  • Ratcliffe, Mary, Harris, Richard and McWhirter, Jenny (2005) Cross-curricular collaboration in teaching social aspects of genetics. In, Boersma, K., Goedhart, M., de Jong, O. and Eijkelhof, H. (eds.) Research and the Quality of Science Education. Netherlands, Springer, 77-88.
  • Ratcliffe, Mary, (2004) Nature of science. In, Sharp, John (ed.) Developing Primary Science. Exeter, UK, Learning Matters Ltd, 4-18
  • Ratcliffe, M. Teaching for Scientific Enquiry In Amos, S. and Boohan, R. (eds) Aspects of teaching science: perspectives on practice. Buckingham, Open University Press, 2002, 238-246.
  • Ratcliffe, M. Ideas and Evidence: Tackling science-related issues. In D.Sang and V. Wood-Robinson (eds) Teaching Secondary Scientific Enquiry, London, ASE/John Murray. 2002, 118-137.
  • Ratcliffe, Mary and Fullick, Patrick (2002) Using media reports of science research in pupils' evaluation of evidence. In, Behrendt, Helga, Dahncke, Helmut, Duit, Reinders, Graber, Wolfgang, Komorek, Michael, Cross, Angela and Reiska, Priit (eds.) Research in science education - Past, present and future. Dordrecht, Netherlands, Springer, 119-124
    Journal Articles
  • Hanley, Pam, Maringe, Felix and Ratcliffe, Mary (2008) Evaluation of professional development: deploying a process-focused model. International Journal of Science Education, 30, (5), 711-725.
  • Millar, Robin, Leach, John, Osborne, Jonathan and Ratcliffe, Mary (2008) Research and practice in science education: a response to Traianou & Hammersley. Oxford Review of Education, 34, (4), 483-488
  • Hanley, Pam, Osborne, Jonathan and Ratcliffe, Mary (2008) Teaching twenty first century science. School Science Review, 90, (330), 105-112.
  • Ratcliffe, Mary (2007) Science education practitioners' views of research and its influence on their practice. Education in Science, 225, 6-7
  • Ratcliffe, Mary and Reiss, Michael (2006) Værdier og etik i naturfaglig undervisning. MONA: Matematik - og Naturfagsdidaktik - Tidsskrift for Undervisere, Forskere og Formidlere, 4, 56-65
  • Harris, Richard and Ratcliffe, Mary (2005) Socio-scientific issues and the quality of exploratory talk - what can be learned from schools involved in a 'collapsed day' project? The Curriculum Journal , 16 (4) , 439-453.
  • Ratcliffe, Mary, Harris, Richard and McWhirter, Jenny (2004) Teaching ethical aspects of science - is cross-curricular collaboration the answer? School Science Review, 86 (315), 39-44.
  • Ratcliffe, Mary, Harris, Richard and McWhirter, Jenny (2004) Teaching ethical aspects of science - is cross-curricular collaboration the answer? School Science Review, 86, (315), 39-44
  • Osborne, J., Ratcliffe, M., Collins, S., Millar, R. and Duschl, R. (2003). What 'ideas-about-science' should be taught in school science? A Delphi study of the expert community. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40 (7), 692-720.
  • Grace,M and Ratcliffe, M (2002) The science and values that young people draw upon to make decisions about bilogical conservation issues, International Journal of Science Education, 24/11, pp1157-1169,2002
  • Osborne, J. and Ratcliffe, M. (2002) Developing Effective Methods of Assessing "Ideas and Evidence". School Science Review. 83(305), 2002, 113-23.
  • Ratcliffe, M., Bartholomew, H., Hames, V., Hines, A., Leach, J., Millar, R. & Osborne, J. The nature of science education research. School Science Review 84(307), 35-41.
  • Ratcliffe, M. (March 2001) Science, Technology and Society in school science education, School Science Review, 82(300), 83-92.
    Conference Contribution
  • Ratcliffe, Mary (2008) Pedagogical content knowledge for teaching concepts of the nature of science. In, 9th Nordic Research Symposium on Science Education, Reykjavik, Iceland, 11-15 Jun 2008. , 4pp. (In Press)
  • Hanley, Pam, Ratcliffe, Mary and Osborne, Jonathan (2007) Teachers’ experiences of teaching ‘ideas-about-science’ and socio-scientific issues. In, European Science Education Association Conference (ESERA) 2007, Malmo, Sweden, 21-25 Aug 2007. , 12pp
  • Cho, Jung Ran and Ratcliffe, Mary (2006) Assessment of scientific enquiry: a comparative study of two high achieving countries (Korea and England. In, National Association for Research in Science Teaching Conference, San Francisco, USA, 3-6 Apr 2006. , 12pp
  • Hanley, P., Ratcliffe, M. & Maringe, F. (2006) "Designing a professional development programme: a process of change management." Paper to BERA conference
  • Ratcliffe, Mary and Hanley, Pam (2005) Evaluation of professional development strategies for bringing contemporary science into the classroom. In, European Science Education Research Association Conference, Barcelona, Spain, Aug 2005
  • Ratcliffe, Mary(2004) Science and sustainability: evaluation of integration of science concepts with global issues. In, National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Meeting, Vancouver, Canada, 1-3 Apr 2004
  • Ratcliffe, M., McWhirter, J., Harris, R., Thomas, M (2003) Cross-curricular collaboration in teaching social aspects of genetics Paper presented at the 4th International Conference of the European Science Education Research Association, August 19-23, Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands
  • Osborne, Jonathan, Ratcliffe, Mary and Bartholomew, Hannah (2003) Teaching pupils 'ideas-about-science': Case studies from the classroom. In, European Science Education Research Association conference, Amersterdam, Netherlands, August 2003. ,31pp
  • Ratcliffe, M., Harris, R., McWhirter, J. and Thomas, M. (2003) Cross-curricular collaboration in teaching social aspects of genetics. In, European Science Education Research Association Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 19-23 Aug 2003. , 27pp
  • Collins, Sue, Osborne, Jonathan, Ratcliffe, Mary, Millar, Robin and Rick, Duschl (2001) What ‘ideas-about-science’ should be taught in school science? A Delphi study of the expert community. In, American Educational Research Association Conference, Seattle, USA, 10-14 Apr 2001. , 28pp
  • Ratcliffe, Mary, Osborne, Jonathan, Collins, Sue, Millar, Robin and Duschl, Rick (2001) Evidence-based practice in Science Education (EPSE). Teaching pupils ‘ideas- about-science’: clarifying learning goals and improving pupil performance. In, European Science Education Research Association Conference 2001, Thessaloniki, Greece, 21-26 Aug 2001
    Monographs
  • Ratcliffe, M., Bartholomew, H., Hames, v., Hind, A., Leach, J., Millar, R. and Osborne, J. (2004) Science education practitioners' views of research and its influence on their practice. York, UK, University of York, 81pp
    Other
  • Grace, M. and Ratcliffe, M.(2003) Making decisions about biological conservation issues in peer group discussion. In Psillos, D. et al, eds. Science Education Research in the Knowledge-Based Society. Kluwer Academic Publishers
  • Fullick, P.L. and Ratcliffe, M. (1996) 'Teaching Ethical Aspects of Science'. Southampton: Bassett Press

    • Funded Research

    Evaluation of a collaborative PPD programme as a process of management of change
    21st Century Science - Evaluation of teaching for scientific enquiry
    Towards evidence-based practice in science education ESRC TLRP network
    Evaluation of RSC Chemistry at Work Programme

    Awards & Memberships

    Visiting Professor at the University of Malmo (2007/2008)