Anna Traianou

Professor Anna Traianou is a distinguished academic at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she serves as Professor of Education and Director of the Centre for Identities and Social Justice. Her work spans multiple dimensions of educational research with a particular focus on the intersection of policy, practice, and ethics in contemporary educational contexts.

Her research interests center on culture, learning and teacher 'expertise' in contemporary policy and politics; the contestation of education policy in contemporary Europe, austerity and the changing form of the education state; and philosophical perspectives on ethics and their implications for researcher autonomy. She has published extensively on these topics, with notable works including 'Understanding Teacher Expertise in Primary Science: a sociocultural approach' (2006) and 'Ethics in Qualitative Research: Controversies and Contexts' (2012) co-written with Martyn Hammersley. More recently, she co-edited 'Austerity and the Remaking of European Education' (2019) with Ken Jones.

Her recent publications reveal a strong focus on education policy under austerity conditions, particularly in Greece, where she has examined the role of trade unions in education reform and the intricacies of conditionality in policy implementation. She has also made significant contributions to research ethics, particularly regarding the concept of vulnerability in social research and its application to studies involving political elites.

Professor Traianou teaches on the BA (Honours) Education Culture and Society, MA Education: Culture Language and Identity, and MPhil/PhD Education programmes. Her doctoral supervision focuses on education policy, particularly the interplay between supranational policy influence and national traditions; learning and teacher 'expertise' in contemporary policy and politics; and research ethics as situated practice.

She has secured significant research funding, including from the British Academy (2019-2022) for research on structural adjustment in Greece (2010-2018) and from the National Education Union (NEU) for her current project on teachers' curriculum autonomy. Her recent report 'Are you on slide 8 yet?' examines the impact of standardized curricula on teacher professionalism.