Dr Deborah Jones

Deborah is Reader in Education in the School of Sport and Education at Brunel University. Having gained a BA degree in Philosophy from the University of Wales, she went on to complete a PGCE in Urban studies at the college of St Mark & St John, Plymouth. Subsequently she undertook several roles within schools (both teaching and management) and was part of an EAL team. She fuelled her interest in the teaching and learning of literacy by undertaking an MA in Linguistics in Education. She then joined the Inspectorate and Advisory service for a London borough where she headed up the national LINC (Language in the National Curriculum) project. Following this she coordinated National Curriculum assessment for a Local Authority, developing policy and leading INSET for teachers and headteachers. During this time she undertook consultancy for Roehampton University and became an assessor for the NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship). She achieved her Doctorate in Education which focussed on gender in relation to the perceptions and experiences of male students within the early years of schooling.

Throughout her time at Brunel University she has undertaken a range of management and leadership roles including Equality Champion for the University and School Director of Teaching and Learning. Currently within the School she leads the Doctor of Education programme.

Deborah’s career trajectory spans from the teaching of children to the teaching of adults but her philosophy of teaching & learning has remained the same. She is committed to a social constructivist approach where both children and adults are enabled to become independent in educational contexts, to become reflective on what and how they understand and where ultimately, they become empowered as learners. She has a keen interest in the teaching of literacy- specifically oracy and metacognition, exploring this in her books ‘Unlocking Speaking and Listening’ and ‘Metacognitive Approaches to Developing Oracy’. Additionally she has been Chief External Examiner at several universities with special reference to English.

Deborah has a wide experience of teaching, management and leadership both at course team level and across the School of Sport and Education. She has been programme leader for the BA (QTS), the BEd in Hong Kong and currently leads the Doctor of Education programme within the School of Education at Brunel. She has been Director of Teaching and Learning for the School and led the PGCE Primary Course through several successful Ofsted inspections.

Deborah has undertaken several roles within the institution through membership of the University Teaching and Learning Committee, Disciplinary Board and Senate. She was part of the University’s strategic plan Development Group and ran consultation workshops in relation to this. In addition she led a university wide working group auditing provision for CPD culminating in a new vision for its development. As Equality and Diversity Champion for the University she undertook a wide range of duties promoting equality within and beyond Brunel’s rich and diverse community.

Research Interests

Deborah has taken a feminist poststructuralist approach to research and enquiry. She is concerned with ways of exploring the production of professional teacher identities both at the initial stage of formation, and also in relation to primary headship. Key areas of research have involved the perceptions and experiences of male teachers in the early years of schooling and the perceptions of female teachers who have worked with men in this context.

Subsequent work has taken a phenomenological approach and explored the lived experiences of male and female head teachers. This research explores issues connected with men in a variety of care and educational roles with respect to young children. Her book ‘Men in the Lives of Young Children’ published by Routledge, contextualised this work, drawing upon her network of international contributors. Her current research focus is on the narratives of British Asian headteachers.

Additionally, Deborah has undertaken research and evaluation for both charities and industry which have investigated the interface between policy and practice. Among these have been 2 national British Telecom schools literacy projects. The first focussed on ‘Reading Volunteers’ and explored the quality and level of interaction of BT volunteers with teachers, headteachers, children and the wider school community. The second, ‘Partners in Communication’ was an innovative quality development scheme which aimed to enable both primary and secondary schools to improve their approach to communication in relation to pupils, staff, governors, parents and external bodies. These projects have provided innovative national models of support and practice.

Deborah is European Editor for the Journal Early Child Development and Care and is a regular reviewer for a variety of academic journals. She currently has 8 PhD students at various stages of their work and has examined doctoral work externally at a number of universities. She has a consistent track record of presenting her work at international conferences including the American Education research Association (AERA), the British Education Research Association (BERA), the the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE) and INET.