Shirin joined King’s in 2017 for an MA in Child Studies. Funded by the Rosalind Driver Scholarship in Science Education, she began her PhD in 2019 and is pursuing this on a part-time basis alongside related teaching and research roles within the School of Education, Communication and Society (ECS).

Her thesis explores Forest School practice in England and its potential to support socioecological justice, with a particular focus on gender.Shirin has taught on various modules within ECS, including Children’s Rights (MA International Child Rights and Development) and Environment, Sustainability and the Role of Education (MA STEM Education) and has published work on Forest School in academic and non-academic titles.

She is a member of the Centre for Research in Education in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (CRESTEM) and, beyond King’s, holds voluntary roles in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) advocacy and Forest School.

Thesis

Shirin's research aims to explore contemporary forest school practice in England with a view to understanding its potential contribution towards more socially just, gender equitable forms of environmental education, as well as how such practices might be better integrated into mainstream state education.

Her thesis title is: Understanding contemporary Forest School practice in England and its potential to support gender equity and social justice in environmental education.

Principal supervisor: Dr Melissa Glackin

View Melissa's research profile

Secondary supervisor: Dr Tania de St Croix

View Tania's research profile