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Alison Fox

Alison Fox - University of Cambridge Faculty of Education funding by Gatsby Charitable Foundation

Position/Status
  • Research Associate
E-mail Address

arcf100@cam.ac.uk

Phone

(+44) 01223 336287

Qualifications
  • MEd (1999), School of Education, University of Cambridge
  • PGCE/Biology and Science (1994), Department of Education, University of Cambridge
  • MSc/Environmental Science (1989), University of Aberdeen
  • BSc Joint honours/Geography and Botany (1988), University of Durham
Membership of Professional Bodies/Associations
  • ESREA - European Society for Research into the Education of Adults

Profile

In 2007 Alison became a part-time Research Associate for the Faculty funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation examining the learning of beginning science teachers and focussing on their use of others for their professional development. This follows research at the Open University into the professional development of leaders and other practitioners on a number of projects including the TLRP 'Learning how to learn: in networks, in schools and in classrooms' project directed by Professor Mary James between 2001-2005 and an evaluation of the online components of leadership programmes commissioned for the National College of School Leadership between 2005-2006. Alison is particularly interested in exploring the work-based learning of teachers and leaders from their perspectives.

This year Alison is contributing to the Science Practitioners Master of Education and the Secondary Science PGCE programmes with inputs relating to research design and methodologies, networking and assessment for learning.

Publications

Books

James, M., Black, P., Carmichael, P., Drummond, M-J., Fox, A., Honour, L., MacBeath, J., McCormick, R., Marshall, B., Pedder, D., Procter, R., Swaffield, S., Swann, J. and Wiliam, D. (2007) Improving Learning How to Learn in classrooms, schools and networks, London: Routledge Falmer.

James, M., Black, P.,Carmichael, P., Conner, C., Dudley, P., Fox, A., Frost, D., Honour, L., MacBeath, J., McCormick, R.,Marshall, B., Pedder, D., Procter, R., Swaffield, S. and Wiliam, D. (2006) Learning how to learn: Tools for schools, TLRP Improving Practice Series, London: Taylor and Francis.

Chapters in books

Fox, A. (2009) Exploring biographical approaches to understanding learning as identity: cases of emergent school leaders in Merill, B. & Bourgeois, E. (Eds.) Learning to Change? The role of Identity and Learning Careers in Adult Education, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Wilson, E. and Fox, A. (2008) Collecting data (Chapter 5) and Handling data (Chapter 6) in E. Wilson (Ed.) School-based research, London: Sage.

McCormick, R., Fox, A., Carmichael, P. and Procter, R. with Honour, L. (2007) Learning Through Networking, (Chapter 5), in M. James, et al (Eds.) Improving Learning How to Learn in classrooms, schools and networks, London: Routledge Falmer.

Robertson, M., Walford, R. and Fox, A. (2004) School, place and life changes: What makes the 'difference'? Chapter in M. Robertson, M. and M. Williams (Eds.) Young people, leisure and place: Cross cultural perspectives, New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Refereed papers

Fox, A., Deaney, R. and Wilson, E. (accepted) Examining beginning teachers' perspectives of workplace support, Journal of Workplace Learning

Stutchbury, K. and Fox, A. (2009) Ethics in Educational Research: introducing a methodological tool for effective ethical analysis, Cambridge Journal of Education, 39 (4), December issue.

Fox, A. and Wilson, E. (2009) "Support our networking and help us belong!": listening to beginning secondary school science teachers, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 15 (6) December issue.

Fox, A. and McCormick, R. (2009) Events and professional learning: studying educational practitioners, Journal of Workplace Learning, 21 (3), 198-218.

Fox, A. (2008) Considering personal networks as a way of auditing professional development and therefore as a resource for a school, Professional Development Today, 12 (4), 46-51.

Fox, A. and Wilson, E. (2008) Viewing recently qualified teachers and their networks as a resource for a school, Teacher development, 12(1), 97-99.

Fox, A., Haddock, J. and Smith, T. (2007) A network biography: Reflecting on a journey from birth to maturity of a networked learning community, The Curriculum Journal, 18 (3), 213-229.

Fox, A., McCormick, R., Procter, R. and Carmichael, R. (2007) The design and use of a mapping tool as a baseline means of identifying an organisation's active networks, International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 30 (2), 127–147.

Carmichael, P., Fox, A., McCormick, R., Procter, R. and Honour, L. (2006) Teachers' networks in and out of school, Research Papers in Education, 21 (2), 217-234.

Robertson, M., Walford, R. and Fox, A. (2003) Landscape meanings and personal identities: Some perspectives of East Anglian children. International Journal of Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 12(1), 32-48.

International peer-reviewed conference presentations

Fox, A., Deaney, R. and Wilson, E. (2009) Perceptions of the workplace by new teachers, paper accepted at the Researching Workplace Learning 6th annual conference, Roskilde University, Copenhagen, 28 June – 3 July 2009.

Fox, A. and Wilson, E. (2009) Networking for support: learning from the experiences of beginning science teachers, paper presented to the Teacher Education division of the AERA Annual Conference, San Diego, USA, 11-14th April 2009.

Fox, A. (2008) Exploring biographical approaches to understanding learning as identity:cases of emergent school leaders, paper presented at the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults 'access, learning careers and identities' network conference, University of Sevilla, 10-12th December 2008.

Pegg, A.E. and Fox, A. (2007)Contrasting approaches to researching lifelong learning: the leadership group and individual biographies, paper presented at the Centre for Research into Lifelong Learning 4th International Conference, Stirling, UK, June 22-24th 2007.

Fox, A., McCormick, R., Carmichael, P and Procter, R. (2006) Teachers' learning through networks, paper presented to the workplace learning SIG session of the AERA Annual Conference, San Francisco, USA, 7-11th April 2006.


Conference presentations

Fox, A. (2009) Networking for support: learning from the experiences of beginning science teachers, paper presented to the Cambridge Education Research Conference CamERA, 31 March 2009.

Fox, A.(2008) Exploring biographical approaches to understanding learning as identity, paper presented to the Cambridge University Kaleidoscope Graduate Conference, 6th June 2008.

Fox, A. and Wilson, E. (2008) The importance of peer networks for recently qualified science teachers, paper presented to the iNET Power of Networking Online Teacher Educator conference, 23rd June-1st July 2008.

Fox, A. and McCormick, R. (2004) The design and use of a mapping tool as a baseline means of identifying an organisation's active networks, paper presented to the TLRP Annual Conference, Cardiff Marriott, 22nd-24th November 2004.

Fox, A. and McCormick, R. (2006) Capturing professional knowledge creation and transfer between event participants: Trialling a 'tool-box' of methods, paper presented at the Annual TLRP Conference, Glasgow, 20-22nd November 2006.

Invited presentations

Seminar at The Caledonian Academy, Glasgow 4 November 2009 entitled 'Researching networks in the workplace: Insights from personal perspectives'.