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Biography
As a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Education, my work explores the relationship between technical and vocational education and training (TVET), industry, and wider processes of economic and social development. I draw on a professional background in the voluntary sector-where I worked as a manager and counsellor-as well as academic training in corporate responsibility and international development.
My early research examined the role of multinational enterprises, UK aid, and the politics of corporate responsibility in development. Building on this, my current work focuses on the skills agenda, the role of TVET lecturers, and the complex education-work dynamics that shape skills systems globally.
Working closely with Professor Volker Wedekind, I co‑lead a programme of research that identifies and responds to the persistent TVET-Industry gap-the misalignment between college curricula, labour market needs, and institutional capacity. Our projects include development of the Quality Vocational Lecturers (QVL) Model and the UNESCO UNEVOC TVET-Industry Mapping Tool, which support TVET lecturers and college leaders to strengthen industry engagement and curriculum innovation.
My research is currently/has been funded by UNESCO UNEVOC, the Spencer Foundation, the ESRC, and internal HEIF awards. It spans Sub‑Saharan Africa, Nottingham, and international networks of TVET scholars.
Expertise Summary
Research Areas
- The TVET-industry relationship
- TVET lecturer professionalism and educator agency
- Skills ecosystems and regional development
- Aid for skills and international education policy
- Human capital vs. human development approaches to skills
- Responsible and sustainable business in development contexts
Current Projects
- Mapping the TVET-Industry Ecosystem (UNESCO UNEVOC) - PI
- Barriers to Innovation in Skills Delivery: East Midlands Policy Forum (HEIF) - PI
- Quality Vocational Lecturers Programme (UKZN, South Africa) - Co‑Investigator
- Harnessing Ugandan Universities' Role in Education-to-Work Transitions (Spencer Foundation) - Co‑I
Selected Publications
Russon, J. (2023) Multinationals, Poverty Alleviation and UK Aid: The Complex Quest for Mutually Beneficial Outcomes. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003251422
Russon, J. & Wedekind, V. (2023) Vocational teachers as mediators in complex ecosystems, in VET Africa 4.0 collective, Transitioning Vocational Education in Africa, Bristol: Bristol University Press.
Wedekind, V., Russon, J., Zungu., Z., Liu, Z. & Li, M. (2025) Dimensions of a Quality Vocational Teacher: Future Issues and Research. World Vocational and Technical Education, 1:2,192-218. https://doi.org/10.1515/wvte-2025-0004
Wedekind, V., Russon, J., Liu, Z., Zungu, Z., & Li, M. (2024). What is a 'quality TVET lecturer'? Problematising the concept of quality in vocational education. Journal of Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education and Training, 7(2), 22. https://doi.org/10.14426/jovacet.v7i2.421
Whitty, B., Sklair, J., Gilbert, P.R., Mawdsley, E., Russon, J. and Taylor, O., (2023). Outsourcing the Business of Development: The Rise of For‐profit Consultancies in the UK Aid Sector. Development and Change, 54(4), pp.892-917. https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fdech.12782
Research Summary
Research Areas
- The TVET-industry relationship
- TVET lecturer professionalism and educator agency
- Skills ecosystems and regional development
- Aid for skills and international education policy
- Human capital vs. human development approaches to skills
- Responsible and sustainable business in development context
Accepting new doctoral students.