School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure

Dr Richard Medcalf

Biographical Summary

Richard is a Lecturer in Sport and Leisure in the School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure, working between both the Department of Leisure Industries and the Department for Sport and Physical Activity.

Prior to joining Wolverhampton, Richard taught at the University of Worcester over a 4 year period where he completed his PhD in Physical Education.

More recently, Richard has been a Senior Lecturer at UWE Hartpury, where he was Programme Leader for a Sports Studies Undergraduate course and an MA in Sports Management. He also held faculty wide responsibilities for Research and Knowledge Exchange activities.

Teaching responsibilities

Richard teaches on a range of modules between both the Department of Leisure Industries and the Department for Sport and Physical Activity. These include:

• ‘Themes in Leisure (4L1004)’
• ‘Sport in Society (4SR013)’
• ‘Introduction to Sport Development (4SR016)’
• ‘Sporting Images (6SR015)’
• ‘Research Interpretation and Analysis (5SW001)’
• ‘Global Sports Tournaments (6SR018)’
•  ‘Advanced Research Methods (7SW002)’
• ‘The Sports Industry (7SR002)’

He also teaches on TNE programmes at APSSB and SHRM (Singapore).

Non teaching responsibilities

Richard is co-convenor for the Sport Culture and Physical Education [MR1] research group. He currently acts as personal tutor for L4 students on BA (Hons) Sports Studies and BA (Hons) Sport Management programmes. He also supports both UG and PG Dissertation students, as well as engaging in other research activities between both Departments.

Outside of Wolverhampton, Richard is currently co-opted onto the Local Organising Committee of ICSEMIS2012 (the official academic convention of the IOC, IPC, FIMS and ICSSPE) to represent and support Early Career Researchers.

Research interests

Broadly speaking, Richard’s research interests currently relate to ethnographic methods and new (visual) technologies which help to further our understanding of how individuals and marginalised populations experience and make sense of their sporting and educational lives.

Specifically, his work currently relates to the sporting and educational experiences of children and young people with Special Educational Needs. He has worked with both quantitative and participatory qualitative methods, and is especially interested in social research methodology; particularly the use of multi-modal and visual methods that help to support the inclusion of vulnerable groups and special populations within research processes.

Qualifications

• 2011: PGCert Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
• 2010: PhD – Children with Social Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Physical Education
• 2007: PGCert Research Methods (Distinction)
• 2005: BSc (Hons) Sports Studies with Education Studies (First Class)

Membership of professional organisations

• Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA)
• ‘Fellow’ of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• British Educational Research Association (BERA)
• International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP)
• Social Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Association (SEBDA)

Publications and Conferences

Book chapters

• Medcalf, R. (2012). Towards more inclusive provision. In ‘Physical Education in the Primary School: An Introduction’ (edited by G.Griggs). London: Routledge, pp 195-207 http://tinyurl.com/dykx5mh
• Medcalf, R. (2012). Experiencing Physical Education through the filter of Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. In ‘Transforming Troubled Lives; Strategies and Interventions with children and young people with Social Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties’ (edited by J.Visser). UK: Emerald, pp 193-210 http://tinyurl.com/ccb4f9f
• Medcalf, R. (2011). Inclusion: Issues of SEBD in Physical Education. In ‘Contemporary Issues in Physical Education: International Perspectives’ (Eds. K. Hardman & K. Green). Meyer and Meyer, pp.90-104. http://tinyurl.com/crs2klx

Peer reviewed journal publications

• Medcalf, R. (2011). Pressures and Expectations of an Early Career Researcher. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 5 (1), pp 153-158
• Burton, E. and Medcalf, R. (2011). Accessing experiences through ‘photo-voice’; children’s perceptions of motivations and barriers towards physical activity participation in rural and urban environments. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 5 (1), pp 19-36
• Medcalf, R., Marshall, J., Hardman, K. and Visser, J. (2011). Experiences and Perceptions of Physical Education. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 16(2), p. 189-206
• Medcalf, R., Marshall, J. and Rhoden, C. (2006). Exploring the relationship between physical education and enhancing behaviour in pupils with emotional behavioural difficulties. Support for Learning, 21(4), p 169-174

Other publications

• Medcalf, R. (2010). The Experiences and Perceptions of Children and Young People with SEBD. SEBDA News, Issue 21 Spring/Summer 2010, p 24-27. Available at http://www.sebda.org/resources/newsletter21.asp
• Medcalf, R. (2006). ‘Acknowledging the importance of Physical Education for children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties - A series of Case Studies’. Available at http://www.behaviour4learning.ac.uk/viewArticle.aspx?contentId=11872
• Medcalf, R. (2005). The importance of Physical Education for children with SEBD: a small research study. SEBDA News, Issue 7 Autumn 2005, p 28-29. Available at http://www.sebda.org/upload/dl/Newsletter/SEBDA_News_7F.pdf

Book reviews

• Medcalf, R. (2011). Research with Children and Young People; reviewing Thomson (2008), Christensen and James (2008) and Heath et al (2009). International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 14 (5), pp. 407-410

Invited conference papers

• Medcalf, R. (2010). Listening to Pupils with SEBD; The importance of context and Interpretation. Invited workshops at the 57th SEBDA National Annual Conference, Manchester, UK

Peer reviewed conference proceedings

• Medcalf, R., Marshall, J.J., Hardman, K., Kidman, L. and Visser, J. (2010). Accessing the Experiences and Perceptions of Children and Young People in Physical Education. Congress of the International Association of Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP), La Coruna, October 2010
• Medcalf, R., Marshall, J., Hardman, K. and Visser, J. (2010). Experiences and Perceptions of Physical Education. SEBDA 2012 International Conference, Oxford, September 2010
• Medcalf, R., Marshall, J.J., Hardman, K., Kidman, L. and Visser, J. (2010). Accessing the Experiences and Perceptions of Children and Young People in Physical Education. Researching Young Lives, University of Limerick, April 2010
• Medcalf, R., Visser, J. and Marshall, J.J. (2009).The Experiences of Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Physical Education. Oral paper to be presented at the 3rd International Conference for Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise, Roehampton, London.
• Medcalf, R., Marshall, J.J., Visser, J. and Hardman, K. (2008). Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties and their experiences of physical education. Oral paper presented at the 2008 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS), Guangzhou, China.
• Medcalf, R., Marshall, J.J., Visser, J. and Hardman, K. (2008). Interpretivist case study methodologies; implications when researching children’s experiences in physical education. Oral paper presented at the 16th Biennial conference of the International Society for Comparative Physical Education and Sport (ISCPES), Macau, China
• Medcalf, R. (2005). The Use of Physical Education as a cathartic function for adolescents suffering from Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD). Oral paper presented at the BASES Student Conference, Aberystwyth (Best Applied Research Award)

Other conference papers

• Medcalf, R., Marshall, J.J., Visser, J. and Hardman, K. (2008). Methodological considerations when listening to the voices of children with social emotional and behavioural difficulties in physical education. Oral paper presented at the Student Conference of the 2008 BERA Annual Conference, Edinburgh.
• Medcalf, R. (2008). Ethical Considerations when working with children. Oral paper presented as part of Staff Development Series, School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Worcester
• Medcalf, R. (2007). Measuring Impact in Education. Oral paper presented at the Fourth Postgraduate International Student Conference on Challenging Educational Research: Reflections on theory and experience, University of Leicester.