I am an accidental educator.

When I was studying for my first master’s degree in Applied Linguistics, I dreamt about writing ad jingles, but then a single mandatory microteaching session made me realise that teaching was my true calling.

Once the Internet became a staple in every classroom, I eagerly traded in my OHP and VHS tapes for digital tools and pursued a second master’s in Educational Technology and ELT.

A few years later, as blogging became a vibrant space for educational reflection and student writing, my search for teaching inspiration unexpectedly led me to an online community of religious feminist women who were using blogs and Facebook pages as informal yet powerful spaces to explore the intersection of their faith and feminism.

Drawn to this vibrant community of bloggers, I pursued an interdisciplinary PhD to examine how feminists with religious affiliations use social media to create subaltern knowledge and advance informal learning while challenging power structures and decolonising digital spaces.

I have been an educator in higher education since 1997 and as an academic, have been fortunate to work and learn from many people and cultures in the Middle East, South Asia and the UK. I joined the School of Education at the University of Glasgow in February 2022 as a teaching associate. I am now working full-time as a lecturer in Educational Studies and am associated with the School's CLIP RTG. I am the course lead for Education, Race, Racism and Social Justice in a Global Society (EDUC51072) and the School's International Regional Champion for Middle East.  

I specialise in qualitative research, with expertise in the Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) methodology.

I am interested in intellectual decoloniality in higher education, and how gender, race, and culture shape academic spaces and an academic identity. I’m also interested in how AI and social media can be used to enhance non-exclusive learning, challenge dominant narratives, and amplify marginalised voices to create more equitable and critically engaged educational futures.

I’m excited to collaborate on research across any of the three areas above and welcome opportunities to supervise PhD and EdD projects related to these themes.

Currently I am working on two participatory research projects with three student partners:

1. The first research project investigates how international postgraduate students enrolled in the School of Education’s largest programme utilise AI translation tools in live EMI teaching sessions and examines the impact of these tools on students’ comprehension, engagement, and confidence.

2. In the second research project (for which we were successful in securing a grant from the University's L&T Strategy Student Staff Partnership Scheme), we are looking at ways to decolonise an introduction to research course.  

List by: Type | Date

•  University of Glasgow's L&T Strategy Student Staff Partnership Scheme (Decolonising the Curriculum) - 2025.

I welcome PhD proposals that align with my research interests (please see the Research Interests section for my research interests and expertise).

If you are interested in studying with me, please email me the following: 

1. Research proposal of approximately 1,500 words, excluding references (see here for guidance).
2. Recent CV.
3. Any books, articles, chapters, or reports you have published already.
4. A 300-word description of how your research experiences/interests align with my research and why you are interested in pursuing a PhD with me.
5. Please also indicate how you plan to fund your PhD. 

Current doctoral supervison project:

(Co-supervising with Prof Barbara Read) - Judith Gorham - English for Academic Purposes: analysing BALEAP institutional accreditation

Supervised MSc research (Selected recent)

Technology Enhanced Teaching & Learning

• Mi, Y. (2025) - The development of Chinese college students’ English autonomous learning ability in the MOOC environment.
• Li, Y. (2025) - The role of Virtual Reality (VR) in supporting social and communication skills development for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
• Yang, H. (2024) - An extended literature review on integrating social media into high school teaching.
• Chen, Y. (2024) - The perception of pre-service teachers on students’ utilization of Tiktok outside classrooms to improve language learning abilities.
• Bai, L. (2024) - Exploring the impact of using Instagram to improve students' receptive and productive skills.
• Zhang, H. (2024) - An investigation into how Douyin can be used in Higher Education in China.
• Zhang, J. (2024) Using video games to teach ESL/EFL: An Extended Literature Review.
• Wu, Y. (2024) - Evaluating the impact of Moodle on engagement and motivation among postgraduate education students in a Scottish university.
• Liu, J. (2023) - The role of commercial Digital Video Games on Chinese students’ comprehension of metaphors.
• Chen, X. (2022) - An investigation into the different elements of professional development that motivate English major students in a Shanghai university to complete MOOCs courses and the challenges of using MOOCs. 
• Chen, L. (2022) - The perception of third-year English major students in a Southern Chinese University about the use of smartphones in improving academic writing skills.
• Chen, J. (2022) - Improving English competency through TikTok: An extended literature review.
• Shi, J. (2022) - Use of Twitter by college students in Beijing to improve informal Writing skills. 

Education Studies, Inclusive Education, Culture and Languages

• Peng, Y. (2025) - Acculturation and educational achievement: Challenges faced by Chinese international students in the British educational environment.
• Guo, Q. (2025) - A policy analysis of learner-centred education in UK Higher Education.
• Safian, I. (2025) - Improving the quality of education in Malaysian higher education through technological advancements: a capability approach perspective.
• Shi, B. (2025) - A comparative study of gender discrimination in urban and rural education in China.
• Tang, Q. (2025) - Exploring Chinese students' perception of native and non-native speaking teachers of English.
• Cen, J. (2024) - The impact of distributed leadership model in Higher Education: An Extended Literature Review.
• Feng, X. (2024) - Music education in primary schools in China: An Extended Literature Review.
• Lu, Y. (2024) - Effect of Chinese culture on Chinese students studying in universities in the English-speaking West.
• Cao, S. (2024) - A comparative analysis of pre-school education curriculum guidelines in China and the United Kingdom.
• Li, D. (2023) - Addressing gender inequality in education in the Indian region: an extended literature review.
• Xu, Y. (2023) - A literature review of conflict and effects of conflict resolution training on primary school children.
• Lu, Q. (2023) - Investigating the impact of academic procrastination on Chinese students at the University of Glasgow.
• Li, X. (2023) - Exploring perceptions of Chinese students of Education at University of Glasgow about the effects of flipped classrooms on their motivation.
• Li, Y. (2023) - Exploring the effectiveness of Life Education for Chinese postgraduate students of Education at the University of Glasgow.
• Li, X. (2023) - An investigation into the functions and impact of teacher and peer feedback on students' writing: a comparative study between the United Kingdom and China.
• Zhang, H. (2023) - Exploring TESOL students’ motivations for choosing English teaching as a career: A perspective from Chinese students of TESOL at the University of Glasgow.
• Zhang, S. (2023) - The role of summative assessment on motivation of English language learners at the Henan University of Technology in China.
• Sun, S. (2023) - The relationship between English speaking anxiety, gender and self-efficacy of Chinese students majoring in TESOL at the University of Glasgow.
• Jiang, Y. (2023) - An investigation into the (English) speaking anxiety and how it can be reduced in the case of Chinese TESOL postgraduate students at the University of Glasgow.
• Huang, B. (2022) - An investigation into how teachers in a primary school in Wuhan use the teaching app ‘English fun dubbing’ (EFD) to teach English speaking skills

Educational Studies programme (2025-26)

• Education, Race, Racism and Social Justice in a Global Society (EDUC51072) - Course lead

• Introduction to Educational and Social Research (EDUC5410)

• Modern Educational Thought (EDUC5156)

• Dissertation for MSc/MEd in Education Studies (EDUC5142P)

• Seminars in Contemporary Issues (EDUC5285)

TESOL programme (past)

• Dissertation for MSc/MEd in TESOL (EDUC5900P)

• Descriptions of Language and Applications to the Classroom (EDUC5847)

Selected international presentations

• 2025: The European Conference on Education (London, England)
• 2025: European Conference on Educational Research (Belgrade, Serbia)
• 2025: Scottish Educational Research Association (Aberdeen, Scotland)
• 2020: Gender & Women's Studies (Singapore, Singapore)
• 2015: TESOL Arabia (Dubai, UAE)
• 2005: TESOL Arabia ESP SIG Conference (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
• 2003: EgypTesol Fourth annual convention (Cairo, Egypt)
• 2003: 1st Asia TEFL conference (Busan, South Korea)
• 2000: LSP 2000 Seminar (Johor, Malaysia)

SCHOLARSHIP AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

- International Regional Champion (Middle East) for the School of Education, University of Glasgow (2025-date)

- Associate Ethics Reviewer & member of the CoSS Ethics Committee, College of Social Sciences, University of Glasgow (2025-date)

- Member of International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching (ISATT) (2024-date)

- Member of Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA) (2025-date) 

- Reviewer, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education (JLDHE) (2024-date)

- Reviewer, Scottish Education Review (2025)

- Senior Reviewer, The European Conference on Education 2025 (2025) 

- Reviewer, ALDinHE Research Funding Application (2025)

-  Academic support on the LINEs for Palestine-University of Glasgow project, a British council funded programme that offers academic support for professional development to English language teachers living in Gaza (2024-2025)

RESEARCH NETWORKS

• British Academy Early Career Researcher Network 
• Decolonising the Curriculum Community of Practice (University of Glasgow)
• Gender & Sexualities Interdisciplinary Network (University of Glasgow)

TEACHING CERTIFICATES

- Higher Education Teaching Certificate  (2020), Derek Bok Center, Harvard University, US.

- New to Digital Teaching Certificate (2020), Advanced Higher Education, UK.

- Certificate of Overseas Teachers of English (COTE) (1998-1999), Royal Society of Arts (RSA), University of Cambridge, UK.

TEACHING AWARD

- Recipient of the Zayed Award for Excellence in Teaching from Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, UAE (2006).