Penny Smith

I've been working as a researcher since 2001. In the last few years I have worked within Business Schools (at University of Birmingham and University of Warwick). Projects have included a large of large qualitative MOD commissioned study ? the Lived Experience Study - unprecedented in scope and scale, which aimed to increase understanding of how gender and ethnicity were relevant to the way in which civil servants and military personnel experienced employment in the Ministry of Defence. Following this I was part of the research team led by Holly Birkett and Sarah Forbes working on the Equal Parenting Project. Both these studies have been influential on policy debates in the UK: the Lived Experience forming part of the work by the Defence Select Committee (UK Parliament) and the former to debates/developments focused on fathers in the workplace, also in Westminster.

Research Interests

I have extensive experience in qualitative methods, working on a variety of research projects working predominantly in Education and more recently in Business Schools in universities. My research has varied in subject matter but has largely centred on Education and diversity and inclusion. from a focus on school leadership and management, (school governance and academies) teacher education, and the prevention of children's social exclusion (National Evaluation of the Children's Fund).