Audrey Wood

Dr. Audrey Wood serves as a Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education at the School of Education, University of Bedfordshire, where she joined in 2020 after previously holding a Senior Lecturer position at the University of Huddersfield. Her responsibilities include teaching across primary and secondary initial teacher education courses, coordinating the Secondary PGCE program, and managing blended learning and employment-based ITE pathways such as teaching apprenticeships and the Troops to Teachers initiative.

Her academic qualifications include:

• PhD in Teacher Education from the University of Huddersfield
• MSt in Advanced Subject Teaching, English (Distinction) from the University of Cambridge
• MRes in English from the University of Greenwich
• BA (Hons) in English from the University of Greenwich

Wood's research centers on career changers transitioning into secondary teaching, particularly military personnel through the Troops to Teachers program, with longitudinal studies examining identity development and professional adaptation. She investigates pedagogical approaches for reading, writing, and oracy in English classrooms, focusing on interventions for disadvantaged pupils and oral reading fluency in Key Stage 3. Her work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical classroom applications, emphasizing evidence-based strategies for literacy development.

Analysis of her publications reveals consistent focus on literacy interventions (2020-2021), teacher identity formation (2017), and English pedagogy (2012-2017). Recent work emphasizes systemic approaches to narrowing attainment gaps, while earlier studies explore creative writing techniques and historical literature instruction. A unifying thread is the application of phenomenological and action research methodologies to improve secondary English education outcomes.

Her professional recognition includes:

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Wood supervises dissertations for BA Childhood Studies and MA Education students while leading externally funded projects including the Strategic School Improvement Fund initiative targeting reading attainment gaps. Her current 'Embedding Oral Reading Fluency in KS3' project develops practical frameworks for literacy improvement in secondary settings.

She maintains active external collaborations as Secondary English PGCE Examiner at Liverpool Hope University (2020-present) and previously at the University of Hull (2017-2021), working closely with school partnerships and SCITT programs to shape teacher training standards.