Professor Jane Martin

School of Education
Professor of Social History of Education
Director, Domus Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Histories of Education and Childhood and Executive Editor of Educational Review

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0)121 414 7446
Email: j.martin@bham.ac.uk

View my research portal

Address: School of Education
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT, United Kingdom

Jane moved to Birmingham from the Institute of Education, University of London, where she was Head of Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is Director of the Domus Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Histories of Education and Childhood and Executive Editor of Educational Review.

She teaches and researches on gender and history, education policy and social justice, and research methods in education. Her publications include Women and the Politics of Schooling in Victorian and Edwardian England, winner of the History of Education Society (UK) Book Prize 2002 and Making Socialists: Mary Bridges Adams and the Fight for Knowledge and Power 1855-1939 (2010). Her books with Joyce Goodman include Women and Education 1800-1980 (2004) and a 4-volume set for Routledge Women and Education: Major Themes in Education.

Qualifications

Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (London Metropolitan)
PhD (Open)
MA (Warwick)
BA (Open)

Teaching

BA Education

MA Education

Postgraduate supervision

Jane supervises several doctoral students working on topics relating to gender and education, educational politics, policy-making and practice in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

Research

Drawing on documentary sources, fiction, oral testimonies, autobiographies, and sociological ethnographies, Jane’s most recent book, Gender and Education in England since 1770: a social and cultural history won the Society for Educational Studies Book Award 2023. She was awarded the History of Education Society Book Prize 2002 for her first book, Women and the Politics of Schooling in Victorian and Edwardian England.

Future publications include the first biography to be written of the twentieth century author, teacher and socialist, Caroline Decamp Benn (1926-2000): life, love and politics.

Making Good Teachers. Politics, policy-making, and practice in teacher education from the nineteenth century to the present. Society for Educational Studies, 2023-24.

This project explores the changing settings and networks through which the professional preparation of teachers takes place in England, using archival source material, life history and life story work to explore the lives and experiences of staff and students, and the culture and politics of teachers’ work.

Other activities

Jane is Executive Editor of Educational Review and co-editor of Progressive Education: Policy, Politics and Practice – a Routledge book series. She serves on the Editorial Board of FORUM for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education. She is a former President of the UK History of Education Society and served on the Education Sub-panel for the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) on behalf of the UK Higher Education Funding Councils.

Publications

Recent publications

Book

Martin, J 2022, Gender and Education in England since 1770: a social and cultural history. Gender and History, 1 edn, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79746-1

Article

Martin, J 2024, 'Elites and Education: Caroline Benn and the Policy Intellectuals of the British Labour Party, circa 1950-1990', British Journal of Educational Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2024.2399552

Millward, C & Martin, J 2022, 'Community comprehensive education: an effective way forward for everyone', Forum: for promoting 3-19 Comprehensive Education, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 159-175. https://doi.org/10.3898/forum.2022.64.3.16

Martin, J 2019, 'Against private schools: culture, power and myths of equality', Forum: for promoting 3-19 Comprehensive Education, vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 349-364. https://doi.org/10.15730/forum.2019.61.3.349

Martin, J & Benn, M 2018, 'The 'patron saint' of comprehensive education: an interview with Clyde Chitty. Part two', Forum: for promoting 3-19 Comprehensive Education, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 11-30. https://doi.org/10.15730/forum.2018.60.1.11

Martin, J & Benn, M 2017, 'The 'patron saint' of comprehensive education: an interview with Clyde Chitty. Part one', Forum: for promoting 3-19 Comprehensive Education, vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 309-324. https://doi.org/10.15730/forum.2017.59.3.309

Martin, J 2015, 'Building Comprehensive Education: Caroline Benn and Holland Park School', Forum: for promoting 3-19 Comprehensive Education, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 363-386. https://doi.org/10.15730/forum.2015.57.3.363

Martin, J 2014, 'Intellectual Portraits: politics, professions and identity in twentieth century England', History of Education, vol. 43, no. 6, pp. 740-767. https://doi.org/10.1080/0046760X.2014.964019

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Martin, J 2016, Education Policy. in AS Crines & K Hickson (eds), Harold Wilson the unprincipled prime minister?. Biteback Publishing, London, pp. 131-148, Book Launch, London, United Kingdom, 23/03/16.

Martin, J 2016, Intellectual Women, Social Science, and Political Power: municipal feminism and reform at the London School of Economics, 1895-1960. in EL Panayotidis & P Storz (eds), Women in Higher Education 1850-1970. Routledge Research in Gender and History, Routledge, New York & London, pp. 119-144.

Chapter

Martin, J 2020, ‘Education: Politics and Policy-Making with the Intellectuals of ‘Old’ Labour.’. in K Hickson & J Miles (eds), James Callaghan: an Underrated Prime Minister? . Biteback Publishing, London, pp. 163-180.

Martin, J 2018, Research Methods in Education 8th edition edited by Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison. in L Cohen, L Manion & K Morrison (eds), Research Methods in Education. 8th edn, Routledge, London & New York, pp. 323-333.

Other contribution

Martin, J 2020, Commemorating the 1870 Education Act with Professor Jane Martin..

Martin, J 2020, ‘Generation Equality: the changing experience of women and education’..

Review article

Martin, J 2020, 'Telling stories about comprehensive education: hidden histories of politics, policy and practice in post-war England', British Journal of Educational Studies, vol. 68, no. 5, pp. 649-669. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2020.1832956

View all publications in research portal