Dr Sophie Cole

Associate Professor

School: Communities and Education

Sophie was previously Teacher of Art and Head of Year in Secondary Schools, founding Education Officer at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art before becoming Programme Leader of PGCE Secondary Art, Craft and Design at Northumbria since 2002.

Sophie has designed, developed and led Secondary General Professional Studies routes in Postgraduate Teacher Education covering national teacher priority subjects as well as practitioner research practices for teachers in training. The School Direct programme where Sophie is academic guidance tutor has a strong focus on exploring research evidence to inform professional and classroom practice as well as supporting the development of academic and research methods.

Sophie has been actively involved in establishing postgraduate routes for qualified art teachers through the MA Fine Art and Education (in partnership with the Fine Art Department 2002-2009) and MA Professional Practice both in collaboration BALTIC.

Sophie is an experienced subject focussed and chief External Examiner in UK Universities of programmes in Initial Teacher Education including Institute of Education: UCL, University of Ulster, Birmingham City University, Edge Hill University and Liverpool John Mores.

Campus Address

D001 Coach Lane Campus West

Email Sophie

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Dr Sophie Cole is an Assistant Professor in Education and Department Head of Apprenticeships, where she leads the development and quality assurance of apprenticeship programmes within the Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing. She has extensive experience in teacher education, having previously led an Ofsted Outstanding PGCE Art, Craft, and Design programme.

Sophie’s research broadly explores Higher Education Pedagogies and specifically studies teacher education, professional capital, creativity in pedagogy, inspection and accountability frameworks, higher and degree apprenticeships, and academic development in higher education. As a funded project, she is currently investigating early career academics’ experiences of impostorism, exploring pedagogies to mitigate its effects. She has published in peer-reviewed journals, contributed chapters to edited books, and presented at national and international conferences and symposia.

A Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), Sophie is founder and Programme Leader for both the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) and Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA), supporting new academic and teaching colleagues in achieving A/FHEA. The APA has also been delivered to clinical educators in regional NHS Trusts, supporting workforce development across the North East. She leads the Postgraduate Researcher Training to Teach programme, supporting over 200 doctoral students annually in developing their teaching practice. She also designed and led a university-wide conference to enhance pedagogy among technical and demonstrator staff.

Sophie contributes to institutional and national discussions on apprenticeship practice, policy and academic standards through programme approvals, trailblazer groups, external examining, consultancy, and sector-wide collaborations.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Rehearsing Legitimacy: Simulation-Based Pedagogies, Imposter Experiences and Academic Wellbeing in Early-Career Academics, Hotonu, I., Mulholland, K., Cole, S., Gibson, M., Nichol, D., Counihan, C. 26 Jun 2026, In: Education Sciences
The Educator: Leading and delivering sustainable apprenticeship programmes in higher education, Cole, S., Dawson, S., Derbyshire, J. 25 Mar 2026, Higher and Degree Apprenticeships, London, United Kingdom, Routledge
A Model to Support the Development of Professional Capital in Trainee Teachers: A Constructivist Grounded Theory, Cole, S., Duffy, R. 24 Apr 2024, In: Journal of Professional Capital and Community
Using Simulation as an innovative pedagogy to reduce Impostor Phenomenon amongst early career academics, Cole, S., Cole, M., Counihan, C., Gibson, M., Mulholland, K., Nichol, D. 2 Dec 2024, International Federation of National Teaching Fellows (IFNTF) Conference and Symposium
Getting Creativity Back into Schools: How Teachers Can Adopt a Creative Pedagogy, Cole, S. 19 Feb 2021, Early Careers in Education, Bingley, Emerald
International models and student voice effecting professional programme design for personal and professional capital, Duffy, R., Cole, S. 20 Jul 2018, Advance HE: Teaching and Learning Conference 2018
The personal and professional capital of Master's level study for teachers, Duffy, R., Cole, S. 13 Sep 2018, British Education Research Association (BERA) Annual Conference 2018
Rationale and Reality: The Personal and Professional Capital of Masters Level Study for Teachers, Cole, S. Jun 2017
Creativity and Enquiry in Action: a case study of cross-curricular approaches in teacher education, Lofthouse, R., Thomas, U., Cole, S. 2011, In: Teacher Education Advancement Network Journal