Dr Emma Towers

Biography

Emma’s professional background is in teaching and before joining King’s, Emma taught for more than 10 years in London primary schools. Since then, she has collaborated on research projects here at the School of Education, Communication & Society and at UCL Institute of Education.

Research

Emma’s primary research interests lie in education policy, and in teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools as well as in higher education. Her research interests include:

• Teachers’ lives, teacher education and teacher wellbeing

   

• Teacher retention and teacher identity

   

• Primary and secondary school education

   

• Postgraduate student learning experiences and learner identities

Teaching

Emma is the Deputy Programme Director for the MA Education, Policy and Society and teaches on modules related to this MA, including Critical Perspectives on Education Policy and Social Context of Education. She co-convenes the Research Methods & Dissertation module offered to all MA Education & Society programmes in the School. She teaches on a distance-learning Executive MA International Education supported by Nord Anglia Education. She also teaches on the PGCE and contributes more widely to teaching throughout the School.

She convenes the following modules:

• Critical Perspectives on Education Policy (MA Education, Policy and Society)
• Intercultural Education in International Schools (MA International Education)
• Research Methods and Dissertation (MA Education & Society)

PhD supervision

Emma is interested in supervising doctoral work in the area of education policy, schools and teaching and learning.

Emma currently supervises the following doctoral students:

• Xiaojing (Chelsey) Chen: The Transitions of Chinese Students as they progress through Post-Graduate Taught (PGT) degrees in UK Higher Education.
  
  
• Amy Dodd: Exploring the experiences of the sexual harassment of female teachers in secondary schools.
  
  
• Ratha Perumal: The Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) under-attainment gap in higher education: An exploration of its prevalence and possible causes in a post-1992 institution.
  
  
• Saffron Powell: In what ways does initial teacher education (ITE) in higher education institutions in England prepare teachers for an ethnically diverse society?

Further information

For publications and further information please see Emma's PURE research profile.