Institute of Education London

Professor Karen Evans

• Qualifications and position:
  • PhD, AcSS, FRSA
  • Chair in Education (Lifelong Learning)
• Faculty:
  • Faculty of Policy and Society
• Department:
  • Lifelong and Comparative Education
• Centre:
  • Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES)
• Summary:
  • I joined the Institute of Education in 2001 as Chair in Education (Lifelong Learning). I was Head of the School of Lifelong Education and International Development between 2001 and 2005. I currently play a leading role in the ESRC LLAKES Research Centre, and am also Co-Director of the Centre for Excellence in Work-Based Learning for Education Professionals. My main fields of comparative and international research are learning in life and work transitions, and adult learning in, for and through the workplace. I have directed and co-directed 15 major studies of learning and the world of work in Britain and internationally, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, charitable institutions (including the Leverhulme Trust, the Anglo-German Foundation) the European Commission and a range of government agencies.
• Teaching:
  • Theories and Perspectives on Lifelong Learning (MA)
    Vocational Learning (MA)
    Post-Compulsory Education (EdD)
• Research Projects:
  • ESRC Research Centre : Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES: Strand Leader for Learning and Life Chances through the Lifecourse.
    Adult 'Basic Skills' and Workplace Learning, Economic and Social Research Council/Teaching and Learning Research Programme.
• Professional Activities:
  • Academician, Academy of Social Sciences
    Editor, COMPARE - international journal of comparative education (2004 - 2009).
    International Advisory Board, Helix Vinn Centre for Excellence, Linjoping, Sweden (2008 - )
    Society for Educational Studies (SES) (2005 - )
    Journal of Vocational Education International Advisory Board
    Human Resource Development Review Editorial Board
    Journal of Education and Training Editorial Board
    Journal of World Studies in Education International Advisory Board
    Asia-Europe (ASEM) Network on Lifelong Learning Management Hub member.
    Previously Visiting Fellow at the Commonwealth of Learning in Vancouver, the international distance learning organisation founded by the Commonwealth Heads of State. Visiting Professor, National Institute of Work-Based Learning (Middlesex University); Special Adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee inquiry into the new generation of EU Lifelong Learning Programmes
    Associate and Visiting Academic, Research Centre for Learning and Working Life, University of Ottawa
• Conferences/presentations:
  • Putting Knowledge to Work: Conceptual Issues, Pedagogic Strategies and Enduring Challenges American Educational Research Association Conference, San Diego, April 2009
    
    Learning, Work and Social Responsibility: Keynote presentation at the triennial conference of the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults Conference (ESREA), Linkoping, Sweden, September 2010.
    
    Putting Knowledge to Work: A New Approach. Keynote presentation at the Asia-Europe Conference on Lifelong Learning, July 2009, Bangkok.
• Personal Country Knowledge:
  • Canada (learning and work); Germany (vocational education and youth transitions); Albania (education and community development strategies.
    I have also worked collaboratively with research and development partners in 20 countries including, particularly the Nordic countries and Baltic States, Southern Africa, China, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Greece, Malta, Austria.
• Languages Spoken:
  • French (basic)
• Languages Written:
  • French (basic)
• Research Students:
  • Research interests: Learning in Life and Work Transitions; Learning in and through the Workplace; Vocational and Professional Learning.
    
    Research Students: Adrian Chown The role of worplace learning in the practices of university lecturers: towards an analytical perspective that integrates the historical, cultural-social and individual aspects.
    Teresa Gouveia - The changing meaning of higher education in the transition to work in Portugal
    Eila Heikkila Innovation in Vocational Education and Training through European Union Programmes
    MariaCristina Migliori Older workers' training in the Piedmont region of Italy Ilona Murphy- Learner, college and employer perspectives on participation in college-based Programme-Led Apprenticeships
    Nirmala Lee - Financial literacy and finacial literacy education: what might be the components of an effective financial literacy curriculum?
    Soo Koung YunA comparative study of the third age learning: a culture of learning of the University of Third Age (U3A) in the UK and the Senior University (SU) in Korea