Staff profile

Andrew Davis’s career includes eight years in primary schools, six at Cambridge University and over twenty at Durham University where he is a Research Fellow. He has worked for the Quality Assurance Agency as a Subject Specialist Reviewer and directed Argument Matters, a strand of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth Durham summer school for four years. He is Assistant Editor of the Journal of Philosophy of Education and secretary of the Durham Branch of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain.

He contributes to Combined Social Sciences, Combined Arts, Education Studies, Primary PGCE, Secondary PGCE and MA.

Please check out link for current projects and publications: http://ajdav35.wix.com/andrew-davis-educ

A Critique of Pure Teaching Methods and the Case for Synthetic Phonics Video of the UCL/IOE 22nd November 2017 event

Andrew Davis was interviewed by Richard Marshall for for 3:16 Educational Assessment, Religious Pluralism, Synthetic Phonics and Other Educational Issues - 3:16

Blog Links

Are Faith Schools Indoctrinatory? https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/faithschooling/entry/are_faith_schools/

And 'Is Homework Detrimental to Children's Well-being?http://theqstn.com/questions/218215/is-homework-detrimental-to-children-s-wellbeing

Publication Information

To get a free download of "To read or not to read: decoding synthetic phonics" (published online December 13th 2013) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2048-416X.2013.12000.x/abstract

View launch of "To read or not to read: decoding synthetic phonics" (held January 29th 2014 at the Institute of Education, London University) at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8n52lgaxzfi9d82/TrdlBd2s6-#lh:null-PESGB2.mp4

Summary articles and selected media coverage of "To Read or not to Read..":

Don’t let reading wars hold back more able children - available https://theconversation.com/dont-let-reading-wars-hold-back-more-able-children-22468

A Plague on the Fundamentalism of synthetic phonics- at http://news.tes.co.uk/b/opinion/2014/01/28/39-a-plague-on-the-fundamentalism-of-synthetic-phonics-39.aspx

Brief clip from Radio 5 live coverage at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01qpxlv

Interview - available at http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/nursery-world/other/1142017/interview-andrew-davis-research-fellow-durhamuniversitys-school-education

News report about "To read or not to read" plus comments - at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25917646

Reading lessons: why synthetic phonics doesn't work http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2014/mar/04/reading-lessons-phonics-world-book-day?CMP=twt_gu

• Assessment
• Philosophy and psychology of mathematical learning
• Primary mathematics
• Reading and phonics
• Researching teaching methods

Authored book

• Davis, A., Goulding, M., & Suggate, J. (2017). Mathematical Knowledge for Primary Teachers. (5th). Taylor and Francis
• Davis, A., & Winch, C. (2015). Educational Assessment on Trial. Bloomsbury Academic
• Barnes, L., & Davis, A. (2015). Religious Education: Educating for Diversity. Bloomsbury
• Suggate, J., Davis, A., & Goulding, M. (2010). Mathematical Knowledge for Primary Teachers. (4th Ed). Routledge
• Davis, A. (2008). Educational Assessment and Accountability: a critique of current policy. Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain
• Suggate, J., Davis, A., & Goulding, M. (2006). Mathematical Knowledge for Primary Teachers. (3rd edition). David Fulton
• Suggate, J., Davis, A., & Goulding, M. (2001). Mathematical Knowledge for Primary Teachers. (2nd edition). David Fulton
• Davis, A. (1999). Educational Assessment: a critique of current policy
• Davis, A. (1998). The Limits of Educational Assessment. Blackwell
• Suggate, J., Davis, A., & Goulding, M. (1998). Mathematical Knowledge for Primary Teachers. David Fulton

Book review

• Davis, A. (2018). Neuroscience and Education: A Philosophical Approach. Educational Theory, 68(2), 235-242. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12308

Chapter in book

• Davis, A. (2014). Homework on Trial. In M. Papastephanou (Ed.), Philosophical perspectives on compulsory education (157-169). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7311-0
• Davis, A. (2009). Ian Hacking, Learner Categories and Human Taxonomies. In R. Cigman, & A. Davis (Eds.), New Philosophies of Learning (83-97). Wiley
• Davis, A. (2009). Learning. In R. Bailey, D. Carr, R. Barrow, & C. McCarthy (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Philosophy of Education. SAGE Publications
• Davis, A. (2008). Lookism', Common Schools, Respect and Democracy. In M. Halstead, & G. (. Haydon (Eds.), The Common School and the Comprehensive Ideal (306-321). Wiley
• Davis, A. (2007). Consistency, Understanding and Truth in Educational Research. In D. Bridges, & R. (. Smith (Eds.), Philosophy, Methodology and Educational Research (75-88). Blackwell
• Davis, A. (2003). The Measurement of Learning. In R. Curren (Ed.), The Companion to the Philosophy of Education (272-283). Blackwell

Conference Paper

• Davis, A. (2018, February). Can Neuroscience contribute to the science of learning?

Edited book

• Davis, A. (Ed.). (2016). Dyslexia: Developing the Debate. Bloomsbury Academic
• Cigman, R., & Davis, A. (Eds.). (2009). New Philosophies of Learning. Wiley

Journal Article

• Davis, A. (online). Making Teaching more Research-informed: some challenges. IMPact,
• Davis, A. J. (2023). Knowing and learning: from Hirst to Ofsted. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 57(1), 214-226. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopedu/qhad002
• Davis, A. (2018). Evidence-based approaches to education: Direct instruction, anyone?. Management in Education, 32(3), 135-138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0892020618765421
• Davis, A. (2017). It worked there. Will it work here? Researching teaching methods. Ethics and Education, 12(3), 289-303. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2017.1361267
• Davis, A. (2015). Is it really possible to test all educationally significant achievements with high levels of reliability?. Ethics and Education, 10(3), 372-379
• Davis, A. (2013). How far can we aspire to consistency when assessing learning?. Ethics and Education, 8(3), 217-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2013.876788
• Davis, A. (2013). Neuroscience and Education: At Best a Civil Partnership: A Response to Schrag. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 47(1), 31-36. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12012
• Davis, A. (2013). To read or not to read; decoding synthetic phonics. Impact: Philosophical Perspectives on Education Policy, 20, https://doi.org/10.1111/2048-416x.2013.12000.x
• Davis, A. (2012). A Monstrous Regimen of Synthetic Phonics: Fantasies of Research-Based Teaching 'Methods' versus Real Teaching. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 46(4), 560-573. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9752.2012.00879.x
• Davis, A. (2011). Interpreting Student Responses in High Stakes Standardized Quantitative Learning Assessment. Philosophy of education (Edwardsville, Ill.), 2011, 186-189
• Davis, A. (2010). Defending Religious Pluralism for Religious Education. Ethics and Education, 5(3), 189-202. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2010.519138
• Davis, A. (2009). Examples as Method? My Attempts to Understand Assessment and Fairness (in the Spirit of the Later Wittgenstein. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 43(3), 371-389. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9752.2009.00699.x
• Davis, A. (2008). Effective Teaching: some contemporary mythologies. Philosophy of mathematics education journal, 23,
• Davis, A. (2006). High Stakes Testing and the Structure of the Mind: A reply to Randall Curren. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 40(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9752.2006.00492.x
• Davis, A. (2005). Learning and the Social Nature of Mental Powers. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 37(5), 635-647. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2005.00148.x
• Davis, A. (2005). Social Externalism and the Ontology of Competence. Philosophical Explorations, 8(3), 297-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/13869790500219554
• Davis, A. (2004). The Credentials of Brain-based Learning. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 33(1), 21-35. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0309-8249.2004.00361.x
• Davis, A. (2001). Do Children Have Privacy Rights in the Classroom?. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 20(3), 245-54. https://doi.org/10.1023/a%3A1010306811944
• Davis, A., & White, J. (2001). Accountability and School Inspection: In Defence of Audited Self-Review. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 35(4), 667-681
• Davis, A. (2001). Teaching for Understanding in Primary Mathematics. Evaluation and research in education, 15(3), 136-42
• Davis, A. (1999). Prescribing Teaching Methods. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 33(3), 387-401
• Davis, A. (1997). Understanding Mathematics. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 31(2), 355-364

Monograph

• Davis, A. (2017). A Critique of Pure Teaching Methods and the Case of Synthetic Phonics. Bloomsbury Academic