Emma Coyle is an experienced educator working in a local authority role as an Equity Development Officer with West Lothian Council. Her work involves supporting schools and leadership teams to improve outcomes for learners most impacted by poverty through evidence-informed approaches to learning, teaching and assessment. She has a particular interest in strengthening pedagogy, curriculum making and professional learning in ways that are research-informed, collaborative and context-sensitive.

Emma has over 20 years’ experience in primary education across a range of contexts, including classroom teaching, middle leadership and authority-wide improvement. Her current work includes designing and facilitating professional learning that strengthens teacher agency, supports reflective practice, and builds connectivity within and across schools. This includes leading professional learning programmes, coaching practitioners and leaders, and developing tools and frameworks that support practitioner enquiry, data-informed dialogue, and collaborative improvement. Her work also emphasises the importance of pupil voice and teacher listening as practices that inform curriculum, pedagogy and inclusive school improvement.

Emma is in the final year of a Master’s in Professional Education and Leadership at the University of Stirling. Her research interests centre on equity, curriculum making, communities of practice, and the role of meso-layer support in creating spaces for teacher reflection and connectivity.  Alongside her local authority role, Emma is seconded to Scotland’s Centre for Teaching Excellence as a Teacher Associate contributing to national work focused on research–practice connections and system improvement.

Additionally, Emma is a member of Education Scotland’s Curriculum Improvement Cycle core group, contributing to national work focused on Opportunities for Personal Development.

Across her roles, Emma is committed to collaborative leadership, research-informed practice, and creating the conditions that enable meaningful professional learning, authentic participation, and more equitable outcomes for children and young people.

Equity, Poverty-Related Attainment and Pedagogy

This area reflects ongoing interest in improving outcomes for learners most impacted by poverty through evidence-informed pedagogy. It explores how pedagogical approaches such as differentiation, feedback, metacognition, questioning, collaboration and learners leading learning can be enacted in ways that support inclusion, engagement and attainment within everyday classroom practice.

Curriculum Making, Knowledge and Equity

This interest explores curriculum making as a lever for equity, with a particular focus on how decisions about curriculum purpose, content and knowledge shape learners’ opportunities. Drawing on curriculum theory, examining the ‘why, what and how’ of curriculum making, including the role of powerful knowledge, teacher agency, and the extent to which curriculum supports the development of learners’ capabilities. This includes an interest in supporting teachers to engage critically with curriculum thinking and content selection in ways that are purposeful and socially just.

Research-Informed Professional Learning and Teacher Agency

A central strand within this interest is how professional learning can be designed to support teacher agency, reflection and enquiry. Exploring movement beyond transmission models of professional learning towards approaches that create structured spaces for dialogue, sense-making and sustained change in practice. This includes the role of coaching, enquiry and collaborative professional learning communities.

Teacher Connectivity and Meso-Layer Support

Current Master’s research focuses on the role of meso-layer support within education systems, particularly how local authority teams, networks and structures can create the conditions for teacher connectivity within and across schools. This work explores how these meso-layer spaces can support collaboration, curriculum thinking and professional learning while remaining responsive to local contexts.

Pupil Voice, Teacher Listening and Participation

This interest explores pupil voice and the practice of teacher listening, particularly as it relates to equity, inclusion and learner engagement. It examines how listening is enacted in practice, the conditions that enable authentic participation, and how pupil perspectives can inform learning, teaching and curriculum decision-making. Where teacher listening is understood not as a procedural activity, but as a relational and pedagogical practice that shapes belonging and learning experiences.

Professional Learning and Leadership Development at Local Authority Level

• Evidence-Based Approaches to Learning, Teaching and Assessment (Bitesize Series)
  A series of short professional learning sessions focused on evidence-informed pedagogical approaches to tackling equity gaps, including feedback, questioning, cognitive load theory, metacognition, learners leading learning, and peer collaboration. Sessions support practitioners to translate research into practical classroom strategies that enhance inclusion, engagement and attainment.
• Differentiation (Bitesize Series)
  A structured professional learning programme exploring differentiation through content, process, product and environment. The sessions support teachers to design responsive learning experiences that meet diverse learner needs while maintaining high expectations for all.
• Leading Equitable Schools (LES) Programme
  A multi-session leadership programme for school leaders and aspiring leaders focused on developing equitable cultures, systems and practices. The programme supports participants to critically examine equity within their context, use evidence to inform decision-making, and lead sustainable improvement aligned with local and national priorities.

Alongside this, I work in partnership with schools and leadership teams to design and facilitate bespoke professional learning.