Education MPhil/PhD

Dr Karen Blackmore

Karen has always found science fascinating; one of her earliest memories is of watching rain drops hitting a window pane. What determined which one reached the bottom of the window pane first? Was it the size of the rain drop or where it landed? This initial childhood curiosity fuelled a lifetime interest in science.

Karen pursued her scientific education in the beautiful city of Bath, answering slightly more complex scientific problems but still with the same level of fascination. She then forged a career in the pharmaceutical industry as a Senior Research Scientist. One of the most fulfilling aspects of this role was acting as a mentor to Masters students. Years later this prompted her to cross-train in the education sector as a secondary science teacher. 

As a Learning and Teaching Fellow and Science Mentor at the University of Worcester , Karen hopes to meld her passion for science with a deep reaching interest in how people learn.

Professor Jaswinder K Dhillon

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Jaswinder joined the university as a Professor of Education in January 2015, having previously worked in a range of teaching, research and leadership roles in further and higher education. Her research has investigated the experiences and perspectives of students, teachers and managers, particularly in contexts implementing initiatives to improve access and achievement in education. 

Jaswinder is passionate about research and research-informed professional practice and has extensive experience of teaching and supervising research students in the UK and internationally.

Professor Geoffrey Elliot

Geoffrey has worked at the University for 25 years, with responsibility for a number of areas including Access and Widening Participation, Lifelong Learning, Research and Knowledge Transfer. His research interests and published outputs include work on the student learning experience, ethics in education, impacts of education policy in the UK, and college based higher education. Before joining the University he worked as a teacher in schools, further education and adult education as well as spells with the University of East London and as a Communications and Training Consultant.

At Worcester Geoffrey has held Executive roles with responsibility for widening participation, regional engagement and educational partnerships, and chaired the Research Degrees Board for five years. He is chair of the UK Association for Research in Post-Compulsory Education, and has been Editor-in-Chief of the international peer refereed journal Research in Post-Compulsory Education since its launch in 1995. He is an accredited mediator and has been closely involved in community and educational projects in London and the West Midlands over the last 40 years.

Dr Peter Gossman

Peter has worked in a range of FE and HE institutions in the UK and NZ in both Education and Academic Development roles, initially at Lincoln University just four songs south of Christchurch on the South Island.

He has worked on a large NZ project investigating the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as well as publishing on a variety of subjects, particularly in relation to 'good' teaching and conceptions of teaching and he has published in a range of academic journals.

Professor Alison Kington

PhD, CPsychol, AFBPsS, FRSA

ORCID

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Alison joined the School of Education at the University of Worcester in 2012 and became Professor in Psychology of Education in 2014. She has worked in a number of research roles and has gained extensive experience of, and expertise in, designing and conducting mixed methods research in education and social psychology.

Her research, which is cross-disciplinary in its theoretical and methodological approaches, focuses on the nature, quality and dynamics of educational relationships and identities, particular interest in the influence of teacher and pupil characteristics on social interactions within the classroom.

Professor Stephen G Parker

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Professor Stephen Parker is Professor of Education and Religious History, Course Leader MPhil/PhD programmes, and lead in the School of Education towards REF2021. He is co-convenor of the Religion and Society Research Interest Group, a cross-university collaborative research initiative with Worcester Cathedral.

Stephen researches the history of religion and education in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is particularly interested in how religious communities have sought to shape education policy and curricula over time; in how children have been taught to understand their own faith; how adults have sought to form children’s religious, civic and cultural identities; and how children have experienced and responded to the educational initiatives of adults in these areas.

Professor Maggi Savin-Baden

Maggi Savin-Baden has researched and evaluated staff and student experience of learning for over 20 years and gained funding in this area (Leverhulme Trust, JISC, Higher Education Academy, MoD). She has a strong publication record of over 60 research publications and 21 books which reflect her research interests on the impact of innovative learning, digital fluency, cyber-influence, pedagogical agents, qualitative research methods, problem-based learning and digital afterlife. In her spare time, she runs, bakes, rock climbs, does triathlons and has recently taken up wild swimming.

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Dr Carla Solvason

Dr Carla Solvason came to the University of Worcester in 2008 having previously worked as a primary teacher, an advisor for a charity and a researcher. During her time at the university, she has held a variety of roles, including: partnerships lead, chair for the school of education ethics committee, research and knowledge exchange representative for her department, quality representative for her department and lead on the Early Childhood Masters pathway.

Carla has led on a wide range of modules, from parent partnership, to language development, to study skills to special educational needs. Over recent years her teaching has increasingly focused upon preparing students to carry out ethical practitioner research and preparing final year students for the professional responsibilities of leadership in practice. Carla also delivers CPD in supporting children with speech and language difficulties.

Carla is an active researcher and has published widely, particularly in the areas of ethical practitioner research and parent partnership. She has carried out longitudinal, funded studies on supporting language development in primary school and the role of collaborative research clusters. She is currently developing research in the areas of: supporting the parents of children with SEND, longitudinal research into the impact of a local authority disability service, and the health, well-being and self-perception of Early Childhood practitioners. She is also busily working on three current book contracts, these include the topics of: partnerships with parents, the unrecognised skills of the Early Childhood practitioner and the role of ethics in education.

Dr Marie Stephenson

Marie joined the Department for Education & Inclusion in 2014 and brings extensive teaching experience from the post-compulsory (FE) sector. Marie has several specialisms, which include teaching the visually impaired, having spent a few years designing and delivering courses at the Royal National College for the Blind. She teaches on undergraduate & post graduate courses in the Department for Education & Inclusion and is pathway lead for the MA in Education (Leadership & Management). Marie also spent time in the USA, delivering on the Executive Leadership Doctoral Program at the George Washington University, Graduate School of Education & Human Development.

Marie holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership & Management and a doctorate in Education. Her doctoral thesis concerned “Ethical decision-making: Learning from Prominent Leaders in Not-for-Profit Organisations”. The research has provided many insights into the ethical leader mindset, particularly how such leaders maintain their moral compass in morally intense situations in value expressive organisations (contexts). The contribution adds to the field by linking individual ethical awareness, with that of the organization and as corollary, society. The concepts of responsibility, trust and ethics are shown to be perpetually interwoven.

Dr Philip Woodward

Philip is the Course Leader for the MA Education. He joined the School of Education at Worcester in 2015, as a Senior Lecturer in Education. He brings extensive experience from both further and higher education.

In the higher education sector, Philip spent twelve years as an Associate Lecturer for The Open University working on a range of multidisciplinary social science courses. He has also contributed to the University of Greenwich Initial Teacher Education programme as an Associate Lecturer.

In the further education sector Philip spent nineteen years teaching Sociology in colleges in both London and Southampton on a range of courses. He also has extensive experience of managing curriculum teams, UCAS applications and pastoral provision.