Meet the ASPE Executive Committee

Professor Gary Beauchamp

Chair, Executive Committee
Professor of Education, ​Cardiff School of Education and Social Policy

Professor Gary Beauchamp is Professor of Education in the School of Education at Cardiff Metropolitan University and Honorary Professor in the School of Education at Durham University.

He was Director of Research from 2009-2020. After many years as a primary school teacher, he moved into higher education. He has a strong international research profile and has published widely in peer-refereed journals, with a focus on the use of interactive technologies in education and primary education.

He has led and participated in large-scale interdisciplinary research and evaluation projects totalling over £2m, with funders including ESRC/TLRP, Erasmus+, Global Wales, European Union Lifelong Learning Programme and Welsh Government. All of these projects involved online surveys and interviews. He is one of the editors of the Wales Journal of Education and on the editorial board of Education 3-13. In addition, he has been an Additional Inspector for Estyn, Chair of Governors in two primary schools and has served as external examiner for many universities. He was Chair of the British Educational Studies Association [BESA] from 2014-2016, and is currently Chair of the Association for the Study of Primary Education (ASPE).

Dr Matthew Williamson-Dicken

Vice Chair, Executive Committee
Headteacher

Dr. Matthew Williamson-Dicken is the Head at a Welsh-language school in South-East Wales, in addition to a late immersion provision and specialist unit set up to help learners entering Welsh-medium education at a later stage.

His PhD specialism lies within personality changes, continuous professional learning and the link between professional development and changes within educational organisations. He is the author of 10 books including: ‘Applied Personality Development Framework’ and ‘Concise Illustrations of Personality Change’.

Rebekah Gear

Executive Committee Member
Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University

Previously a Primary school teacher, Rebekah is a Lecturer in Primary Education at Nottingham Trent University.

She is involved in a range of undergraduate and post graduate initial teacher training education courses including the BA Honours, PGCE and School Direct. She is an accredited Mastery Specialist for the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics and supports the professional learning of schools throughout Nottinghamshire. She is an active researcher who is passionate about promoting and supporting practitioner research led her to joining the ASPE executive board in 2021.

Dr Elizabeth Malone

Executive Committee Member
Head of Primary Programmes at Liverpool John Moores University

As the Head of Primary Programmes at John Moores University, Elizabeth has a responsibility for the management and co-ordination of the various primary initial teacher training programmes, including Programme Leader responsibilities for the 3-7 and 5-11 postgraduate routes (Core and School Direct).

Prior to working at LJMU, she taught primary school children in both in England, France and Taiwan. When employed as a qualified primary teacher, in England, her specialist subject was primary foreign languages, a research area within which she maintains an active interest.

Tazreen Kassim-Lowe

Executive Committee Member
Professional Development Lead

Prior to qualifying as a teacher in England, Tazreen taught English as a foreign Language in countries such as Italy and Thailand. A Maths lead, Science Lead and EAL coordinator during her primary school Teacher career, Tazreen currently designs and delivers professional development in Primary Mathematics for the National Centre in the Excellence of Teaching Mathematics.

She also tutors in primary and secondary mathematics and is studying for her PhD in Mathematics Education at the University of Nottingham focussing on cognition, communication, multilingualism and multiplicative reasoning. She is an advocate for Teaching Mathematics for Social justice.

Dr Malini Mistry

Reaching into Research Journal Editor
Senior Lecturer in Education School of Education University of Bedfordshire

Formerly a primary school teacher across all age phases, Malini moved on to working in university, initially with Primary Teacher Trainees.

Over time, this has progressed to working with both Early Years and primary students including work based students across a range of QTS and non QTS courses, particularly in relation to child development and meeting children’s needs.

Her research interests are associated with children who have English as an Additional Language (EAL), and how this is understood and translated into practice, as well as Early Years leadership.

Nova Lauder-Scott

Executive Committee Secretary
Teaching Fellow in Educational Leadership, University of Strathclyde, Institute of Education

After 25 years as a primary teacher and Head Teacher, Nova joined the University of Strathclyde as a Teaching Fellow, specialising in Educational Leadership.

Nova leads on the Into Headship programme at Strathclyde. Nova is undertaking a part-time doctorate and her research interest lies in the experiences and stories of teachers.

For her doctoral research, Nova is specifically interested in Head Teachers’ experiences of teachers who are adept at supporting children with distressed behaviour.

Dr Shauna McGill

Executive Committee Secretary
Lecturer in Education, School of Education, Ulster University

Shauna McGill currently holds a PhD in Education with Ulster University but also holds a Masters of Teaching from Queens University and a Bachelor of Education (Hons) from University of Glasgow.

As Course Director for the PGCE Primary Course on the Coleraine Campus, Shauna has been employed as a Lecturer of Education for the past 16 years, additionally working as a primary teacher for 5 years before this role. Research interests include Teacher Education, Primary Mathematics and Mobile Technology.

Shauna is a member of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM), Committee Secretary for the Association for the Study of Primary Education (ASPE) and Conference Committee member for the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCOTENS). Shauna has presented her research and collaboration research as a keynote speaker and participant at various national and international teacher education conferences.

Jill Adams

Executive Committee Treasurer
Retired Primary Headteacher

Jill taught in schools in South London and in Wiltshire including a successful Job-share. She then took on Assistant Headship and gained experience in running a school and completed her headteacher training.

She was the Head of two village schools, one of which she successful turned around and the other where there was a large percentage of military families. She worked with a group of military schools establishing a specialist Academy group. She was involved in complex planning for a large primary school to meet increased military presence in the area.

Roy Hughes

Executive Committee Member

Roy has worked abroad, and also as a  primary Headteacher in Greater Manchester.

He was a tutor for many years with the Open University, the University of Birmingham and the University of Leeds and the then Chester College. Roy was an officer in heritage development in North West England. In understanding primary education Roy has always believed that we leave historical for spiritual time.

Mathew Rees Jones

Executive Committee Member

Open University  PGCE Tutor

With experience as a primary school teacher and headteacher, Mathew entered the Initial Teacher Training sector in 2010.

Holding roles as a senior lecturer, Programme Director, and Assistant Director of Teacher Training, he joined the Open University in 2020 as a Primary PGCE Tutor for Wales. He has guided Welsh and English medium students into the teaching profession.

He is completing his EdD which focusses on Creative Pedagogy.

Dr Andrew Joyce-Gibbons

Executive Committee Member

Senior Advisor for Fab Inc

Andrew is a former primary school teacher and teacher educator (Durham University, Bath Spa University).

His research interests centre on classroom pedagogy and technology. He is passionate about improving education in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) including Peru, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Sierra Leone.

He currently works as a Senior Education Advisor for Fab Inc – an education advisory company. His projects include building equitable access to AI for education in LMICs and developing a chatbot to support teachers in LMICs.