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My role
I am an academic and personal tutor for both the Foundation Degree Learning and Teaching and BA Learning and Teaching courses and support the Learning and Teaching Programme Manager in relation to admissions, programme development and student support.
My teaching includes modules focusing on academic and professional skills, curriculum and assessment and rducational research. I also lead the BA Learning and Teaching dissertation module.
I am also the module lead for the Research Methodologies for Business Studies module on our Business Studies with Foundation Year course.
Professional experience
I'm a widening participation first-generation educator from a working-class background. I have experienced otherness in education by attending a grammar school and having studied a BTEC qualification (rather than a traditional A-level).
I spent several years working in the fashion industry (sourcing and buying) then later (becoming a mother in my early 30s) made a career change to work in Post-16 Education. This involved juggling work (a tutor in Further Education) alongside my PGCE. I continued as a working mature student parent to be awarded a MA in Education and an EdD in Education (University of Leeds).
I have been working in the Lifelong Learning Centre since 2012 and draw upon these relevant lived experiences and academic work to support similar others in my teaching practice. A particular focus being how to support students who have psychological barriers of self-doubt/imposter syndrome.
Research interests
- Affective domain
- Classism in higher education
- Marginalised student lived experience
- Peer support
- Practitioner-research
- Psychological barriers
- Social media
- Transition and widening participation.
I am working on a two year collaborative research project with Dr Kendi Guantai and Dr Salma Alarefi: Race, class and me: Exploring student authentic self and belonging. We are looking at psychological safe spaces to enable under-represented students to have a sense of belonging and authentic self-expression at the University of Leeds.
Qualifications
- Doctorate in Education
- MA in Education
- PGCE in Lifelong Learning
- BA (Hons) in Fashion/Textile Design
Professional memberships
I am a member of the Association of Dyslexia Specialists in Higher Education (ADSHE) and a Higher Education Academy (HEA) Teaching Fellow.
Publications
My doctorate thesis was 'Non-traditional’ at an elite university: Exploring the lived experiences of mature part-time undergraduates using an online peer support community'.
This transcendental phenomenological study drew attention to the benefits of understanding marginalised student cohorts by capturing the student experience holistically.
The findings highlight the importance of an empathetic online peer support community in reducing a sense of isolation, the impact a mere sense of belonging can have, and the motivation derived from knowing others are in the same boat.
This research also emphasizes the importance of online spaces for peer-peer empathetic content, complementing the cognitive provision provided by higher education institutions.