Dr Alison Jackson, EdD

Prior to joining Higher Education in 2005, Dr Alison Jackson was Director of Modern Languages in a large split-site 11-18 comprehensive school in the North West of England. After joining St Martin's College, which became the University of Cumbria, she founded the Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN), an independent support service for teacher educators in 2009. She was the Director of TEAN until 2019 and the editor of the TEAN journal, an academic peer-reviewed online journal, and the STeP journal (Student Teacher Perspectives), from 2009 to 2019.

She is has been a PhD supervisor since 2007 and has wide ranging interests as well as a focus on schools and teacher education. External examining for PhD students has concentrated on teacher education. 

Highest qualification: Ed.D (Keele University, 2006) for the thesis: 'In search of the re-made teacher; 'master or marionette'? Available to download from Ethos, British Library.

Member of: BERA - British Education Research Association

School leadership and culture

Teacher identity and professionalism

Teaching as a Masters level profession 

Developing partnership (schools and universities) through Third Space activity

Doctoral level study in Social Science

On the supervisory team for these Current Research Students:

• Emma Spellman – Health, Psychology and Social Studies - Occupational
  therapy students’ acquisition of professional identity; a hermeneutical
  phenomenological exploration of the views of university lecturers, practice
  placement educators and students.
• Claire Vuckovic – Education - An investigation into the emerging
  experiences of young people communicating in the Language of Adulting.
• Nicholas O’Loughlin – Education - Learning outside the classroom: a
  phenomenological study into lived experiences of subject leaders in UK
  independent schools.
• Jane Yates – Education - RE

On the supervisory team for these PhD completions

• Dr Georgina Athanasiou, 2011 - An exploration of the effectiveness of
  music lessons in Cypriot primary schools; what are the issues for general
  classroom teachers?
• Dr Eric Wooff, 2013 - Discipline and Vocational Education.
• Dr Carolina Leonardini-Aris, 2015 - Narratives from Easter Island: An
  investigation of foreign influences on Rapa Nui health and culture.
• Dr Julia Ingham, 2016 - Cultural eclecticism or cohesion? A case study of
  the management of transformational change and its impact on the culture
  of three predecessor schools in their transition to an academy.
• Dr Richard Bilton, 2018 - Communication, Collusion and Control:
  Investigating Conversations Between Parents and Teachers in a UK
  Secondary School
• Dr Kären Mills, 2021 - Taking the lead in the preparation of future teachers.
  Exploring a school-led route of Initial Teacher Education in England through
  the lens of a selection of primary Headteachers.
• Dr Adrian Copping, 2021 - Education - Exploring the influence of creative
  thinking on the pedagogy of primary-aged children’s writing
• Dr Lisa Reed 2021 - Explorations by middle leaders in secondary schools of
  their professional networks and relationships, analysed against a
  framework of capital, agency, and resilience.
• Dr Andy Ash - 2023 - Exploring Teaching for Mastery, Mathematical
  Mindsets and the Development of Mathematical Thinking
• Dr Rebekah Ackroyd 2023 - Tolerance and mutual respect in three
  secondary schools in England: how teachers of Religious Education
  working with 11-14 year olds construct and promote these concepts.
• Dr Angie Boyle 2024 - Adults who experienced domestic violence and
  abuse in childhood.
• Dr Rebecca Hordern 2025 - Outdoor Learning and Education –
  Investigating teacher-student relationships from classrooms to outdoor
  learning: exploring engagement with learning by listening to ‘the voices’
  of young people.
• Dr Paula Moses 2025 – An exploration of how curriculum is designed and
  delivered in the English primary school to provide pupils with what is
  needed to ‘succeed in life’, through an analysis of the perceptions of
  pupils, parents and their teachers.

Compton, A., Crawley, J., Curtis, F., Douglas, A. S., Eaude, T., Jackson, A., ... & Vincent, K. (2019). What are the characteristics of a professional teacher educator? A think piece. Teacher Education Advancement Network Journal, 11(2), 3-11.

Jackson, A. (2019). Teacher Education Advancement Network Journal, 11 (1). Teacher Education Advancement Network Journal, 11(1), 1-3.

Jackson, A., & Burch, J. (2018). New directions for teacher education: investigating school/university partnership in an increasingly school-based context. Professional development in education, 45(1), 138-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2018.1449002

Bilton, R., Jackson, A., & Hymer, B. (2018). Cooperation, conflict and control: parent–teacher relationships in an English secondary school. Educational Review, 70(4), 510-526. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2017.1410107

Bilton, R., Jackson, A., & Hymer, B. (2017). Not Just Communication: Parent-Teacher Conversations in an English High School. School Community Journal, 27(1), 231-256. schoolcommunitynetwork.org/SCJ.aspx

Jackson, A., & Burch, J. (2016). School Direct, a policy for initial teacher training in England: plotting a principled pedagogical path through a changing landscape. Professional development in education, 42(4), 511-526. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2015.1052090

Burch, J., Jackson, A. (2013) ' Developing partnership through third space activity ' Tean Journal 5 (2) July [Online].Jackson, A. & Burch, J. (2015) 'School Direct, a policy for Initial Teacher Training in England: plotting a principled pedagogical path through a changing landscape', Professional Development in Education. Available at: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19415257.2015.1052090#abstract

Burch, J. & Jackson, A. (2012) Developing partnership through third space activity: full research report . Lancaster: TEAN.

Jackson, A. & Eady, S. (2012) Teaching as a Masters level profession: the need for continued debate , Professional Development in Education, 38 (1), pp. 149- 152 Jackson, A. (2011) Teacher Education Futures , Research Intelligence, Issue 116

Jackson, A (2009) M level PGCE research: final report http://escalate.ac.uk/5604

External examiner BA Primary and Post Primary St Mary's University College, Belfast

External examiner EdD University of the West of England

External examiner EdD University of Derby

External examiner PhD Newcastle University

External examiner PhD Hazara University, Pakistan

External examiner EdD Bishop Grosseteste University

External examiner EdD University of Wolverhampton