Dr. Karen Jones - Education

Karen Jones

Email:
karen.jones@reading.ac.uk
Phone:
0118 378 2603
Job title:
Associate Professor

Responsibilities:

Director of the Doctorate in Education (EdD)
Women@菜肱郭創利 Steering Group member and lead for ‘University research in matters relevant to women’ and ‘Women’s development.’
Member of the Research committee
Member of the Post Graduate Research Committee
Member of Ethics Review Committee
EdD and PhD teaching and doctoral supervision

Areas of interest

Women’s career advancement and leadership, primarily but not exclusively in Higher Education
Gender equality, Intersectionality
Leadership practice
Leadership learning and development

Postgraduate supervision

PhD and EdD Level Supervision offered in the areas above.

Current PhD / EdD Students, with Topics/Titles of their Research:

As first supervisor

Lara Wilkinson: The impact of performance accountability and marketization on secondary school leaders in the independent sector (with Dr Anthony Zhang) EdD
Mourouhan Arifoglu: Women and Leadership: Examining the opportunities and challenges in UK Higher Education (with Dr Jo Anna Reed Johnson) EdD
Madeline Best: Teacher mothers of pre-school children - experiences working in schools in England (with Professor Grace James, School of Law) PhD
Tracy McGrava: How can Automotive Retail Industry workplace training be enhanced to optimise learning? (with Dr Elizabeth Houldsworth, Henley Business School) EdD
Siobhan Tyson: Exploring female leadership development in UK Further Education through autobiographical narratives (with Dr Kari Sahan) EdD
Leela Cejnar: Embedding employability into undergraduate law curriculum (with Professor Elizabeth McCrum) EdD

As second supervisor

Millicent Thomas: ‘Fit in’, ‘Get on’ or ‘Get out’? Exploring the experiences of (new) Black Middle Leaders in Secondary Schools (with Professor Billy Wong) EdD

Doctoral completions:

Hailz Osborne: The Golden Ticket – a study of masculinities in an elite boys’ school (with Dr Alison Silby) PhD
Aseel Alsharif. Female Teachers’ and Principals’ Experiences and Perceptions of Primary School Educational Reform in Saudi Arabia (with Professor Alan Floyd) PhD
Emad Alotaibi: Experiences of Leadership in Rural schools in Saudi Arabia: Opportunities and Challenges (2nd supervisor, with Professor Alan Floyd) PhD
Sarah Marston: Female headteachers in UK secondary education: leadership identities and authenticity (1st supervisor, with Dr Elizabeth Holden) EdD
Fatima Zhara Abbou: Women’s leadership in Higher Education in Algeria (1st supervisor, with Professor Billy Wong) PhD
Jiayi Zhao: Women’s career strategies and motivations in the pursuit of higher education leadership in China (1st Supervisor, with Professor Carol Fuller) PhD
Clare McCullagh: A kind of currency or just a quiet pride? Exploring career journeys, academic prestige and impact of senior teaching fellowships for women in HE (1st supervisor, with Dr Catherine Foley) EdD
Meliha Sakin: Exploring Leadership practice in secondary schools in Turkey (1st supervisor, with Professor Alan Floyd) PhD
Sarah Sherwood: Emotion Work: the impacts when leading schools for young people with autism (1st supervisor, with Professor Cathy Tissot) EdD
Yan, Meilun: Left-behind children in rural China: an exploratory case study of the level of Autonomy of ‘left-behind children’ in rural China. (2nd Supervisor, with Professor Carol Fuller) PhD
Charmaine Lynch: An investigation into the perceptions of the barriers and enablers for deputy and assistant head teachers when considering a primary headship, within Hampshire (1st supervisor, with Dr Chris Turner) EdD
Areej Makki M Al-Jahani: Empowerment, gendered identities and leadership: A study of Female Educational Leaders in Universities in Saudi Arabia (1st supervisor, with Dr Chris Turner) PhD
Nasreen Majid: Exploration of the metamorphosis of identities of teachers who become mathematics specialist teachers in England (1st supervisor, with Professor Alan Floyd) EdD
Azzah Alsubaie: The experience and perceptions female headteachers and teachers of School Performance Evaluation in Primary Schools in Saudi Arabia (1st supervisor, with Dr Chris Turner) PhD
Kafa Alenezi: Leadership learning and development for administrators in Kuwait (2nd supervisor, with Dr Chris Turner). Awarded 2019. PhD
Husain Almalki: School principals' experiences and perceptions of autonomy and decision making in Saudi Arabia (1st & 2nd supervisor, with Professor Alan Floyd) PhD
Ahmad Alsewiket: The perspectives of male academic staff and postgraduate students on the effects of globalisation on higher education and cultural identity: A case study at a college of education in Saudi Arabia (2nd supervisor, with Professor Alan Floyd) PhD

Teaching

PhD and EdD supervision
Educational Leadership & Management (EDM205)
Contribute to the Doctoral training programme (RRDP)

Research centres and groups

Prosperity and Resilience Theme
Improving Equity and Inclusion through Education Research Group
Accommodating diversity in the workplace

Research projects

I have been involved in funded research, tenders and consultancy worth over £10 million.

2024-2025 Principal Investigator Women in climate action leadership Kenya: pump priming, stakeholder engagement and partnership building for research in Kenya (with Professor Faith Karanja, University of Nairobi, Kenya) funded by Research England International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) Institutional Support Grant (ODA).
2025-2026 Developing Women’s Leadership Skills and Networks for Equity in Higher Education Leadership in Ukraine (with Dr Sarah Cardey, Department of International Development, 菜肱郭創利 and Professor Yuliia Nehoda, the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine), funded by British Council , Gender Equality Partnerships.
2023-2024 Supporting Women’s Leadership in Higher education in Ukraine (with Dr Sarah Cardey, Department of International Development, 菜肱郭創利 and Professor Yuliia Nehoda, Dr Alla Kravchenko, the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine), funded by British Council , Going Global Partnerships.
2021-22 Principal Investigator: Developing a co-designed research agenda to inform policy on Violence Reduction Research England. Research England/
2022 Principal Investigator: Evaluation of the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme to tackle gender-based violence in secondary schools. Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit.
2020 Principal Investigator: Higher Education Leadership gaps - understanding the underrepresentation of women and BAME groups in professorial and senior leadership roles, UROP, UoR.
2020 Principal Investigator: Using Graphic Research Methods in Diversity and Inclusion research UROP, UoR.
2019-2020 Principal Investigator: Leadership and Diversity in Higher Education, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Fund, UoR.
2019 Academic Careers: PhD graduates and Employability in- and outside Academia, EERA funded international seminar.
2017-2018 Principal Investigator: Gender Equality and Gender Intelligence, Eton College.
2017 Co-applicant: Community outreach project, Widening Participation, UoR.
2017 Principal Investigator: Taking a maternity break from academia: the perceptions, implications and experiences of women returning to academia, UROP, UoR .
2017 Principal Investigator: Academic Career Breaks: post-doctorate hell – rhetoric or reality, UROP, UoR.
2016-2018 Principal Investigator: Tackling stereotypes, sexism and unconscious biases in teaching and learning. Teaching and Learning Development Fund (TLDF), with Institute of Education, Department of Economics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
2013-2015 Principal Investigator: Organisational Leadership Development Training, NHS Leadership Academy South-West.
2014 Community and Primary Care Workforce Development Tender. Co-ordinated Lot 7- Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Lot 10 Leadership, funded by Health Education South-West.
2014 Principal Investigator: Learning to Lead in the Public Sector Plymouth University..
2013 LEAD Wales Expansion - ‘Leadership Wales’Awarded to Swansea University (partner to Bangor University in ‘LEAD Wales’) by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO).
2013-2015 LEAD Wales, an £8m Leadership development initiative and program of research and evaluation funded by the European Social Fund, the Welsh Government., Bangor and Swansea Universities.
2013 Principal Investigator: Developing Strategic links between Higher Education and the Third Sector in Wales, Strategic Insight Programme, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW).
2009 Principal Applicant and Co-Investigator: Secondary Analysis of National Survey Data, Office of the Chief Social Research Officer, Welsh Government.

Background

I have 24 years’ experience in education, for the past 19 years in Higher Education teaching and research, including at Bangor University, the Open University, Plymouth University and since 2015 the 菜肱郭創利. I have led four Higher Education Programmes (BSc, PGCert, MSc, and EdD), an MA Education - Leadership and Management Pathway and taught at all HE levels. I have extensive experience of online learning and innovative post-experience teaching and learning. From 2020-2024 I was a member of the Senior Management Group at the Institute of Education, 菜肱郭創利 and lead for staff and sustainability. My current substantive role is as Director of the Doctorate in Education (EdD) programme which involves leading a 35-member team of supervisors and 70 doctoral students. I have a strong track record of successful doctoral supervision and doctoral examining. I have researched and published extensively on the gender equality issues, including the underrepresentation of women in Higher Education Leadership around the World e.g. Asia, Africa and the Middle East. My research is published in leading international journals, cited in 46 countries, and in UK and international policy documents (e.g. UK Parliamentary Inquiries, World Bank, Swedish Government).

Academic qualifications

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
PhD, BA (First Class), Cert EdD, HE Dip

Professional bodies/affiliations

International Leadership Association (ILA)
ILA Woman and Leadership Affinity Group
British Educational Leadership, Management & Administration Society (BELMAS)
Member BELMAS Gender and Leadership Interest Group
National Network of Doctorate in Education Directors (Organising Member)

Websites/blogs

Selected publications

Recent Conference and Symposia Presentations:

Invited talk - Leading Women in Higher Education, British Educational Research Association (BERA) Special Interest Group (SIG) .
Invited keynote - 'Challenges of Juggling Academia and Motherhood’
- An international exploration of post-PhD careers. Discussing the issues of employability and intersectoral mobility’
Sexism and Racism are permitted by default: a study of UK Higher Education. Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Conference 2024
Academic Relinquishing maternity leave rights in the neoliberal university. Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Conference 2023
Academic Career Breaks in the neoliberal academy: postdoctoral researchers as neoliberal subjects, identity work and existential angst. Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Conference 2021
Chair: 3rd International Conference on Gender Research (ICGR), July 2020.
Gender Stereotyping and Unconscious Bias in Education, International Conference on Gender Research, Rome, Apr 2019.

Enterprise Activity, External Roles and Consultancy:

Experience of research, organisational development and consultancy funded by a wide range of organizations such as the NHS Leadership Academy, Plymouth City Council, the Welsh Government, European Funders, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, Policy Engagement funded by Research England, and consultancy with high profile clients such as Eton College and Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit.

Editorial Board Positions

Board of Editors, Journal - Sage Open (2024-current)
Guest Editor of Special Issue of Gender in Management – ‘Women Leading at the Intersection’ (2024-current).
Guest Editor of a Special Issue of Administrative Sciences - ‘Perspectives on Women’s Higher Education Leadership from around the World’ (2016-18)

External Examining (sample)

Experienced doctoral examiner - 26 Viva Voce examinations
External Examiner, Doctorate in Education (EdD), Liverpool Hope University, 2021 – current.
External Examiner, Doctorate in Education (EdD), Institute of Education, University College London (UCL), 2022 – 2024
External Examiner, PGDip Social Science Research Methods, Institute of Education, University College London (UCL), 2022 – 2024.

Research Grant Reviewing

External reviewer of large grants e.g. UKRI ESRC grants; UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Scheme; (ISPF); ISPF International Research Empowerment Programme 2024.

Journal and Book Reviewer

Extensive experience of reviewing articles for international peer-review journals and book proposals e.g. Gender, Work & Organisation; Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management; Career Development International; Higher Education; Management Learning; Frontiers in Education; Education Sciences; Administrative Sciences; The International Journal of Management Education; Routledge Books; Sage Publications; Wiley Blackwell.