Professor Alexandra Allan (She/Her)

About me:

My research interests reside in the Sociology of Education. Broad areas of interest include: gender, social class, ethnicity, academic achievement, and educational transitions (across the different stages in education, from education to employment, and across various career stages/professions). I have a wide range of methodological interests (including ethnography, visual methods, thematic and discourse analysis, interview and diary/blog methods).

The majority of my teaching has been on our research programmes (including our MSc in Education Research programme, the EdD preparation for research modules, and undergraduate research modules for first, second and third year students). I have also taught on and/or led a range of other modules, which span most of the programmes on offer in the School of Education.

I supervise both PhD students on a range of different topics, many of which focus on issues relating to inequalities in education.

Interests:

My particular research interests include:

• Gender and sexualities
• Young femininities
• Academic achievement
• Social class
•  Ethnicity
• Transitions into/across/out of education and employment
• Children and childhood
• Single-sex education
• Private/Elite education

My methodological interests/expertise includes:

- Ethnographic research

- Longitudinal qualitative research

- Visual / virtual methods

- Interview, blog and diary methods

- Participatory research with children and young people

- Qualitative thematic data analysis

Qualifications:

PhD - 'Struggling for success: an ethnographic exploration of young femininities in a private, single-sex primary school' (Cardiff University)

MSc Social Science Research Methods (Distinction, Cardiff University)

BSc Sociology and Education (First Class, Cardiff University)

Advance HE Fellowship (FHEA)