Dr Jan Etienne

Overview

Biography

Dr Jan Etienne is a Birkbeck Fellow and Associate Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy.  She is a Womanist researcher and Chair of the Womanism, Activism and Higher Education Research Network.  Jan is also an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Geography and a graduate of the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol.  Jan teaches on the MSc Education, Power and Social Change programme in the Department of Psychosocial Studies. She is Module Leader for Education Globalisation and Change and is a member of the Decolonising the Academy Collective and Hub Leader for Student Experience. 

Dr Etienne's major research interest is in the field of Black Feminist Epistemology, and Womanist learning for community activism, exploring women’s involvement in transforming community spaces into thriving matriarchal learning hubs. Dr Etienne earned her PhD from the Department of Social Policy and Education, Birkbeck, University of London and her MSc from the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol. She is the author of Learning in Womanist Ways: Narratives of first-generation African Caribbean women, (IOE/UCL Press, Trentham Books, 2016) and editor of Communities of Activism: Black Women, higher education, and the politics of representation, (UCL Press/Trentham Books, 2020)

 

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

PhD.  Black Feminist Epistemologies: Womanist learning in the Third Age.

Department of Social Policy and Education,

Birkbeck, University of London

Malet Street,

London WC1E 7HX.

 

MSc Policy Studies: Black Political Narratives, Race and Representation

School for Policy Studies.

University of Bristol

Priory Road

Bristol BS8 1TZ

 

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

·       British Educational Research Association (BERA)

·       British Sociological Association (BSA)

·       Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)

·       University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults 

 

ORCID

 0000-0001-7196-9386

Highlights

• 28th July 2020, Etienne, J. Virtual Book Launch – ‘Communities of Activism’, Department of Geography https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDxc1nfE0QQ

• 21st February 2019, Etienne, J Research Conference: Youth crime and violence: Who hears the voices of black women? Womanism, Activism, Higher Education Research Network  http://blogs.bbk.ac.uk/events/2019/03/08/youth-crime-and-violence-who-hears-the-voices-of-black-women/

• 26th August 2016, Etienne, J - BBC Radio 4: Woman's Hour, Education after the age of 50: Dr Jan Etienne’s  research into Lifelong Learning and Older lack Caribbean Women.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07pd4yw
   

• 26th July 2016, Etienne, J. Learning in Womanist ways book launch – Institute of Education https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrJQ5ugbUJgSWEAdwIM34lQ;_ylu=Y29sbwNpcjIEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3BpdnM-?p=book+launch+waterstones+jan+etienne&fr2=piv-web&fr=mcafee#id=18&vid=0c5e6c98970bb9ff6cc2a2b10a154956&action=view

   

Qualifications

• PhD Social Policy and Education, Department of Social Policy and Education, Birkbeck, University of London, 2014
• MSc Policy Studies, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, 1992

Professional activities

Advisory Board Member: Centre for Research on Employment and Work, University of Greenwich

Professional memberships

• PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  Centre for Research on Employment and Work (CREW)  

  British Educational Research Association (BERA)

  British Sociological Association (BSA)

  Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)

  Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults (SCUTREA)

   

Honours and awards

• Birkbeck Fellowship, 2019, Birkbeck, University of London,
• Birkbeck Students Union, Colours and Honours Award Winner for academic support and teaching excellence 2017, Students Union, Birkbeck, University of London,
• Honorary Research Fellow – Department of Geography, 2014, Department of Geography, Birkbeck, University of London,
• Michael Stephens Award for PhD Research, 2009, Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in Education of Adults,
• Birkbeck Distinguished Associate Lecturer Award, 2007 , Birkbeck, University of London,
• Best Longitudinal Research study Prize, 2006 , British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society ,

ORCID

0000-0001-7196-9386

Research

Research interests

• Race, Education and Gender Studies
• Narrative Research Study and Lifelong Learning
• Black Feminist Epistemologies
• Womanist Approaches to Community Learning
• Black Women, Social Capital and Wellbeing
• Studies in Gender and Migration

Research overview

 

 

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Studies for the Womanist, Activism and Higher Education Research Network (2018 - present); Black Feminist perspections into: Black Youth, Crime and Violence. Funded by the Birkbeck Institutue for the Humanities

Research Associate. Birkbeck's Institute of Lifelong Learning (2005-2007), ESRC funded project into Lifelong Learning and the Women’s Institute: ESRC RES-000-22-1441 (September 2005) Learning citizenship: lifelong learning, community and the Women’s Institutes 

Research Associate: Centre for Excellence in Leadership/ Learning and Skills Development Agency (2004). Research into Management and Leadership, Project Title: Career Hopes and Hesitations Institute for Policy Studies in Education: London Metropolitan University (University of North London)

Research Associate: London Metropolitan University, HE Equalities and Diversity Recruitment research. Funded by: The Institute for Policy Studies in Education (IPSE) (2004)

Institute for Policy Studies in Education: University of North London (2003): Research into Employment and Diversity Strategies. Project Title: National Survey of Black Managers in FE.

Research Associate: Learning and skills Development Agency: Experiences of Black managers in Education (2002) Funded by the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA)

Research Centres and Institutes

• Advisory Board Member, Centre for Research on Employment and Work - University of Greenwich
• Centre for Social Change and Transformation in Higher Education

Supervision and teaching

Supervision

Supervisions external to Birkbeck:

2

Supervisions within Birkbeck:

1

SUPERVISION

·       Black Feminist epistemologies

·       Womanist learning and studies of migration

·       Narrative Studies

·       Race, Gender and Education

Current joint principal supervision

·       Nandita Sirker (2020 - to date) Supporting Refugee Mothers – Do you See Us?

·       Rebekka Mirjam Hölzle (2020 – to date) Resisting the ‘hostile environment’: practices of migrant women with limited formal educational qualifications.

Current doctoral researchers

• REBEKKA HOELZLE

  Nature of supervision:

  Joint Principal Supervisor, Oct 2020 onwards

  Title of thesis:

  Strategies of survival and resistance by migrant and refugee women who struggle with literacy

Teaching

Teaching overview

Jan currently teaches on the MSc Education, Power and Social Change programme and is module leader for: ‘Education, Globalisation and Change’.   She has previously taught on the MSc Voluntary and Community Sector Studies programme and was Module Leader for: Strategies and Development in a Changing Environment as well as lead tutor on the Post Graduate Certificate in Elected Member Professional Development.  In her previous role as Assistant Programme Director on the BSc Social Science degree, in the Department of Geography, Jan taught on a range of core modules including: ‘Sociological Approaches to Social Conflict’ and ‘Social Justice.’  Jan has wide experience of teaching in the Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication in various Academic Skills Development roles teaching modules such as: ‘Sociology and Social Policy’ and ‘Introducing the Social World’ on the Higher Education Introductory Studies Diploma.

 

 

Publications

Business and community

Media

I am happy to receive enquiries from the media on the following topics:

• Black Feminist Perspectives: Women, Education, Learning and Activism Black Youth, Criminalisation and Community Black Political Narratives Black staff in Higher Education Decolonising the Higher Education Academy Racism and Higher Education Student, Diversity and Higher Education Curriculum Migration, Refugees, and Conflict

Outreach

OUTREACH RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

Research Associate. Birkbeck's Institute of Lifelong Learning (2005-2007) ESRC funded project into Lifelong Learning and the Women’s Institute /Learning Citizenship ESRC RES-000-22-1441

Research Associate: Centre for Excellence in Leadership/ Learning and Skills Development Agency (2004). Study into Management and Leadership, Project Title: Career Hopes and Hesitations Institute for Policy Studies in Education: University of North London

Research Associate: London Metropolitan University, HE Equalities and Diversity Recruitment research. Funded by: The Institute for Policy Studies in Education (IPSE) (2004)

Research Consultant: Institute for Policy Studies in Education: University of North London (2003): Research into Employment and Diversity Strategies. Project Title: National Survey of Black Managers in FE.

Research Associate: Learning and skills Development Agency: Experiences of Black managers in Education (2002) Funded by the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA)

 

PUBLICATIONS / BOOK LAUNCH ACTIVITIES:

Books

Etienne, J (2020) (Ed) Communities of Activism: Black Women, higher education, and the politics of representation, London, UCL Institute of Education Press/Trentham Books

Etienne, J (2016) Learning in Womanist Ways: Narratives of first-generation African Caribbean women, London, IOE/UCL

Book chapters

Etienne, J. and Jackson, S. (2011) Lifelong learning in later years: choices and constraints for older women, in S. Jackson, I. Malcolm and K. Thomas (eds.) Gendered choices: Learning, Work, Identities in Lifelong Learning, Kluwer Academic Press.

Etienne, J. and Jackson, S. (2010) Beyond the home: Informal learning and community participation for older women, in S. Jackson (ed.) Innovations in lifelong learning: critical perspectives on diversity, participation and vocational learning, Routledge.

Journal articles and conference papers

Etienne, J. (2009) Dilemmas in researching lifelong learning ‘race’ and gender, paper presented at the 39th Annual SCUTREA conference, July 7-9, 2009, University of Cambridge

Etienne, J. (2008) Education, ethnicity and participation in an ageing society, paper presented to the Civil Society and Democratic Citizenship conference, 14 June 2008.

Etienne, J. (2007) Lessons for an ageing society: Informal learning and community participation, paper presented to the Women in Lifelong Learning, Birkbeck Institute for Lifelong Learning, 29 June 2007

Mackay F. and Etienne. J (2006) Black Managers in Further Education: Career Hopes and Hesitation, Journal of Educational Management Administration & Leadership January 2006 Vol. 34, No. 1. pp. 9 – 28. Sage.