Clive Palmer is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Physical Education at the University of Central Lancashire. He draws upon his varied background in sport, engineering, the arts and philosophy to experiment with teaching ideas and creatively engage learners in their studies. Towards promoting academic confidence, he publishes student-centred writing which is where Clive’s partnership with Danny started and brought this book in to being.


Underpinning Clive’s interests for physicality in learning, Clive has competed at national level in three sports; gymnastics, athletics and canoeing. From being an Apprentice Engineer in the RAF, he became a school teacher and since 2000, he has been lecturer and curriculum designer-come-research supervisor in Higher Education. From these experiences Clive believes in the transferability of skills and importantly, that a university degree is primarily for educating the person, not solely for knowledge acquisition. And that it should be a fun learning experience.

Clive Palmer is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Physical Education at the University of Central Lancashire. He draws upon his varied background in sport, engineering, the arts and philosophy to experiment with teaching ideas and creatively engage learners in their studies. Towards promoting academic confidence, he publishes student-centred writing which is where Clive’s partnership with Danny started and brought this book in to being. Underpinning Clive’s interests for physicality in learning, Clive has competed at national level in three sports; gymnastics, athletics and canoeing. From being an Apprentice Engineer in the RAF, he became a school teacher and since 2000, he has been lecturer and curriculum designer-come-research supervisor in Higher Education. From these experiences Clive believes in the transferability of skills and importantly, that a university degree is primarily for educating the person, not solely for knowledge acquisition. And that it should be a fun learning experience.

A strong advocate of Research Informed Teaching and recognising student-voice in the education process, Clive has pursued his ideas for learning through literacy and also, arts-based teaching. In 2007 he established the Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies (ISSN 1754-2375) as an ‘academic window’ for social research in sport. Across 12 volumes to date, 126 articles from national and international scholars stand shoulder-to-shoulder to inform the curriculum or others’ learning, wherever that may be globally. Clive is also Editor of the Sporting Image Series of eight books of creative writing. This ground-breaking work affords a view into an arts-based pedagogy, which ‘goes public’ to share good practice and inspire new learners.

Recognising the vocational-academic divide in HE for studying Outdoor Leadership, Sport and Physical Education, Clive has been influential for curriculum change across undergraduate and postgraduate study. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK, he is also Visiting Professor to Hunan Normal University in Changsha, China, to promote cross-cultural research between staff and students by learning through Physical Education. His catalogue of student-centred work is now accessed by 100s of thousands of students and teachers around the world, and attracts contributions from as far afield as Australia, China, South Africa, Germany, Greece, America, Canada, and many British universities.

Some previous titles include:

  • Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies (2007-date)
  • Arts-Based Education in Outdoor Learning: The Outdoor Image (2019)
  • The Sports Monograph: Critical Perspectives on Socio-cultural Sport, Coaching and Physical Education (2014)
  • The Sporting Image: Unsung Heroes of the Olympics 1896-2012 (2013)
  • The Role of Sports in The Formation of Personal Identities: Studies in Community Loyalties (2012)
  • The Sporting Image: The Abstraction of Form in Sport. A Collection of Art with Supporting Narratives (2011)
  • The Sporting Image: What If? An Anthology of Creative Writing Based Upon Real-life Events in Sport (2010)
  • The Sporting Image: Sports Poetry and Creative Writing (2009)
  • The Turn to Aesthetics: An Interdisciplinary Exchange of Ideas in Applied and Philosophical Aesthetics (2008)