Voldis Kudliskis
When Voldis Kudliskis was told by his secondary school teacher that he wasn’t clever enough to become a teacher, his confidence took a knock and he chose another career. However, when he was made redundant from his role in sales in the early 1990s, he proved his teacher wrong by returning to learning and gaining his first degree.
Voldis followed this with a PGCE and Certification of Education Post-16, which qualified him to fulfil his ambition of being a teacher. He was nominated for a Teaching Award in 2002.
He was determined his learners would not suffer the same kind of negativity he had. On a coaching course he was introduced to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), and further research indicated how NLP enhances the self-belief and self-esteem essential for learning. This inspired him to take a PhD in education, exploring aspects of NLP in educational contexts.
The PhD took him six years, while he continued to teach at South Dartmoor Community College where he also took on a number of middle-management posts, including Head of House, Performance Leader and Leader of Human Sciences.
Voldis’ research has helped numerous students who had reported problems in succeeding academically. Since completing his PhD in April 2008, he has shared concepts and ideas with students, teaching colleagues, other schools and a local youth offending team.
He says, “I still carry the ‘scars’ of my childhood experience in education, but my quest to better understand the experiences and perceptions of young people in education today appears to have made a difference…. I hope that they find their learning experience far more enjoyable.”