
Dr Matt Vince
Honorary Research Fellow
Overview
- Research Associate (2019-2021) - Discovering Muslims in Britain: for Key Stage 3
- Completed doctorate (2018) - Muslim Identities in Contemporary Britain: The Case of Muslim Religious Education Teachers
- Interested in experiences of education, Religious Education (RE), and identities and expressions of ‘lived religion’. Please get in touch to discuss this further.
Biography
The Islam-UK Centre has been my academic home for my masters and doctoral studies, along with a postdoctoral research position. These opportunities were generously funded by the Jameel Scholarship Programme.
For my doctoral research, I explored the experiences of “Muslim Religious Education teachers” and their understanding of personal and professional identities. After successfully completing my doctorate, I worked as a Research Associate leading on the Discovering Muslims in Britain: for Key Stage 3 (2019-2021) training and curriculum development project.
I am interested in continually supporting these areas of research, particularly projects involving ‘lived religion’ and Religious Education teaching in schools. Do get in touch to discuss this more.
Speaking engagements
- W8 Discovering Muslims in Britain: for Key Stage 3 (2021, NATRE Strictly RE – invited speaker)
- Discovering Muslims in Britain for KS3 (2021, Cumbria SACRE - workshop)
- Alternative forms of leadership in British Muslim communities: Muslim RE teachers (2019, Cardiff University Leadership, Authority & Representation in British Muslim Communities conference’)
- Muslims in the UK and Europe Symposium 2018 (2018, Cambridge University - symposium)
- Islam, Muslims, and education in Britain (2018, conference organiser)
- Muslim RE teachers and Religious Education: balancing personal faith and professional responsibilities (2017, Harmony Interfaith Lecture Series, University of Wales Trinity St David – invited speaker)
- Expressing Islam within a Christian-centric education system: lessons from a young British Muslim RE teacher (2014, British Association for Islamic Studies inaugural conference – conference paper)
Publications
2021
- Vince, M. 2021. 'I don’t necessarily identify myself as a Muslim [RE] teacher?’: considering the limitations of the category ‘Muslim’ in the case of ‘Muslim RE teachers’.. Journal of Beliefs and Values 42(1), pp. 19-32. (10.1080/13617672.2019.1686733)
2020
- Vince, M. 2020. ‘Neutrality’, Muslimness and the whiteness of RE professionalism. Journal of Religious Education 68, pp. 371-383. (10.1007/s40839-020-00114-6)
2019
- Vince, M. 2019. "I feel as though I'm doing the job of the Imam for them": considering 'tactical' Muslim leadership through the case of Muslim RE teachers'. Religions 10(7), article number: 420. (10.3390/rel10070420)
2018
- Vince, M. 2018. Muslim identities in contemporary Britain: The case of Muslim religious education teachers. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Teaching
- Associate Fellowship accreditation (Higher Education Academy)
- PGCE and QTS in Secondary Religious Education
- Muslims and Education: MA seminar
- Introduction to Religion 1 & 2: Undergraduate modules
- Module lead: Sociology of Religion (level 5, 2020-2021)
My research interests include experiences of education, Religious Education (RE), and identities and expressions of ‘lived religion’. I utilise sociology of religion methodologies, particularly the work of Nancy Ammerman and Meredith McGuire, alongside my previous experience of RE teaching. I am also keen to engage with practitioners in these fields in my research.
PhD thesis
- Muslim Identities in Contemporary Britain: The Case of Muslim Religious Education Teachers
- What does it mean to be a Muslim in Britain? Talking about identity in the classroom (article for REToday magazine, Spring 2021)
Wider Writing
- TRS-UK School Engagement Survey 2020 (2020, Theology and Religious Studies – UK)
- Socrel Member Interviews: Matthew Vince (2018, British Sociological Association SocrelNews)
- ‘Being There’: A brief reflection on shadowing Muslim RE teachers - (article for the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK Blog, 2017)
- Islamic Education in Britain: New Pluralist Paradigms – Book Review (2016, Journal of Beliefs and Values, 37:1)