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Anna Robinson-Pant

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Dr Anna Robinson-Pant

Senior Lecturer

Email:
a.robinson-pant@uea.ac.uk
Telephone:
+44 (0)1603 592857
Fax:
+44 (0)1603 451412
Office location:
EDU 1.20

 

Research
Publications

 

Research Interests

Dr. Anna Robinson-Pant is Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Applied Research in Education, School of Education and Lifelong Learning. She has wide experience of educational research, planning and training in South Asia (particularly Nepal), having worked for various international and local development agencies, including VSO and ActionAid. She won the UNESCO/UIE International Award for Literacy Research in 1998 for her study of women’s literacy and development in Nepal (Why eat green cucumber at the time of dying? Exploring the link between women's literacy and development, 2001, UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg – now published in French and Spanish). She continued to challenge the dominant instrumental view of ‘literacy for women’ through raising the profile of participatory and ethonographic research approaches in the international development arena with her edited volume, Women, Literacy and Development (Routledge, 2004).

Anna continues to work on education and development, through the cross-school EDU/DEV Literacy and Development Group (see http://www.uea.ac.uk/dev/literacy ). With LDG, she has organised international conferences on: ‘Literacies, identity and social change’ (2006), ‘The schooling of literacies’ (2005), ‘Developing gender equality in adult education’ (2004), and ‘Making Literacy Count’ (2003), a regular public seminar series at UEA on Education and Development and thematic symposia at the biennual UKFIET Oxford Conference on Education and Development: ‘Literacies and Livelihoods’ (2005) and ‘Literacy and growth’ (2007). The conferences led to the following special journal issues: ‘Gender Equality in Adult Education’, International Journal of Educational Development Vol. 26, No.2 (guest edited by Rao and Robinson-Pant) and Journal of Development Studies (forthcoming) on ‘Literacies, identity and social change’ (guest edited by Basu, Maddox & Robinson-Pant). Anna continues to engage in debates on international literacy policy and practice: she acted in an expert advisory group for scoping the UNESCO Global Monitoring Report on Education for All 2006 (Literacy) and contributed to a series of background papers for UNESCO on the ‘Benefits of Literacy’.

Aiming to bring her experience of participatory research on communicative practices into the UK context, Anna has directed action research projects with children and teachers in Norfolk primary schools on participation and voice (with Sue Cox). ‘Children Decide: Power, participation and purpose in the primary classroom’ (CfBT-funded) involved children conducting action research with their class teachers on decision making. This project built on findings from an action-oriented project on school councils: ‘Empowering Children through Visual Communication’. Both projects were CfBT-funded – research reports are available from libby.allen@uea.ac.uk , and on www.cfbt.com/research . With Sue Cox and researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and Leeds, Anna is currently organising an ESRC seminar series on ‘Children as Decision Makers’, which has brought together educators, activists and researchers working in countries in the South and North (see seminar papers on www.childrenasdecisionmakers.org ).

Anna is Editor of Compare: a journal of comparative education and through this role and teaching international students, has become interested in exploring ways of transforming the geopolitics of academic publishing and knowledge production. Compare is now piloting a programme to support new writers, particularly from the South (for further details, contact compare@uea.ac.uk). As convenor of research methods courses for PhD students, Anna has conducted research with international research students on their academic experiences at UEA (see Cross-cultural Perspectives on Educational Research (October 2005) Open University Press). She is actively involved in finding ways to improve the learning and teaching of international students at UEA, building on a UEA Teaching Fellowship award (2006) for research in this area with Nalini Boodhoo.

Funded research projects:

2006: ESRC seminar series on ‘Children as Decision Makers’ (with Sue Cox and co-partners at the Universities of Leeds and Birmingham)

2006: Follow-up grant for production of booklets about ‘Children Decide’ project for wider distribution to schools and educational policy makers in the UK (CfBT Education Trust, with S. Cox)

2005/6: UEA Teaching Fellowship on ‘Improving the experiences of international research students’ (UEA, £5000, with Nalini Boodhoo). Dissemination of findings from this project include a Master Class for research supervisors at UEA (Feb. 2007) and an invited workshop at the UCET Annual Conference (Daventry, Nov. 2006).

2005: Improving the Quality of Education RPC Proposal Workshops Grant (DFID, with LDG)

2004 – 2006: ‘Children Decide: power, participation and purpose in the primary classroom’, Directed project with six primary schools (involving teachers and children as action researchers) in Norfolk (CfBT, with Sue Cox)

2005: Commissioned set of papers on ‘The Benefits of Literacy’ for the UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report 2006 (UNESCO)

2002 – 2003: ‘Empowering Children through Visual Communication’ research project on school councils in primary schools (CfBT, joint with S. Cox).

2003: Research Co-ordinator for series of case studies on NGO literacy programmes for indigenous groups in Malaysia, Nepal, India, Thailand and New Zealand (Asian and South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education)

2003: Writer of module on ‘Planning Research’ for distance learning materials (International Research Foundation for Open Learning, Cambridge/ Commonwealth of Learning)

2003: Commissioned by UNESCO to write a policy briefing report on ‘Adult Education and Indigenous Peoples’ for presentation at the CONFINTEA Mid Term Review, Bangkok (with N. Rao)

2003: Commissioned paper on ‘Overview of learning programmes for literacy and vocational skills for women’ for Gender and Education for All: The Leap to Equality, UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report 2003/4 (UNESCO)

2002: Acting in advisory group to Department for International Development (DFID) Education Department on adult literacy strategies (Literacy for Livelihoods approach) particularly research implications

2002: Commissioned to write case studies (based on my previous literacy research in Nepal) for DFID website (DFID)

2002: Managed CARE input to the Learning and Skills Council Area Review (Learning and Skills Council, Norfolk)

2001/ 2002: Mentor for primary school teachers carrying out research under the DfES Best Practice Scholarships as part of LEARN initiative

2001: Researcher for ‘Change for the Better’ Project on people changing careers into teaching (TTA, PI Battersby)

2001: Researched and wrote campaign report for Y Care International, on skill training for young women and girls in the South, to be used as a basis for YMCA’s development activities and lobbying on vocational education (Y Care International)

2001: Provided training and input on planning, research and implementation of the DFID-funded Community Literacy Project Nepal

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List of Publications

Books

2005 Cross-cultural perspectives on educational research, Open University Press: Buckingham, ISBN 0-335-21457-6, 208 pp

2004 (edited) Women, Literacy and Development: alternative perspectives, Routledge: London, ISBN 0-415-32239-1, 259 pp

2001 Why eat green cucumber at the time of dying? Exploring the link between women’s literacy and development: a Nepal perspective, UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg, ISBN 92 820 1107-0, 198 pp. Winner of the UNESCO International Award for Literacy Research, and now published in French and Spanish. Available at: www.unesco.org/education/uie/pdf/robinson-pant

Chapter in a book

2007 in press, ‘Literacy’, in B. Banks (ed), The Encyclopaedia of Gender and Education, Greenwood Press, New York

2007 in press, ‘Women, Literacy and Development’, in Hornberger, N. (ed), The Encyclopaedia of Language and Education, Springer, Heidelburg (peer reviewed)

2004 (with S.Cox), ‘Communication practices in primary school councils’, in Street, B. (ed.), Literacy across educational contexts, Caslon Press, Philadelphia, ISBN 0-9727507-2-X, pp 43 -64

2004 ‘Introduction’, in Robinson-Pant, A. (ed), Women, Literacy and Development: alternative perspectives, Routledge, London, ISBN 0-415-32239-1, pp 1 - 14

2004 ‘‘The Illiterate Woman”: Changing approaches to researching women’s literacy’, in Robinson-Pant, A. (ed), Women, Literacy and Development: alternative perspectives, Routledge, London, ISBN 0-415-32239-1, pp 15 - 35

2001 ‘Women's literacy and health: can an ethnographic researcher find the links?’ in Street, B.V. (ed.), Literacy and Development: Ethnographic Perspectives, Routledge, London, ISBN 0415234506 (hbk) & 0415234514 (pbk), pp 152-170
[shortlisted for the BAAL book prize 2001]

1990 ‘Development’, in Reed, D. (ed.) Nepal: The Rough Guide, Harrap-Columbus, Kent, ISBN 0-7471-0256-2, pp 294 – 301

Refereed Journal Articles

Forthcoming (Proposal accepted for 2008) Guest editor (with Kaushik Basu and Bryan Maddox) of Special Issue of Journal of Development Studies on ‘Literacies, identity and social change’

2006 (with Sue Cox), ‘Enhancing participation in primary school and class councils through visual communication’, Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp 515-532

2006 ‘Editorial’, Guest Editor (with Nitya Rao) of Special Issue of International Journal of Educational Development on ‘Gender Equality in Adult Education’, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp 135 - 140

2006 (with Nitya Rao) ‘Adult education and indigenous people: addressing gender in policy and practice’, International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp 209 - 224

2005 (with Sue Cox) ‘Challenging perceptions of school councils in the primary school’, Education 3 to 13, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp14 - 20

2004 ‘Education for women: whose values count?’ Gender and Education, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp 473 -491

2003 (with Esther Priyadharshini) ‘The Attractions of Teaching: an investigation into the phenomenon of career changing’, Journal of Education for Teaching Vol. 29, No.2, July 2003, pp 96-112

2001 ‘Development as discourse: what relevance to education?’ Compare, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp 311 – 328

2000 ‘Women and literacy: a Nepal Perspective’, International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 20, pp 349 - 364

1997 ‘PRA and Gender: an overview’ in Joekes, S. (ed.), Journal of International Development, Vol. 8, No. 5, pp 697 - 727

1996 ‘Literacy and Language: reflections on my own experiences in Nepal’, Adult Education and Development 47, Institute for International Co-operation of the German Adult Education Association

1996 ‘PRA: A New Literacy?’ Journal of International Development, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp 531-551

Published research reports

2006 ‘Children Decide: power, participation and purpose in the primary classroom’, CfBT Education Trust/UEA

2005 ‘The Social Benefits of Literacy’, background paper for UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report 2006, Literacy for Life, available on: http://www.efareport.unesco.org

2005 ‘Can we transfer new ideas and approaches without falling into the trap of recipe paradigm?’ in Barton, D. and Papen, U. (eds), Linking literacy and numeracy programmes in developing countries and the UK, Literacy Research Centre, University of Lancaster (peer reviewed)

2003 (Editor) Set of five case studies on adult education and indigenous peoples (from India, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand and Burma) in the ‘Learning Beyond Boundaries’ series, Asian and South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE, Mumbai), available from: aspbae@vsnl.com

2003 ‘Empowering Children Through Visual Communication’, CfBT/ UEA, ISBN: 0-9539983-7-1

2001 (with Esther Priyadharshini) ‘Change for the Better’, Teacher Training Agency

2001 ‘Young Women: Learning to Earn’, Research report on gender and skills training, Y Care International, London

2000 (Editor) Gender sensitive editing’, Manual published by the Working Group on Books and Learning Materials, Association for the Development of Education in Africa, DFID

1999 ‘Re-defining Post-literacy in a Changing World’ (Ed. Rogers, A.), Education Research Serial No. 29, DFID, London

1999 ‘Target: Learning to Earn’, Research report on vocational education and skills training, Y Care International, London

1995 ‘Literacy in Nepal: looking through the literature’, Education for Development Occasional Papers Series 1, No. 1, Reading

1993 Situational Analysis of Women and Children in Nepal: Contributor to section on ‘Education’, UNICEF Nepal, Kathmandu

Book Reviews

Forthcoming, ‘A Space of Her Own: personal narratives of twelve women’ (Gulati, L. and Bagchi, J.), Journal of South Asian Development

2004 ‘Learning for life in the 21st. century’ (Wells, G. and Claxton, G.), International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 24, pp 764 – 769

2004 ‘Language and minority rights: ethnicity, nationalism and the politics of language’ (May, S.) International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 24

2004 ‘Language, literacy and education: a reader’ (Goodman, S. et al), International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 24

2004 ‘Community participation and empowerment in primary education’ (Govinda, R. and Diwan, R.), International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 24, pp 459 - 461

2004 ‘Practising Gender Analysis in Education’ (Leach, F.), International Journal of Educational Development,

2003 ‘Rethinking Adult literacy’ (Rogers, A.), Written Language and Literacy, Vol. 6, No.2

2003 ‘The give and take of writing: scribes, literacy and everyday life’ (Mace, J.), International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 23, pp 701- 703

2002 ‘Development with a human face: experiences in social achievement and economic growth’ (Mehrotra, S. and Jolly, R.), International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 22, pp 96 – 98

2002 ‘Gender, literacy and life chances in Sub-Saharan Africa’ (Egbo, B.), International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 22, pp 98 – 99

2001 ‘Invitations to Love: Literacy, Love Letters and Social Change in Nepal’ (Ahearn, L.) International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 22, pp 556 - 558

2001 ‘Women as learners: the significance of gender in adult learning’ (Hayes, E. et al), International Journal of Educational Development, Vol. 21, pp 471-472

External lectures/ invited conference papers/keynote addresses:

2006 November, Invited presentation on ‘Enhancing the teaching and learning experiences of international students’ at UCET Annual Conference, Daventry (with N. Boodhoo)

2006 September, Invited presentation on ‘International students’ perspectives on the PhD process’ at Internationalisation Network Seminar, University of Newcastle

2006 September, Opening presentation on ‘Geopolitics of Academic Writing’, ICARE Conference, University of East Anglia

2006 June, Keynote presentation on ‘Children Researching in Classrooms’ at SOS Children’s Villages-CARE Conference on ‘Children as Researchers’ (with S. Cox)

2006 June, Invited presentation on ‘Crossing Cultures: an overview of issues faced by international PhD students’ at UCET International Committee seminar, London

2006 June, Invited workshop at Global Education Derby, on ‘Children becoming action researchers’ (with S. Cox)

2003 September: Invited by UNESCO to prepare policy briefing report on ‘Adult Education and Indigenous Peoples’ for presentation at the CONFINTEA Mid term Review, Bangkok (with N. Rao)

2003 July: Invited speaker at World Bank Consultation, to present on ‘Managerial implications of the World Bank’s proposed strategy on basic and adult education’, convened by British Association for Literacy in Development, London

2003 March: Keynote address on ‘Young Women’s skills development and employment needs’ at Learning to Earn: international seminar hosted by Y Care International

2002 May: Invited speaker on ‘Education and gender in international perspective at UNESCO/UKFIET/CEC conference on ‘Education for All: the gender dimension’

2002 March: Invited lecture on ‘Gender and Literacy in Development’ at BALID (British Association for Literacy in Development), University College London

2002 January: Invited keynote address on ‘Doing educational research in developing countries’ at conference organised by NETREED (Network for Research and Evaluation on Education and Development), in Norway (paper on ‘What can PRA offer to educational researchers?’ available at: www.netreed.uio.no/conferences )

2001 November: Invited speaker on ‘Gender and education in the developing world’ for Gender and Education Study Day at University of Cambridge

2000 March: Opening presentation on ‘Development as Discourse’ at Uppingham International Seminar on Education and Development

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