Mary Cobbett
Position/Status
Research Assistant, Centre for Commonwealth Education
Academic Group
E-mail Address
- mcc68@cam.ac.uk
Qualifications
- MA (with Distinction) Gender Analysis of International Development, School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia
- BA Development Studies and International Relations, University of Sussex
Profile
I have an academic background in gender analysis of international development and since completing my MA I have applied my knowledge of gender and development to the field of education. In Sierra Leone I conducted a qualitative research project investigating gender-based violence (as well as broader issues relating to adolescent sexuality) in eight rural primary and secondary schools. The findings from which, were used by Concern Worldwide to design a programme to address gender-based violence in schools. Subsequently, I worked in a project management role in a rural village in Nyanza province, Kenya managing the establishment of a financially self-sufficient secondary school for girls. While living in the village I conducted research on barriers to girls’ participation in education (such as teenage pregnancy and early marriage) and worked with the community to explore solutions to these. Back in the UK, I managed a research project for ActionAid on the financing of adult literacy internationally.
My research interests focus on the relationships between gender, sexuality and education. An overarching interest is in the role of schools in both challenging and reproducing gender relations of inequality and constructing masculine and feminine identities. I am keenly interested in power dynamics in adolescent sexual relationships and the role of schools in HIV/AIDS prevention as well as broader sexual health promotion.
I joined the Faculty of Education in January 2011 to work on the Caribbean gender project and the HIV/AIDS project within the Centre for Commonwealth Education.
Research Interests
- Gender analysis of education
- HIV/AIDS and adolescent sexual health and relationships
- Education in Africa
- Qualitative research methodologies
Current research projects
- Gender and education in the Caribbean
- ASKAIDS (African Sexual Knowledges and AIDS)
Selected Publications
Journal articles
Cobbett, M and Younger, M (2012) 'Boys educational underachievement in the Caribbean: interpreting the 'problem'' Gender and Education (forthcoming)
Research reports
Cobbett, M (2011) 'The financing literacy project: key findings and reflections on Benchmark 12' Education Action Issue 25
Cobbett, M (2008) An Investigation into Gender-Based Violence in Schools in Sierra Leone (Concern Worldwide: Dublin)