2011: Fran Martin

Fran Martin worked at the University of Exeter, as a geography teacher and researcher until recently, when she became an independent consultant.

Here's a story about Fran from the GA News 2005. These documents are quite ephemeral, and I am grateful to Aaron Bohlman from the GA for identifying them and letting me have access to them when I was last in Solly Street which seems like a long time ago now.

I was present at Fran's Presidential lecture, where she spoke about the work she had done. Rob Morris was also present, and he gave his thoughts on it here at the time:
http://lodgemeister.blogspot.com/2012/04/ga-conference-lost-bag-and-pre-term.html

Fran's conference theme was Geographies of Difference.

This is an important theme and one which persists of course to this day, with plenty more that all organisations including the GA can do to consider inclusivity and the number of people of colour involved in key roles, as well as issue of gender and representation.

Fran kindly filled in the Google Form that I sent round to all living Presidents and filled me in on some useful additional details for the blog post here.

Fran was born in the 1950s, and educated at Wycombe Abbey school, before heading for Cambridge University.

She had a career as a primary teacher followed by teacher educator and latterly academic/researcher, which was her job when she became GA President in 2011. 

(this was the year when I ended my GA employment sadly)

Fran has also written a number of books for Early Years and Primary geography, including one published by former GA President Chris Kington.

Bob Digby, who was to follow Fran as GA President worked with Fran for a while at Brunel University. He told me of his time there:

"The Brunel years were enjoyable, fun and challenging - just what a job should be. I worked with Fran Martin and Graham Yates, each of whom I love dearly, across a range of primary and secondary courses: undergraduate as well as post-graduate. I worked with school colleagues from a range of school types which were as varied and as interesting as our students. I observed PE lessons (anyone who knows me will splutter at this point) as well as lessons in Geography, English, RE ... whatever teachers taught, I observed. The School of Education was like a school in that it was a real community. PGCE students spend nine months with you and they're gone; with four-year undergraduates you get to know them and how they think just as you would with students in a school. It was rich, exciting, and fun."

Of her chosen conference theme, Fran told me:

"My theme was 'Geographies of Difference'. I chose it because it resonated with my research at the time - Global Partnerships as Sites of Mutual Learning - I learnt a lot about different ways of knowing, critical interculturalism and coloniality and wanted to bring some of that knowledge to my focus for the year. 

I have been a member of the GA since 1989. I had written articles and books for the GA and been an active member of both the Teacher Educators Working Group and the Early Years and Primary Committee. 

I was editor of Primary Geography 2005-2009 and then a member of the editorial board 2009 - 2017."

She feels the GA matters very much to educators:

"I became involved when I was county advisory teacher for the humanities in Buckinghamshire. I had not known of its existence before then. I initially found it to be an invaluable resource. Later I found I had things to say that contributed to that resource. It has been a great professional support and enhanced my career."

Of her time as President she said:

"I continue to have feedback that people loved the conference and still use the pieces I wrote for 'Primary Geography' and 'Teaching Geography' in their work. I tried to live out my values and the values inherent in the theme of geographies of difference and found mixed success in that regard." 

Fran about to speak, with members of the supportive Primary community on the front row...

Simon Catling said of her Presidency that she brought a wider awareness and context through her links and research in intercultural understanding.

Fran has continued her involvement with the Primary Geography community and regularly attends and presents at the Charney Manor Primary Conference and was also involved in the creation of many issues of 'Primary Geography' journal and contributed articles and other content over the years as mentioned previously in her role as Editor. Current work explores ideas of decolonisation, which is particularly significant at the present time.

She has carried out research in the UK, West Africa, India and Canada, particularly with Fatima Pirbhai-Illich from the University of Regina, with whom she has presented at the Charney Manor Primary Conference.

There is a link between Fran and my own chosen conference theme of 'Everyday Geographies'.

In the Autumn 2006 issue of 'Primary Geographer', Fran wrote a piece called 'Everyday Geography' which remains influential to this day. Around this time, the GA was also using the phrase 'Living Geography'.

Everyday Geography  encouraged Primary educators and students to remember and recognise that they think geographically in the course of their daily life.

https://www.geography.org.uk/Journal-Issue/cdb38e75-8b48-48c4-9855-63c555582323

Images copyright:Bryan Ledgard and the GA (from Flickr account)

References

Martin, Fran. “The Geographies of Difference.” Teaching Geography, vol. 38, no. 1, 2013, pp. 10–13. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23756981

Twitter: https://twitter.com/globalfran

Fran's profile on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fran-Martin-3 

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sec5vcAAAAAJ&hl=en

Decolonising geography work: https://decolonisegeography.com/explore

Article:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314169655_Places_spaces_and_boundaries_A_critical_look_at_the_relational_in_geography_classrooms 

'Caring for our World' - co-written with Paula Owens

https://www.geography.org.uk/Shop/CARING-FOR-OUR-WORLD/9781843772118 

As always, any memories of Fran and her time at the GA welcome.