vCardMs Jill Clark

Ms Jill Clark
Senior Research Associate

  • Email: jill.clark@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: 0191 222 5637
  • Fax: 0191 222 7534
  • Address: Room B.24 KGVI
    School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences
    King George VI Building
    Newcastle University
    Queen Victoria Road
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU

I am the Business Development Director in the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching.

My current position of SRA within the School and RCfLaT is a unique post in the University which is essentially dominated by activities which are research-focused rather than teaching-focused, with a strong emphasis on Research Management and Leadership, and research development and support.

Research Interests

Jill's personal research interests focus very much on those issues and factors which could be called 'out of school' but which inevitably may affect the performance, attitudes, behaviour and learning of young people in school. Jill is also interested in learning which takes place in a variety of contexts, such as prisons and in the community.

She has worked on many research projects in the School, some of which focused on disaffected and disadvantaged young women and included an evaluation of a local truancy programme. She has been involved with projects which focused on housing and schooling and social inclusion and educational policy. More recently, she was involved in a team which focused on provision for particular marginalised groups, informed by a review of the literature in this field for DETR's 2000/1 Beacon Councils scheme.

Jill has had work published on a study of the re-education of young offenders, which explored the relationship between education, the arts and the criminal justice system.

Jill has in the past led an evaluation of a community education project in inner-city Newcastle, and has been involved in several research projects examiming the impact of various community (mostly SRB) initiatives in the Sunderland area.

Other Expertise

Jill has a particular strength and expertise the design, application, analysis and writing in qualitative methodologies, including in-depth interviewing, focus group discussions and participant observation.

Current Work

Jill was recently the Principal Investigator on a three-year evaluation project of a Sure Start Programme. She was also joint Principal Investigator (with David Moseley) on an LSDA funded research project looking at Thinking and Communication Skills in prisons in England and Wales.

Jill is also part of research teams which are exploring Learning to Learn in schools, the impact of Thinking Skills Projects in Scottish schools and is a member of the editorial team of the newly-launched Learning and Teaching Update series.

Selected Publications

More Publications

Projects

Future Research

Jill is keen to develop further research in the area of prison education and learning. She is keen to also develop the methodology of participatory research, with the emphsasis on full involvement of children and young people.

Research Roles

Jill is Business Development Director in the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching. Roles include:

  • the development and submission of research proposals (working with, and on behalf of staff in the School) to local and national agencies, funding councils, Government bodies, etc. such as The Leverhulme Trust, Nuffield Foundation, ESRC, QCA, DfES, etc.

  • the formulation of research design and methodology, both qualitative and quantitative

  • the day to day administration and management of research projects, including research staff and budgets - as both PI and manager on many funded research projects

  • the application of qualitative research methods such as participant observation, in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Jill has interviewed a wide range of people, including children, local Government officers, magistrates, young offenders, probation officers (both at junior level and senior level), police officers, teachers, etc.

  • the analysis of this qualitative data

  • analysis, writing up and report preparation of the research findings

  • writing for publication of journal articles, books, conference proceedings, research reports, etc.

  • presentation and dissemination of research to funders, commissioners and academics. This has included presentation of research seminars, training programmes and peer-reviewed conference contributions (as invited speaker on three occasions).

    • Postgraduate Supervision

    Secondary supervisor to IPhD student, Margot Cambridge. Dissertation title: How do post 16 education providers respond to the changes in LSC funding, in engaging learners to partake in full level 2 qualifications, in order to reflect the needs of employers and the economy?

    Secondary supervisor to IPhD student, Wendy Clark. Dissertation title: “The use of a Virtual Learning Environment to encourage and foster deep learning”.

    Secondary supervisor to IPhD student, Nan Lung.

    Esteem Indicators

    Invited member of the BERA National Working Party on Research Staff Issues (RSI) (2007-)

    Invited reviewer:
    International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders
    Evidence and Policy
    ESRC Bids

    Invited Speaker
    Clark, J. (invited speaker) Social Exclusion and Education: the LEA perspective Forum 2000 Conference, Social Inclusion and Education - Perspectives from Research, Lauder College, Dunfermline, May 2000.

    Clark, J. and Lin, M. (invited speakers) Housing Problems - Education Problems: What's the Link? Housing Studies Association Conference, University of York, April 1998.

    Clark, J. (invited speaker) Arts, Offenders and Probation Officers: Evaluating the Impact, Conference Report: `Creative Time’, April 1996 at University of Manchester.

    Clark, J. (invited speaker) Artists in Residence Programmes within Northumbria Probation Service: A Blueprint for the Future? What Works? Conference, Salford University. September 1994.

    Walker, J. and Clark, J. (invited speakers) Research evaluation: Creating for change in criminal justice, National Association of Probation Officers, Otterburn, May 1993.

    Funding

    1. Learning and Skills Development Agency - 'Evaluation of Thinking and ESB Communication Skills in prisons' - £46K - (2003-2005)- Principal Investigator (with David Moseley) in addition to team member.
    2. Gateshead City Council - 'Evaluation of the Leam Lane Sure Start Programme' - £39K (2003-2006) Principal Investigator in addition to team member.
    3. Sunderland City Council - 'An Interim Evaluation of the Pennywell Community Health Resource Project' - £3K (with Ian Hall) Principal Investigator in addition to team member.
    4. DETR/IDEA- 'Raising the attainment of underachieving groups'. End of theme report £7650. Principal Investigator (with Alan Dyson). (2001-2002). Principal Investigator in addition to team member.
    5. LECG/Edexcel - Pedagogical Analysis of A Level Syllabi - Report Phase - £4200 (with Elaine Hall) (2001). Principal Investigator in addition to team member.
    6. Cambridge Educational Associates (CEA) 'Evaluation of Threshold Assessment Procedures – Support for the Questionnaire Phase' - £2760. Principal Investigator (with Ian Hall). (2001).
    7. DETR - 'Raising the attainment of underachieving groups'. £27K. (with Alan Dyson) (2000-2001). Principal Investigator in addition to team member.
    8. Reviving the Heart of the West End (RHWE) - 'An Evaluation of the Reviving the Heart of the West End SRB programme: Training Strategy' - £12K. Principal Investigator (with Elaine Robson). (1999-2001).
    9. Newcastle City Council - 'South Benwell Research Project – Social Behaviour' - £2.5K. Principal Investigator - (with Mary Wootten) (1998).
    10. Newcastle City Council - 'South Benwell Research Project – Leisure Needs' - £2K. Principal Investigator - (with Mary Wootten) (1998).
    11. Artists' Agency - 'An Evaluation of the Toymaker-in-residence working with Community Service clients' - £2K - Principal Investigator - (with Janet Walker) (1996-1997).

    Background

    Jill Clark joined the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences in November 1996, having worked within the Newcastle Centre for Family Studies during the previous four years. Although now working in the field of educational research, Jill has a strong background in Social Sciences research. She studied Behavioural Sciences (majoring in psychology) at Huddersfield Polytechnic and then completed her postgraduate degree in Criminology at Cambridge University.

    Jill now works as a Senior Research Associate, within the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching and is a research active member of academic staff. Her post involves collaboration with many members of the Education section and Centre who are active in various aspects of education research. Within this role, there is considerable emphasis on research development and strategy.

    Roles and Responsibilities

    Jill has supervisory responsibility for research and development including staff and programmes of work on several projects including:
    • the formulation and delivery of research objectives and the development of research materials and achievement of objectives
    • technical advice and instruction on research design and procedure to other staff members. This includes Centre staff and those within the Education section
    • writing for publication of journal articles, books, book chapters, conference proceedings, internal and external research reports, etc.
    • presentation and dissemination of research to funders, commissioners and academics, including presentation of research seminars, training programmes and peer-reviewed conference contributions (invited speaker three times)
    • diverse and ad hoc administrative/organisational responsibilities, with a particular focus on research development and responses to requests for funding, which within Education, usually means an extremely quick turnaround. Jill has taken considerable responsibility for the writing and development of successful research bids alongside members of less experienced, and/or ‘new’ lecturing staff
    • the day-to-day responsibility of management and supervision of junior research staff (4 in total).

    Qualifications

    BSc (Hons) Behavioural Sciences
    Mphil Criminology (Cantab)

    Previous Positions

    Research Associate, 1996-1998, Department of Education, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

    Research Associate, 1992-1996, Newcastle Centre for Family Studies, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

    Memberships

    membership and active participation in University management committees, including:
    • the University Research Staff Working Party (2008 – present day);
    • the School Research Committee (2002 – present day);
    • Chair and convenor of the ECLS Research Associate Forum (2005 – present day),
    • Joint Chair and Convenor of the HASS Research Associate Forum (2005 – present day),
    • member of the RCfLaT Guidance Group (2005 – present day),
    • Chair and Convenor of the ECLS Bid Writing Group (2005 - present day,
    • Chair and Convenor of the ECLS Paper Writing Group (2007 - present day)
    • the Departmental Executive Committee (2001 – 2002) and the Faculty of Education Research Committee (2001-2002).
    • Jill has also represented the University externally on the UCET (The Universities Council for the Education of Teachers) Research Committee (2002-2004).
    • Invited member of the BERA National Working Party on Research Staff Issues (RSI) (2007-)
    • Jill is a member of BERA – the British Educational Research Association.
    • Jill is an Associate member of the Centre for Knowledge, Innovation, Technology and Enterprise (KITE) and a member of the Housing and Society Research Group, both based within the University.

    Postgraduate Teaching

    Faculty Graduate Skills Enhancement Programme