Dr Joan Walton

My first degree is in Social Theory and Institutions (University of Bangor, North Wales), which allowed me to study a range of diverse subjects such as Sociology, Social Psychology, Criminology, Philosophy and Study of Religions. Following University, I travelled for a year in India and South East Asia, including working in one of Mother Theresa’s children’s homes in Calcutta. My early professional career was in social work, mainly working with children and families in residential and community settings. I then moved on to teaching on a professional social work qualifying programme, during which time I gained a Masters degree in Race and Education at Birmingham University. In 1995 I established an independent centre for action research and education, which enabled me to be involved in a wide range of staff development and research projects in the public, private and not-for profit sectors. Initially these were mainly in education, social care and health settings, but over time I increasingly became involved in developing, delivering and assessing accredited programmes for managers in the corporate sector. Following completion of my PhD in 2008, I had a career change, and entered the academic world, initially at Liverpool Hope University, and now at York St John University in the School of Education. I have recently reduced my formal contracted hours, in order to give me more time for research and writing.