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 Elliott has taught in comprehensive schools, further, adult and higher education, and has undertaken a range of leadership roles during his career.  He is President of the Association for Research in Post-Compulsory Education, and serves on the Board of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education. He edits the international peer reviewed journal Research in Post-Compulsory Education, and is currently Professor of Post-Compulsory Education at the University of Worcester specialising in education policy and lifelong learning.

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.

Dr Colin Howard

Dr Colin Howard has been involved in primary education for 24 years of which over 14 years has been as a successful headteacher in both small village and large primary settings. He has a strong research background in educational leadership and the influence that school buildings have upon their stakeholders. He currently inspects schools for the Diocese of Hereford as a S48 SIAMS Inspector.

Professor Alison Kington

PhD, CPsychol, AFBPsS, FRSA

ORCID

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Since completing a PhD at the University of Bristol in 2001, Alison has worked in a number of research roles including Senior Research Officer at the National Foundation for Educational Research and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham, 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, and she has a particular interest in the influence of teacher identity and career phase on classroom relationships and interactions. 

Professor Stephen G Parker

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Professor Stephen Parker is Professor of the History of Religion and Education, 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 education in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and is particularly interested in how religious communities have sought to shape education policy and curricula over time. He is interested 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 experience and respond to the educational initiatives of adults in these areas.

Professor Maggi Savin-Baden

As someone who has always been interested in innovation and change Maggi's interest in learning this has been the focus of her research for many years. Her previous research is focussed on the impact of virtual worlds on learning and teaching, through a large Leverhulme-funded project.

Maggi has researched and evaluated staff and student experience of learning for over 20 years and gained funding (Leverhulme Trust, JISC,) to research the effectiveness of learning in new electronic and immersive spaces. She is an experienced evaluator not only of curricula but also of research and research methodologies and an expert in the development of innovative and creative scenarios designed for learning.

She has published over 50 research publications and 15 books, and am currently writing 2 more.

Visit Maggi's Blog

Dr Carla Solvason

In Carla's current role as senior lecturer at the University of Worcester her key area of responsibility is around the area of research. This involves ensuring that student practitioners are given the support that they need to carry out worthwhile research projects, but also encouraging colleagues to reach their full research potential. Her key research interest is the topic of ethicality and how we can embed this within professional development and caring research. With her colleague, Rosie Walker, she has co-authored a book to support Early Years practitioners in their research projects, which is now the key text for students on the course.

Dr Marie Stephenson

Marie joined the Centre for Education & Inclusion in 2014 and brings extensive teaching experience from the post-compulsory (FE) sector. Marie has a number of specialisms, which include teaching the visually impaired, having spent a number of years designing and delivering courses at the Royal National College for the Blind.

In addition to teaching here at the University of Worcester, 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.

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.