Dear Colleagues,

The last month has certainly caused some political upset. Theresa May went into the general election with an overall Conservative majority in the House of Commons, but ended it having to form a pact with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party in order to stay in power. Rarely has politics been as fascinating and changeable as these last few years and months.

News items this month include:

- Launch of PSA commissioned report on Brexit: One Year On

- Launch of General Election Report 

- Information about Applying to Study Politics Workshop in Cardiff

- A Discount to attend ACT's July 2017 Conference

Whilst the country was focused on the General Election, the crucial matter of Brexit and the future relationship between Britain and the EU was still very much under discussion. The PSA has been working with The UK in a Changing Europe for a number of months and commissioned several reports from their research team. The latest report is available here: EU Referendum: One Year On. 

This timely report covers the politics, economics, public opinion, public policies, regional implications and international questions that surround the UK’s decision to leave the EU, in 28 short articles.

Professor Anand Menon, Director of The UK in a Changing Europe is a frequent contributor to the media and his most recent Radio 4 documentary was broadcast last week and can be accessed here: Brexit: A Tale of Two Cities. 

In the immediate aftermath of the 8 June vote, the PSA was proud to support a robust analysis of the UK General Election.

Over 100 academics from across 58 institutions contributed to UK Election Analysis 2017: Media, Voters and the Campaign which captures the thoughts, reflections and early research insights from experts on the campaign, the role of the media, and the power of personality in politics.

Edited by Bournemouth University academics Dr Einar Thorsen, Dr Dan Jackson and Dr Darren Lilleker, the publication has featured on The Times Red Box and The Conversation.

In June the PSA held two Applying to Study Politics Workshops at both Edinburgh and King's College London.

At Edinburgh, Professer Ailsa Henderson spoke on the current Electoral Dynamics at play in Scotland. While Rhona Hacjman spoke on the admissions process in detail. At King's College amongst the presentations Dr Katrin Schreiter spoke on competitive admissions.

Please see presentations below.

Ailsa Henderson | Rhona Hajcman

We will also be holding a workshop at Cardiff University on Wednesday 27 September.

To sign up to the Cardiff workshop please see here.

We will also be holding a workshop at Ulster University in September. Please watch this space!

Students from across the West Midlands attended a Brexit Conference hosted by King’s High Warwick and led by Dr Andy Mycock (University of Huddersfield). The GSCE students present got a taster of contemporary politics through a lecture followed by interactive sessions.

They looked at the manifestos of political parties at the recent general election and examined them and their policies towards young people and Brexit. Then the young people were given the chance to develop their own manifestos and present these to the assembled politicians. Those present were Baroness Lorely Burt, ex MP for Solihull and Lib Dem Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords, Jonathan Gullis, PSA Teacher Member and Conservative Candidate for Washington and Sunderland West and Cllr Jonathan Chilvers, Leader of the Greens on Warwickshire County Council and Green Candidate for Warwick and Leamington constituency.

Please let me know if you would like to set up a Hub within your area by contacting me via: josh.niderost@psa.ac.uk. 

The Association for Citizenship Teaching are offering PSA teacher members a discount to attend their National Conference. 

This will be taking place on 4 July at Middlesex University. 

The discount for the conference is: PSASPECIAL2017. Colleagues can either pay direct or request an invoice. 

Details of the conference are available here. 

In June the PSA held a Joint Seminar with the Parliament Education Service on Parliament, Globalisation and Ideology.

Speakers included Ayeesha Waller, Clerk to the House of Lords' Economic Affairs Committee; Professor Lord Norton of Louth; Dr Natasha Underhill (Nottingham Trent); and Dr Victoria Honeyman (Leeds). 

Presentation slides for the day are available below.

Ayeesha Waller | Natasha Underhill | Victoria Honeyman

Please watch this space for more news on PES – PSA Events.

Pearson currently have exciting opportunities for qualified teachers to join their Assessment Associate Team, as Examiners for their GCE A Level Government and Politics qualification.

If you have any queries regarding the role, please contact the AA Recruitment team on aaresourcing@pearson.com. For more infromation about Examiner opportunities at Pearson please click here.

The PSA Blog features contemporary content from academic members of the PSA in response to news or fresh research findings. 

Ben Worthy (Birkbeck) admits: We need to talk about Jeremy: Why I was wrong about the 2017 General Election.

Sarah Childs et al (Bristol) writes about gender and politics in: Let’s Put the Champagne on Ice: The Commons’ Missing Women.

Finally, Matthew Flinders (Sheffield) examines: The Politics of Teaching Politics: Ambition, Imagination and Pedagogic Prowess

Follow the PSA on Twitter or search for the #PSAschools hashtag for real time updates on all our schools' activities, news and campaigns.

As a PSA Teacher Member you have full access to the Schools’ Area of the PSA website.  Here you can find all the latest information about the following initiatives we offer to schools:

•         Free Speakers Programmes for Schools sessions
•         Free professional development resources
•         Free subscriptions to leading publications, including Political Insight
•         Priority registration to PSA schools' events
•         Priority registration for student career workshops

Don't forget, members can access the Teachers' e-News archive online here.

We're always keen to hear from you, so please keep in touch or let the PSA know how we can serve you better. If you feel any colleagues would be interested in this e-Newsletter, please forward them a copy.

With very best wishes,

Josh Niderost

Programme Development and Outreach Officer

020 7321 2545
PSA Head Office, 113a Jermyn Street, London, SW1Y 6HJ.