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Overview

Karen Jones

Fellow


Affiliations
Affiliation
Fellow of the Durham Research Methods Centre
Senior Evaluation and Monitoring Manager in the SASD: Student Recruitment & Admissions
Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing

Biography

Karen Jones is Assistant Professor (Research) at the School of Education. Following her degree in mathematics Karen qualified as a secondary mathematics teacher (QTS) and a careers advisor. After several years working in a wide range of schools and colleges Karen joined the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) in 2004 and then the School of Education in 2017. With over 14 years of research experience at Durham University, Karen specialises in quasi-experimental designs, mixed-methods research, assessment and the analysis of large secondary datasets. Karen is interested in a wide range of research areas including the effects and side-effects of school inspections and accountability systems (the subject of her ongoing PhD thesis), progress in mathematics, measuring student attitudes and the impact of grammar schools and independent schools. She is currently investigating the impact of bursaries on university student outcomes.

Other commitments in the department and the university include Durham University and College Union (DUCU) committee member, DUCU case worker, DUCU department rep, School of Education ethics committee member. Karen also supervises MA and MSc students.

 

Research interests

  • Assessment
  • School inspections and accountability
  • Value added and school effectiveness
  • Quasi-experimental designs
  • secondary data analysis

Esteem Indicators

  • 2014: Invited key note speaker: Standing International Conference of national and regional Inspectorates of education (SICI) international conference in Dresden
  • 2014: Invited key note speaker: Expert Workshop on School Inspection in Berlin (SteBis – Federal Ministry of Education and Research Germany)
  • 2000: 2022: Invited member of Advisory board fort the 'Face-IT' project pilot looking the the impact of mask wearing on virus transmission (Nottingham University):
  • 2000: Member of the DfE Associate Pool: Accepted as having expertise in the following areas:
    • quantitative research and secondary analysis
    • qualitative research
    • evaluation
    • literature reviews/rapid evidence reviews
    • dissemination

Publications

Chapter in book

Conference Paper

Journal Article

Report