Are you interested in exploring innovation in school-based education?
In collaboration with the World Bridge Federation (WBF), the proposed study will explore the possibilities and potential of the mindsport bridge in primary schools in Scotland. Mindsports are competitive, skills-based games, such as chess or the card game bridge, that require intellect more than physical skills (Dolbysheva 2020). For this doctoral studentship, you do not need to know how to play any mindsport. The ideal candidate is a dynamic social science student who is keen to develop their communication, writing and critical thinking skills.
You will join an international project team involving a network of community stakeholders and practitioners in the field of mindsport. The studentship will examine the ways that bridge practices support the key pillars of the Curriculum for Excellence: Health and Wellbeing, Numeracy, and Literacy (Education Scotland, 2024). Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory will frame the identification of within-school and out-of-school enablers and constraints that influence children’s experiences of bridge. New theoretical and conceptual insights, such as drawing on Dweck’s (2006) ‘growth mindset’ theory, will be developed through a consideration of how the mindsport bridge could support collaborative learning and the health and wellbeing agenda for schools. In particular, the possibilities for pupils developing self-awareness and critical thinking through playing bridge will be investigated using a metacognitive approach (Brown 1987).
Mixed methods, including surveys (pre and post-bridge engagement), teacher interviews and focus groups with children, will be used to research three offerings of bridge within and around curricular time, as well as through community provision. Pedagogies will be explored to lend further support toward equitable, accessible and enjoyable participation. Recommendations and guidance co-created with the World Bridge Federation (WBF) and based on children’s and teachers’ perspectives, will be provided. The research findings will inform local and national policies and practices relating to the use of bridge as a game-based educational tool or as an extra-curricular enrichment activity.
The collaborative partner, the WBF, will amplify impact by adapting the learning to other cultural contexts, particularly in countries with a competency-based curriculum model or where curricula are scaffolded upon critical thinking, such as concept oriented. The WBF will support wider implementation of inclusive bridge school programmes via other National Bridge Organisations. The research impact will be the outcome of the iterative collaboration between the doctoral student, research populations, and the World Bridge Federation (WBF), achieving localised and globalised impact. The study will have innovative academic impact by contributing to the establishment of Mindsport Studies, an interdisciplinary new area which speaks to sociology, education, sports studies and leisure studies. Multiple stakeholders will inform the creation of a toolkit, guidance, and recommendations for policy and practice to support children’s skills development and wellbeing through the partnership mindsport, bridge.
Schools’ curriculum-embedded and extracurricular activities will be enriched by the addition of bridge as a means to support health and wellbeing, as informed by other game-based learning. The health and wellbeing impact of this research will be felt at national level through the use of the findings by the WBF and their local partner, the Scottish Bridge Union (SBU). Participating schools will benefit from using school bridge to promote social inclusion, collaborative learning and the development of critical thinking, confidence, and resilience amongst their student population. Globally and nationally, the WBF will encourage and support the SBU and other National Bridge Organisations to share and implement the bridge toolkit and guidance, leading to the likelihood of more schools and children benefitting from the social, emotional, cognitive and health benefits of bridge.
Supervisory Team:
- First Supervisor: Professor Samantha Punch, s.v.punch@stir.ac.uk
- Second Supervisor: Dr Alison Murray, alison.murray1@stir.ac.uk
