Email: portico-services@ucl.ac.uk
Help Desk: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ras/portico/helpdesk
- Principal Research Fellow
- Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research
- IOE - Curriculum, Pedagogy & Assessment
- UCL Institute of Education
I am a qualified secondary school teacher and taught for 11 years in secondary schools in England. I have served as a primary school governor for over 12 years. Through my work as a teacher and a governor I have extensive experience of curriculum development, initial teacher education and school improvement.
I hold a PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Cambridge and am a Chartered Psychologist, accredited by the British Psychological Society. I studied Education at postgraduate level at Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Bath.
I am a Principal Research Fellow in the Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research (CTTR). My research interests focus on social justice in education, and in particular the processes by which education can become more equitable.
I co-lead the Student Grouping Study, a naturalistic study with matched design investigating the effect of attainment grouping and mixed attainment teaching in mathematics on 11-13 year old students in English secondary schools. I was Researcher Practitioner and Project Manager on the Best Practice in Grouping Students project and developed the BERA-BCF Curriculum Journal award-winning teaching resource, Best Practice in Mixed Attainment Grouping, and led professional development for the Best Practice in Grouping Students project.
My other projects exploring attainment grouping in primary and secondary schools in England include the Primary School Grouping Study, an exploration of grouping practices at Key Stage 2; Developing Best Practice in Mixed Attainment English, a collaboration with English teachers and colleagues at UCL Institute of Education to identify and develop characteristics of successful mixed attainment teaching in English; and the Secondary School Grouping Survey project, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation, investigating the grouping practices currently in use in English secondary schools.
With colleagues in the CTTR I work on a range of projects addressing teacher agency and teacher recruitment and retention, including evaluation of the Early Career Support Pilot Programmes, the KEEP Teaching Trial (retention of Physics teachers) and an investigation of teachers' engagement with research.
I have a particular interest in how education research can support policy and practice. I am currently Lead for Engagement and Impact in the Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment.
I am module leader for the third year module The Teacher in Policy and Research on the BA Education Studies programme.
I currently supervise a number of doctoral students. I am happy to receive expressions of interest from potential doctoral students focusing on teachers or teaching, and social justice. I particularly welcome students from backgrounds that are underrepresented on IOE's doctoral programmes. Please include a research proposal and your CV.
01-OCT-2021 | Principal Research Fellow | Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment | IOE - UCL's Faculty of Education and Society, United Kingdom |
01-JUL-2018 – 30-SEP-2021 | Senior Research Associate, CTTR | Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment | UCL Institute of Education, United Kingdom |
01-JUN-2018 – 30-JUN-2018 | Senior Research Associate, BPGS | Education, Practice and Society | UCL Institute of Education, United Kingdom |
01-FEB-2018 – 31-MAY-2018 | Senior Research Associate, Enterprising Science | Education, Practice and Society | UCL Institute of Education, United Kingdom |
01-JAN-2015 – 31-JAN-2018 | Researcher Practitioner, Best Practice in Grouping Students | Education, Practice and Society | UCL Institute of Education, United Kingdom |