Abigail Parrish
School of Education
Lecturer in Languages Education
+44 114 222 8113
Full contact details
School of Education
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Profile
-
My work centres on languages education, particularly in schools. I am interested both in young
people’s motivation to study a language, and in the policies which support and thwart this
endeavour.
I am a former Modern Foreign Languages teacher, having trained at the University of Sheffield and
taught full-time in schools in Lincolnshire, alongside undertaking Sheffield’s MA Applied Professional
Studies in Education . My undergraduate degree in Modern European Studies was at the University
of Nottingham.I left full-time teaching to pursue a PhD focused on choice and motivation in Modern Foreign
Languages education in schools in England at the University of York, and I continue to research in
this area. Before joining the University of Sheffield, I worked at Bishop Grosseteste
University in Lincoln (now Lincoln Bishop University) where my teaching focused on education
policy, language policy and research methods.
- Research interests
-
I am interested in motivation to learn a language, particularly in schools, and how this links to factors
such as choice, multilingualism and socio-economic status. I am also interested in education and
curriculum policy, particularly how schools set their own policies informed by national policies. I use
Self-Determination Theory in my work, which is a broad theory of motivation and wellness
grounded in psychology.I have supervised and mentored numerous doctoral students on PhD , EdD and DEdCPsy
programmes, including at other universities. I am always interested to hear from
prospective research students interested in language learning motivation, self-determination theory,
school-level language learning (particularly in Anglophone contexts) or language policy and related topics.
- Publications
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Books
- A Quick Guide to Research Methods for Dissertations in Education.
Journal articles
- Self-determination across the secondary-school years: how teachers and curriculum policy affect language learners’ motivation. The Language Learning Journal, 53(2), 201-219. View this article in WRRO
- Multilingualism & motivation in language classrooms in England. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education. View this article in WRRO
- Policy tug of war: EBacc, progress 8 and modern foreign languages in England. Journal of Education Policy, 39(5), 718-735. View this article in WRRO
- Towards a typology of secondary school subject departments. Teacher Development, 27(5), 563-579. View this article in WRRO
- ‘Having a decent understanding of more than one language’: exploring multilingualism with secondary school students in England. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development.
- Taking root: Self-determination in language education. Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 4(1). View this article in WRRO
- Conclusion: Where Next?.
- Introduction.
- Feminisation, masculinisation and the other: re-evaluating the language learning decline in England. The Language Learning Journal, 51(1), 94-111. View this article in WRRO
- Measuring motivation in English schools: The appeal of self-determination theory. Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 4(1). View this article in WRRO
- Intercultural competence and languages: inextricably linked or linked inexplicably?. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 52(3), 492-510. View this article in WRRO
- Book Review: Contemporary Language Motivation Theory: 60 Years Since Gardner and Lambert (1959). Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 39(5-6), 777-780. View this article in WRRO
- Modern foreign languages: decision-making, motivation and 14–19 schools. Cambridge Journal of Education, 50(4), 469-481. View this article in WRRO
- Curriculum change in modern foreign languages education in England: barriers and possibilities. The Language Learning Journal, 48(5), 534-554. View this article in WRRO
- Student motivation, school policy choices and modern language study in England. The Language Learning Journal, 47(3), 281-298. View this article in WRRO
Book chapters
- Ideological monolingualism and the languages classroom in England, The Routledge Handbook of Endangered and Minority Languages (pp. 228-242). Routledge
- Questionnaires, A Quick Guide to Research Methods for Dissertations in Education Bloomsbury Academic
- Power Imbalances Inequality in International Exchange in the UK and Thailand, CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON EQUITY AND SOCIAL MOBILITY IN STUDY ABROAD (pp. 13-26).
Digital content
- A Quick Guide to Research Methods for Dissertations in Education.
- Teaching interests
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I was awarded Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2024, in recognition of my
teaching work and my leadership of teaching. Most of the teaching I do relates
to language education and research methods, as well as general education topics.I work
primarily with postgraduate students, although I have also taught undergraduates and Foundation
Year students. I have previously undertaken teaching leadership roles on the MA programme at
Sheffield and at Bishop Grosseteste University.
- Professional activities and memberships
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I am a representative of the Faculty of Social Sciences on Senate and I am the School of Education
Ethics Lead.
Externally, I am the Language Learning Editor of the Center for Self-Determination Theory and I act
as External Examiner for MA and PGCE programmes at other UK universities. I have also examined a
number of doctoral theses in the UK and internationally.
Whilst at Bishop Grosseteste University, I organised several online events, ranging from one-off talks
to two-day conferences.
Alongside presenting at international conferences for researchers and practitioners, I regularly write
for The Conversation and present at the Sheffield Pint of Science event.