Cat is an ESRC funded PhD student at the University of Warwick. Her research focuses on training teachers to facilitate effective parental engagement with schools and with learning in the home. The first study of her PhD is a large systematic review, synthesising what we can learn from previous attempts to prepare teachers to engage with parents. The second study of her PhD is a national survey of teachers’ current parental engagement knowledge, skills and attitudes in England.

Cat is also an experienced primary school teacher and school governor. She holds Masters degrees in Social Science Research and Educational Leadership – both from the University of Warwick – and a Bachelors degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford.

Email: c.jones.27@warwick.ac.uk

Education

BA Experimental Psychology (2.1), University of Oxford

PGCE Primary Education (distinction), Birmingham City University

MA Educational Leadership (distinction), University of Warwick

MA Social Science Research (distinction), University of Warwick

Languages

English

Research Areas

parental engagement, family engagement, home-school partnerships, teacher education, educational policy

Research Projects

Research Assistant on multiple projects including the Global Teacher Wellbeing Project.

Principal Investigator (PI) on a 10k improving research culture grant ‘Increasing the participation of part time PGR students through a co-designed writing retreat’

Publications

Jones, C. & Palikara, O. (2023) How do parents and school staff conceptualise parental engagement? A primary school case study. Frontiers in Education. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2023.990204.

Jones, C. & Palikara, O. (2023) Have teachers’ perceptions of parental engagement changed following COVID-19? Evidence from a mixed-methods longitudinal case study. Education Sciences, 13(7). DOI:10.3390/educsci13070750.

Conference Presentations

4-8 July 2023: International School Psychology Association (ISPA), Bologna, Italy

Individual: ‘Training teachers to facilitate parental engagement: A systematic review’.

Symposium: ‘Teachers’ mental health and wellbeing following COVID-19: Preliminary evidence from the global perspectives on teachers’ wellbeing and mental health project’.

6-8 September 2022: British Educational Research Association (BERA), Liverpool, UK

Individual: ‘Preparing teachers to facilitate effective parental engagement: A systematic review’.

7-10 July 2022: International School Psychology Association (ISPA), Leuven, Belgium

Individual: ‘A case study examining how parents and school staff conceptualise parental engagement’.

Group Workshop: ‘Global perspectives on teachers’ wellbeing and mental health following COVID-19’.

Awards Received During Doctoral Studies

2022: 1st Prize Early Career Research presentation at the British Educational Research Association’s (BERA) annual conference

2022: Associate Fellowship of Advance HE