David Mather

David Mather is Associate Head of School (Students) in the School of Education, Languages and Linguistics at the University of Portsmouth. He provides strategic and operational leadership for student experience, recruitment and retention and leads on teaching, learning and assessment across the School.

He is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Leadership and Management, specialising in Armed Forces education and civic inclusion. His portfolio spans course leadership, partnership development and applied research connecting higher education with defence, public service and civic sectors.

David leads the University’s We See You initiative, which delivers the civic and inclusion commitments of the Access and Participation Plan for Armed Forces, veteran and blue-light communities. This includes collaborative work with the Service Children’s Progression Alliance and local school networks such as the Gateway Trust and Portsmouth Education Partnership. His leadership supports inclusive policy development, professional learning and teacher education focused on those with service connections.

His research and scholarship explore military-to-civilian transition through Initial Teacher Education, with emphasis on identity, belonging and symbolic capital. He has contributed to national discussions on the educational experiences of service children and is writing a Postgraduate Certificate in Armed Forces Education, Training and Skills (AFETS) in partnership with the Royal Air Force.

Beyond the Armed Forces focus, David contributes to national and international work on educational inclusion, cultural transmission and equitable access. His publications address workplace culture, neurodiversity and the role of teachers in supporting learners affected by trauma. He recently contributed to Who Am I Teaching? (2025), exploring trauma-informed practice and relational pedagogy.

He is completing his doctoral thesis, Leaders of Learning: The experiences of those who train to teach as part of their military to civilian transition, which examines how military identity and experience are repositioned within civilian teaching professions.