Peter Cunningham

Peter Cunningham taught in primary schools in Oxfordshire and Leicestershire, UK, researched and lectured in education history for many years at Westminster College, Oxford, and now at Homerton College and the Faculty of Education in the University of Cambridge.

He became fascinated by progressive and child-centered approaches to teaching young children, by the work and lives of primary teachers who shared these ideals.

As a consequence he interviewed many teachers who were trained from the 1910s onwards and also many who taught under challenging conditions in World War Two. His interests extend from curriculum history and teachers' professional lives and careers, to the social and cultural history of education in many forms and phases, and in pursuit of these interests he has traveled, taught and visited schools in the USA, in Europe, and around the world.

His latest edited book, 'Beyond the Lecture Hall: universities and community engagement from the middle ages to the present day' was compiled under the auspices of the PLACE Research Group at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, and published by them.