Catherine Montgomery

Professor Catherine Montgomery is a leading academic in international education at the University of Durham, serving as Professor in the School of Education and Deputy Executive Dean (Global) for the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health. Her strategic leadership focuses on global higher education internationalization, particularly in East Asia and China. She researches educational mobilities, curriculum internationalization, and transnational partnerships, with notable projects in Vietnam, Mexico, and the UK. A former director of the Centre for Research in Education in China and East Asia, she collaborates globally with institutions like the Crick Institute and Tec de Monterrey. She holds a visiting professorship at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and is an RSA Fellow and UK National Teaching Fellow.

Her research explores themes such as rural-urban education disparities in China, STEM pedagogy in marginalized communities, and post-pandemic higher education reforms. She edits Compare: A Journal of International and Comparative Education, and her work bridges theory and practice through dialogic approaches and transformative learning frameworks. Collaborations span institutions in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, addressing equitable education access and global citizenship.

• Key Achievements: National Teaching Fellowship (2010), Royal Society of Arts Fellowship (2018), ESRC-funded research on autonomy in education.
• Current Projects: Crick Institute STEM outreach in London schools; comparative studies on transnational education in Mexico and the UK.
• Grants: British Council Vietnam Internationalization Strategy Project, ESRC ‘Freedom to Learn’ initiative.

Montgomery supervises doctoral students focusing on transnational education, international partnerships, and curriculum design. Her lab, the Durham Research Methods Centre, supports methodological innovation in educational research. Future work emphasizes post-pandemic education resilience and AI-driven analysis of global doctoral research.