Dr Grace Clifton

Professional biography

Grace Clifton, BA (Hons), PGCE Secondary (French with Spanish), MA (Ed), PhD

I am Associate Head of School for Curriculum in the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport.  Before coming to the Open University, I worked as a Modern Languages teacher at secondary aged level.  I have been an Associate Lecturer on several modules within the Inclusive Education programme (2001-2004), a Staff Tutor (2005-2011) and, since 2013, a Senior Lecturer.  

Research interests

Scholarship interests - Developing an understanding of 'professional dialogue'; working gain/learning gain; employability for the part-time, distance learner; investigating the experiences of work-based and knowledge-based students; evaluating Learning Design

Research interests - the educational experiences of armed forces children; mobility in childhood; ethnographic research methods; child-centred research

Teaching interests

2019-2024 Senior Lecturer, PGCE (Wales), Module Team Chair Year 2 provision

2016-2017 Academic Lead, Enhanced Employability and Career Progression

2013-2016 Programme Director - Childhood, Youth and Education

2011-2014 Module team chair, EK310/EK311, (Early years Focus on) Research with Children and Young People (final presentation February 2013) and Module production team EK313, Issues in Research with Children and Young People (first presentation February 2014) 

Doctoral supervision - 

Gavin Williams Boundedness, belonging and becoming: primary school children’s perspectives of education and learning in the South Wales valleys (EdD, 2019)

Linda Plowright "I like to climb and pick coconuts", Moving towards a child-guided agentic participatory research methodology: 7-11 years children's experiences of physical activity  (PhD, 2020)

Linda Plowright "Boing, boing, like a kangaroo" Children's experiences of physical activity (MRes, 2015)

Impact and engagement

Since 2024 University External Examiner trainer

2024 Panel Chair, Periodic Quality Review, Undergraduate Business

Since 2022 Trustee, Abingdon Learning Trust

2021 Panel Chair, Periodic Quality Review, Open Programme

2015 Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy

2015 Academic Consultant, BBC Radio 4 Series, The Educators

2015-2017  External examiner, MA Education programme, University of Plymouth

2014-2016 Academic Reviewer, FD Supporting Teaching and Learning and BA (Hons) Education and Professional Practice, Havering College of FE and HE

2014-2016 External examiner, BA (Hons) Childhood, Youth and Education, University of Bath