Karen Jones

Karen Jones is Assistant Professor (Research) at the School of Education. Following her degree in mathematics Karen qualified as a secondary mathematics teacher (QTS) and a careers advisor. After several years working in a wide range of schools and colleges Karen joined the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) in 2004 and then the School of Education in 2017. With over 14 years of research experience at Durham University, Karen specialises in quasi-experimental designs, mixed-methods research, assessment and the analysis of large secondary datasets. Karen is interested in a wide range of research areas including the effects and side-effects of school inspections and accountability systems (the subject of her ongoing PhD thesis), progress in mathematics, measuring student attitudes and the impact of grammar schools and independent schools. She is currently investigating the differential impact of Covid-19 lockdown on students' writing skills.