Natalie Thurston

Dr Natalie Thurston is a Lecturer in Physical Education within the School of Education and Lifelong Learning. She joined the School in 2012, having previously worked as a secondary school teacher of Physical Education.

Natalie holds a First Class BSc in Sports Development and Coaching from the University of Lincoln, alongside an EdD, an MA in Advanced Educational Practice, a PGCE in Physical Education, and a PGCert in Higher Education Practice from the University of East Anglia.

She is the Course Director for the part-time MA in Professional Practice in Education (MA PPE) and serves as the School’s Academic Study Abroad Coordinator.

Natalie is a member of the Sport, Health and Education (SHE) Research Group. Her research interests focus on physical education pedagogy, with particular emphasis on education policy processes, interpretations of the National Curriculum in schools, and teacher socialisation.

Natalie is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Her main teaching responsibilities lie within the BSc Physical Education, Sport and Health programmes, where she is Module Leader for Academic Practice in Higher Education (Level 4), Pedagogical Principles in Physical Education (Level 5), and Aesthetic Activities (Level 6).

She is also Module Leader for the MA-EPR Dissertation (Level 7) and teaches on the Advanced Professional Practice module (Level 7). Natalie supervises research projects at both undergraduate (BSc) and postgraduate (MA and EdD) levels.