This is my personal website. I also have several others (though I havent updated or engaged with them much recently):

• Peter Gates Politics my site for all things political (that aren’t maths teaching related – which itself is highlight political!)
• Teaching Mathematics a site for all related to teaching mathematics
• Visualization in Maths a very new and undeveloped site, intending to examine the issue of visual and spatial aspects of learning mathematics

Me

I live in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, having retired from working at the University of Nottingham in September 2017. I live with my partner, Jane Hart, and we have two daughters. Since retiring we have bought a 46′ narrowboat called Resolution.

I have also developed my interest and skills in genealogical research and have spent a few years researching my family, completing an extensive study of the lives of my grandparents between 1870 and 1970. There is a link on the menus.

I have been a socialist for over 50 years and a Marxist for most of that time, joining the Labour Party in June 1994 (don’t ask!). I fully supported the shift in the Party that lead to Jeremy Corbyn’s election as party leader. This led to me being targeted in a political witch-hunt by the right-wing and the increasingly dysfunctional Disputes Unit, which led to my deciding I could no longer be associated with a toxic party with such internal corruption. Consequently I resigned from the Party in 2020. That is a decision I am now very pleased with!

Professional and Academic Background

I spent all my professional working life (1975-2017) within the professional field of education – firstly as a mathematics teacher and advisor in the UK and Africa and then as mathematics educator in three UK Universities (Open, Bath, Nottingham). I gravitated to become more rooted within a research environment in the sociology of education especially in the area of social disadvantage. Much of my professional work in Higher Education over 30 years hasdbeen directly related to teacher education, teacher professional development and equity and social justice – most notably within the area of mathematics education. Through my direct work with students, teachers and schools, as well as through my work as an external examiner for a number of initial teacher training providers and as a referee for several academic journals, I developed a broad and eclectic vision of issues in teacher education, and an understanding of structural models for providing an effective context for new teachers to develop their pedagogical expertise. Teaching and research for me has to be about making the world a better and a fairer place for all.

I worked at the University of Nottingham between 1993 and 2017. For 10 years I taught social research methodology to masters and doctoral students and practice-based inquiry to teachers. Prior to this I taught on the Post Graduate Certificate of Education for prospective teachers of mathematics for many years. Prior to coming to Nottingham, I worked at the School of Education in Bath University (1990-1993) and the Open University (1988-1990). Before moving into higher education I worked as a Mathematics teacher in London (1976-1977; 1980-1983) and Milton Keynes (1983-1988)  and was a teacher and Regional Educational Advisor in Moçambique (1978-1980).

Although I began my career within the field of mathematics education, my research activity gradually became located within more generic social research deliberately focussed within a local Nottingham context. This was important for me because of my commitment to research that makes a difference to people’s lives. A considerable focus of my early research was in developing our understanding of the structure of teachers’ professional knowledge by developing eclectic models of teacher values and beliefs that incorporate sociological and psychological perspectives. This approach offers us some fresh insights into the barriers to professional growth and teacher change. My later research and writing was focussed more upon the social implications of mathematics and mathematics education as well as moving more broadly to issues of equity and social justice in the teaching and learning of mathematics.

I still have a passionate commitment to improving the educational experience and opportunities of those children who seem to be disadvantaged by the present social and educational systems. My own early employment history consistently placed me in areas where one common feature was the challenge of working with pupils and parents who achieved less that they seem capable of, and who felt powerless to do much about it. I have worked as a teacher in Dagenham, Mozambique and Milton Keynes.

Publications

A list of my publications, articles and reports on mathematics education, equity, computer gaming etc. etc. can be found here.