About
Ruth Payne is an Associate Professor in Student Education at the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of Leeds, within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures. Her work focuses on enhancing student experience through pedagogical research, inclusive practices, and fostering belonging in higher education.
Her primary research interests include:
- Inclusive assessment practices
- Student induction and transition into higher education
- Student belonging and engagement
- Gender construction and gendered discourses in educational contexts
- Classroom language and the linguistic framing of school behavior policies
Her research bridges applied linguistics and educational practice, with a strong emphasis on equity and inclusion. She has contributed to initiatives such as the ELIXIR project and the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence, focusing on improving educational frameworks and student support systems.
Ruth completed her first degree as a mature student at the University of Leeds, followed by a PGCE in English (11–18 years), and began her career as a school teacher. Her doctoral research, conducted at the School of Education, University of Leeds, explored teachers’ use of face-aligned utterances and mitigation strategies in classroom discourse, laying the foundation for her ongoing interest in educational language and interaction.
She currently serves as the Academic Lead for Belonging and is a Lecturer in Linguistics, contributing to both research and teaching within her department.
