About me
With three decades of experience in higher education and English language teaching, Richard Paterson is an established educator, researcher, and academic developer. His career spans university teaching in the UK and extensive international work across Europe, Latin America, and Central Asia. He is a published academic in the areas of pedagogy for employability, professional identity, and language education, contributing to sector-wide conversations on teaching practice and the evolving academic role.
Richard holds an EdD from the Institute of Education, University College London, where he also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Science Research Methods and an MA in Linguistics. His earlier professional training includes advanced teaching qualifications gained in Cairo and Buenos Aires, reflecting a longstanding commitment to global education.
Teaching
Since 2006, Richard has been a Senior Lecturer at the University of Westminster, where he leads the PG Certificate in Higher Education and contributes extensively to teaching and academic development across undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition to his work on academic practice, he teaches on the MA TESOL core module, supporting emerging language professionals in developing theoretically grounded and practice-focused approaches to language teaching. Richard also works closely with MA researchers, guiding their research design, methodological development, and academic writing. Alongside this, he supports PhD candidates’ academic writing, helping them refine their scholarly voice and strengthen the coherence and impact of their research.
He is an active mentor and advisor to academic colleagues in London and plays a central role in staff development through his long-standing collaboration with Westminster International University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In this capacity, he supports university teachers in enhancing pedagogical practice, curriculum design, and assessment literacy within transnational higher education contexts.
Richard’s international professional experience also includes serving as Director of Studies at International House Buenos Aires, where he oversaw teacher training and academic quality, as well as earlier English language teaching roles in Italy and Egypt. These global experiences inform his commitment to culturally responsive pedagogy and effective language education.
Research
Richard’s research centres on the intersections of language education, higher education pedagogy, and emerging technologies in learning. He has a longstanding interest in second language acquisition, particularly how learners develop linguistic competence through meaningful interaction, feedback, and exposure to authentic input. His work also explores language learning and teaching practices, with a focus on curriculum design, teacher development, and the role of context in shaping classroom methodologies.
In higher education, Richard’s research examines pedagogical approaches that support student engagement, academic identity formation, and employability. He is particularly interested in how educators design learning environments that balance rigour, inclusivity, and critical thinking across disciplines.
A growing strand of his work investigates the use of artificial intelligence as a learning tool, including students’ and teachers’ perceptions of AI, its impact on assessment and academic integrity, and opportunities for integrating AI to enhance reflective practice and knowledge construction. He is especially focused on developing ethical, discipline-sensitive frameworks that support effective and responsible AI use in teaching and learning
Publications
For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.