Head of Academics, UCFB Manchester Campus
Gerald has worked in education for over 20 years and brings a wealth of Higher Education experience to the team. He is a globally recognised figure in his field of Primary Physical Education and to date has published five books and 40 international peer reviewed journal articles.
Find out more about Gerald
Area of expertise
- Primary Physical Education;
- Socio-cultural aspects of sport;
- Ethnographic research.
Teaching & research interests
- Primary Physical Education;
- PE and sport premium;
- Socio-cultural aspects of sport;
- Alternative sports e.g. Ultimate Frisbee;
- Ethnographic research.
Accreditation & memberships
- Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce (FRSA);
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA);
- Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fit and Healthy Children.
Qualifications
- PhD Sociological Research, Leicester University;
- MA Sport, Politics and Society, University of Warwick;
- BA (Hons) Physical Education with QTS, Lancaster University.
Publications & research
- Griggs, G. (2004) Soccer hooliganism in England between the wars. The Sport Journal. 7, 3, pp. 1-5.
- Griggs, G. (2006) Calypso to Collapso: The decline of the West Indies as a cricketting super power. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 30, 3, pp. 306 – 314.
- Griggs, G. (2007) Physical Education: Primary Matters, Secondary Importance. Education 3 –13, 35, 1, pp. 59 – 69.
- Griggs, G. and Wheeler, K. (2007) ‘Play up, play up and play the game’: the implications of every child matters within physical education and school sport. Education 3 – 13. 35, 3, pp. 273 – 282.
- Griggs, G. (2009) ‘The Origins and Development of Ultimate Frisbee in the UK: From creation to recognition’. The Sport Journal, 12, 3.
- Griggs, G. (2009) ‘Just a sport made up in a car park’: The soft landscape of ultimate Frisbee. Social and Cultural Geography. 10, 7, 757 – 770.
- Griggs, G. (2009) When a ball dreams, it dreams it’s a Frisbee’: The emergence of aesthetic appreciation within Ultimate Frisbee. Sport in society. 12, 10, 1317 – 1326.
- Griggs, G. (2010) For Sale – Primary Physical Education. £20 per hour or nearest offer, Education 3 – 13, 38, 1, 39 – 46.
- Griggs, G. (2009) ‘What you risk reveals what you value’: Fostering creativity in primary Physical Education. Education 3 – 13, 37,2, 121 – 130.
- O’Leary, N. and Griggs, G. (2010) Researching the pieces of a puzzle: The use of a jigsaw learning approach in the delivery of undergraduate gymnastics. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 34, 1, 73 – 81.
- Griggs, G. and Biscomb, K. (2010) Theresa Bennett is 42 ...but what’s new?. Soccer in Society, 11, 5, 668-676
- Griggs, G. (2011) This must be the only sport in the world where most of the players don’t know the rules’: Operationalising Self refereeing in UK Ultimate Frisbee, Sport in Society, 14, 1, 97 -110.
- Griggs, G. (2011) Ethnography study of alternative sports by alternative means. List Mining as a method of data collection. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 6,2, 85 - 91
- Ward, G. and Griggs, G. (2011) Principles of Play: a proposed framework towards a holistic overview of games in primary Physical Education, Education 3 – 13, 39, 5, 499 – 516.
- Griggs, G. and McGregor, D. (2011) Scaffolding creativity: Reflecting on practice in order to develop the teaching of undergraduate gymnastics. Journal of further and Higher Education,
- Cartwright, L., Thomas, L. and Griggs, G., (2011) Reflective practice: its place within the ‘new professionalism’, In D. McGregor (ed) Reflective Practice. Buckingham: OU Press.
- Griggs, G. and Stidder, G. (2012) Healthism and the obesity discourse: Approaches to inclusive health education through Alternative Physical Education, In G. Stidder and S. Hayes, Equity and Inclusion in Physical Education (2nd Edition). London: Routledge.
- Griggs, G. (2012) Carlsberg don’t make football teams but if they did... The utopian reporting of FC St Pauli in the British media. Soccer in Society, 13, 1, 73 – 82.
- Groves, M., Griggs, G., and Leflay, K. (2012) Student initiation ceremonies – A review, Sport in Society, 15, 1, 117 – 131.
- Biscomb, K. and Griggs, G. (2012) “A Splendid Effort!” – Print Media Reporting of England’s Women’s Performance in the 2009 World Cup Cricket. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, ifirst.
- Griggs, G. (2012) Standing on the touchline of chaos. Explaining the development of sports coaching in primary schools with the aid of complexity theory. Education 3 – 13. , 259 – 269.
- Griggs, G., Leflay, K. and Groves, M. (2012) ‘Just watching it again now still gives me goose bumps!’: Understanding moments of private nostalgia as a sport spectator. Sociology of Sport Journal, 29, 1, 89 – 101.
- Griggs, G. (2012) Why have alternative sports grown in popularity in the UK? Annals of Leisure Research. , 180 – 187.
- Griggs, G., Knight, P., Freeman, I.A. and O'Reilly, N. (2012) A vision of London in the 21st Century or just terrifying monsters: A semiotic analysis of the official mascots for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Leisure Studies. , 339 – 354.
- Griggs, G. and Ward, G. (2012) Physical Education in the UK: Disconnections and Reconnections, Curriculum Journal, 23, 2, 207 – 229.
- Griggs, G. (ed) (2012) Physical Education in the Primary School: An Introduction. London: Routledge.
- Griggs, G. and Gibbons, T. (2013) ‘Harry walks, Fabio runs’: reactions of the British print media to Harry Redknapp’s acquittal and Fabio Capello’s resignation, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, ifirst
- Griggs, G., Leflay, K. and Groves, M. (2013) “Quite possibly something that will never happen again!”: Examining The Mental Postcards of Olympic Spectators, Annals of Leisure Research, ifirst.
- Griggs, G. and Ward, G. (2013) The London 2012 Legacy for primary Physical Education: Policy by the Way. Sociological Research Online
- Mackintosh, C., Cookson, G., and Griggs, G. (2014) Reflections on the PING! table tennis initiative: lessons and new directions for sports development?. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 27(2), 3-3.
- Godoy-Pressland, A. and Griggs, G. (2014) The photographic representation of female athletes in the British print media during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Sport in Society.
- Griggs, G., Gibbons, T., Rees, T., and Groves, M. (2014) Allez Wiggo! A case study on the reaction of the British print media to Bradley Wiggins victory in the Tour de France, International Journal of Sport Communication, 7,1, 113 – 125.
- Knight, P., Freeman, I., Griggs, G. and O’Reilly, N. (2014) Semiotic representations of Olympic mascots revisited. Virtual mascots of the games 2006-2012. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 5, 1, 74-92.
- Groves, M. and Griggs, G. (2014) Riding in the shadows: The reaction of the British print media to Chris Froome’s victory in 2013 Tour de France. International Review for the Sociology of Sport.
- Leflay, K., Griggs, G., and Biscomb, K. (2015). Through the Fire: the project kids of Coney Island. Sport in Society, 18(1), 80-90.
- Medcalf, R., and Griggs, G. (2015) “I Never Saw Him Play but We Were the Best of Friends for Years” A Case Study Exploring the Pseudosocial Relationships of Football Manager Bloggers. Communication and Sport, 3(3), 334-347.
- Godoy-Pressland, A. and Griggs, G. (2015) London 2012: The Women’s Games? Examining the Photographic Evidence. In The Impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Diminishing Contrasts, Increasing Varieties. Palgrave Macmillan UK.
- Griggs, G. and Medcalf, R (2015) Inclusive Pedagogy in Physical Education, In J.M. Deppeler, T. Loreman, R. Smith and L. Florian. Inclusive Pedagogy across the Curriculum. London: Emerald.
- Griggs, G. (ed) (2015) Understanding Primary Physical Education. London: Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781134471898
- Biscomb, K., Medcalf, R. and Griggs, G. (eds) (2016) Current Issues in Contemporary Sport Development. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=biL5DAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=info:pTx0MgUq1wIJ:scholar.google.com&ots=Y6_Ln2qBDM&sig=4OnKuVnQHQM4ZoybvoTxNmG60nQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Griggs, G., and Petrie, K. (2016) Education 3-13–Contemporary issues in international primary physical education. Education 3-13. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03004279.2016.1169481?journalCode=rett20
- Griggs, G. (2016) Spending the Primary Physical Education and Sport Premium: a West Midlands case study. Education 3-13, 44(5), 547-555. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03004279.2016.1169485
- Griggs, G., and Petrie, K. (Eds.). (2017) Routledge Handbook of Primary Physical Education. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Primary-Physical-Education/Griggs-Petrie/p/book/9781138682344
- Petrie, K., and Griggs, G. (2017) EPER special issue–Primary physical education. European Physical Education Review. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1356336X17702137?journalCode=epea
- Ward, G., and Griggs, G. (2018) Primary physical education: A memetic perspective. European Physical Education Review, 24(4), 400-417. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1356336X16676451
- Griggs, G. (2018) Investigating provision and impact of the primary Physical Education and Sport Premium: a West Midlands case study. Education 3-13, 46(5), 517-524. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03004279.2017.1291699
- Griggs, G., and Randall, V. (2018) Primary physical education subject leadership: along the road from in-house solutions to outsourcing. Education 3-13, 1-14. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03004279.2018.1520277
Expertise in industry
- Primary classroom teaching experience;
- Mentoring primary trainees in schools;
- CPD delivery across institutions;
- Over twenty years working in education with the last 16 years in Higher Education;
- Globally recognised author.
Contact Gerald