Associate Professor and Head of Psychological Sciences from the University of West London (UWL)’s School of Human and Social Sciences (SHSS) Robert Vaughan delivered a workshop at a ‘Football, Art and Community’ teacher Continuing Professional Development (CPD) event at Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery on Thursday 23 January. The event was inspired by the ‘Pride of England’ exhibition at Pitzhanger by artist Matt Small.
‘Pride of England’ is a community-focused exhibition celebrating the diversity, unity, and community legacy of the England football teams. Central to the exhibition are England’s Three Lions: sculptures co-created by Matt with young people in Ealing, which then accompanied the England Men’s Football Team to Germany for EURO 2024.
In addition to the sculptures, the exhibition showcases new portraits of football icons, including Ealing-born stars Bukayo Saka and Chloe Kelly, who have inspired millions.
Robert’s workshop entitled ‘How Psychology can help England win the 2026 World Cup’ explored themes of sports psychology, focusing on their application to other areas of learning, with themes including motivation, team cohesion and focus.
“The workshop was a great opportunity for us to share the lessons learned from the research we have produced at UWL in sport psychology,” comments Robert.
“It was user-focused, providing practical recommendations for how teachers could use physical activity to enhance children’s executive function in the classroom.”
Pitzhanger have asked Robert to support another event, ‘The Beautiful Game: Exploring Art, Identity and Football’ on Thursday 6 February which will look at all things football through the lens of artists, creators, and academics. He will take part in a panel discussion with artist Matt Small and art critic Orit Grit exploring what football has meant to people around the world for centuries, the immense psychological pressures faced by the England football team, and how these challenges have shaped their resilience and strength.
The Outreach team at UWL has been working with Pitzhanger on a series of collaborative CPD events for local teachers since 2023, linking current exhibitions and the House itself to the University’s academics and their work in fields such as Graphic Design, Voice in Performance, Architecture and Built Environment and Sociology.
The aim of these events is to show west London teachers that their local university and cultural institution are useful, inspiring places that should be considered for trips, enrichment opportunities and future study.
“These events are an effective way of pooling together our limited resources and broad range of contacts to share best practice and useful workshops with local teachers and educators,” explains Outreach Manager at UWL Krishna Maroo.
Read more about the ‘The Beautiful Game’ event on 6 February Pitzhanger » The Beautiful Game: Exploring Art, Identity and Football
