Dr Alan Sanderson

Profile

Join date: Jul 3, 2021

About

Dr Alan Sanderson was Programme Leader for the Community Studies (Development and Youth Work) Foundation Degree, the Counselling Foundation Degree, and the Social Enterprise Third Year Honours Degree at Truro and Penwith College, validated by Plymouth University, from September 2007 to September 2017. Previously, he was an Associate Lecturer in Public Services at the University of Plymouth from 2002 to 2007. From September 2009, he also delivered a series of lectures to third-year Combined Social Science students on public administration and theoretical understandings of community at Cornwall College. In addition, he acted as a dissertation supervisor for students at both Truro and Penwith College and Cornwall College. He was also a teaching mentor for several postgraduate students undertaking teaching qualifications.

His academic career benefited from his extensive experience in the effective leadership, management, and administration of private, public, and voluntary sector organisations.

After a successful career in the financial services sector, where he held several managerial posts with large institutions before directing his own business, he returned to full-time education in 1997 with the intention of exploring the possibility of becoming an academic. He taught at the University of Plymouth from 2002, contributing to the delivery of Social Policy, Community Work, and Public Services programmes.

He completed his doctorate, entitled Managing Community: A Philosophical Analysis of Praxis, in December 2006. This work resulted in several publications, including the co-authorship of two books, The Situational Logic of Social Actions and Reading a Relational Situation, both published by Nova Publishers in February 2009.

Alan was an External Examiner for the Adult and Community Foundation Degree and Honours Programme, validated by the University of Teesside and delivered at Leeds City College; the Community Work Foundation Degree, validated by Hull University and delivered at Grimsby College; and the Social Care Practice Foundation Degree, validated by Suffolk University and delivered at Great Yarmouth College.

He has acted as a trustee for the Citizens Advice Bureau, Enable in Cornwall, Pentreath, Carers Rights, and Mind. Alan has also served as a Governor of the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Treasurer of Wells Cathedral Preservation Trust and is currently Membership Secretary of Wells University of the Third Age. He is also Secretary of Cheddar Vale Lions Club and has served as Lions Multi-District 105 Environmental Officer and Environmental Co-ordinator for the Southwest District.

Alan is a recipient of a Melvin Jones Fellowship and an active member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Some presentations on environmental sustainability prepared for Lions Clubs in the UK can be seen on YouTube www.youtube.com/@alansanderson9234

His next book, Ethical Agency and Social Reality, will be published in 2027.

Posts (14)

Aug 19, 2026 ∙ 7 min

Emotional Intelligence: In a Social World

Understanding feelings, relationships and responsibility within social reality Emotional intelligence is often described as a personal competence. Viewed through the lens of ethical agency and social reality, it is also a social and moral capacity: a way of recognising emotion, reflecting before acting, understanding others and exercising influence responsibly. Introduction Emotional intelligence is often presented as a collection of personal skills: recognising feelings, regulating...

Aug 19, 2026 ∙ 9 min

Empathy Under Attack

Empathy Under Attack: A Weakness or an Essential Human Strength? Something rather surprising has happened to empathy. An attribute traditionally associated with humanity, understanding and civilised behaviour is increasingly being presented as a source of social weakness. In February 2025, Elon Musk told Joe Rogan that “the fundamental weakness of Western civilisation is empathy”. He argued that empathy could be exploited: people might respond compassionately to an individual or group...

Aug 5, 2026 ∙ 3 min

Gaza,the West Bank and the fracturing of Conscience

Nearly three years after the destruction of a residential block in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood, recovery teams finally uncovered the remains of more than one hundred civilians buried beneath the rubble. Their funeral became one of the largest held during the conflict, bringing together grieving families who had waited years to recover their relatives and give them a dignified burial. Forty children and thirty-eight women were among those identified. The recovery operation illustrated...