What I am interested in:-

I am an ESRC Global Uncertainties Leadership Fellow (2012 - 2015).

My current research projects are around the relationship between education and security and in 'disaster education'. I am interested in how disasters can be seen to be pedagogical events which involve learning and evolve through public reaction and participation and how these events are politicised as 'public pedagogy'. I am also interested in the equity implications of disasters and emergency planning.

I am principal investigator on an ESRC study on Mass Population Response to Critical Infrastructure Collapse.  This comparative project (UK, US, Germany, Japan, New Zealand) examines how governments prepare citizens for collapse in the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI); how they model collapse and population response; case studies of CNI collapse (with particular reference to education and health) and the globalisation of CNI policy.   

I am principal investigator on an EPSRC project on city evacuations (2010 - 2013). This project considers the changing dynamics of city evacuations where inter-agent communication is possible through social networking and mobile technologies. It aims to make evacuations in cities more efficient and equitable. You can read more about this project on the BBC website and in other media including the Sunday TImes. I talked about the development of the project as part of the BBC Radio 4 programme 'Dragon's Lab'.  You can also hear about the project in a podcast that was made by the Industry and Parliament Trust here.

I was recently principal investigator on an ESRC funded research project 'Preparedness Pedagogies and Race: an interdisciplinary approach' (2009 - 2010) that looks at 'disaster education' in the UK examining the ways in which people have been instructed to prepare for emergencies (including nuclear war and terrorist attack as well as the H1N1 pandemic). For information about the project and to read our findings and working papers please go to our website.

I was also leading investigator on two projects for the European Commission (CEDEFOP) looking at how Vocational Education and Training (VET) impacts upon different societies and social groups. This resulted in two reports to CEDEFOP 'The macro-social benefits of vocational education and training' (2010) and 'The meso-social benefits of vocational education and training' (2011).

My conceptual interests are in critical whiteness studies / race theory applied to education and pedagogy.Most recently this work has been on disaster education and inequalities in lifelong learning although I have also written on freedom of speech in HE; vocational courses; adult education and the benefits of learning. However, much of my work also deals with inequalities in terms of class, gender, sexuality and disability and how these intersect with 'race'. I use interdisciplinary research methods drawing on political economy, sociology, cultural studies and security studies.

A collection of my work, 'Whiteness and Class in Education', was published by Springer in 2007. I currently supervise Phd students looking at Muslim feminist theory and women's biographies in East London; metacognitive strategies in vocational education and training and critical studies of the mathematics curriculum. I am interested in applications from Phd students in my substantive areas of interest.

Other activities:-

I am on the editorial board of Race, Ethnicity and Education, the Journal of Vocational Education and Training (JVET), the Journal of Education for Diversities and on the editorial advisory Journal of the Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies (JCEPS).

I am one of the convenors of the Critical Race Theory (CRT) discussion group with Namita Chakrabarty and Lorna Roberts.

I have provided expert advice to the European Commission on issues of social exclusion and Vocational Education and Training and given evidence to a parliamentary enquiry on adult education.

Professor of Education

Disaster Education; Security and education; Whiteness studies; Critical Race Theory ; ‘Race’ / class intersections; lifelong learning and inequalities; Vocational Education in Europe.

Current work (since 2008):

• Preston,J. (2013) Whiteness in academia: counter-stories of betrayal and resistance, CSP, Cambridge.
• Preston,J. (2012) Disaster Education, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam.
• Preston,J. and Chadderton,C. (2012) Rediscovering Race Traitor: towards a Critical Race Theory informed public pedagogy, Race, Ethnicity and Education, 15, 1: 85-100. 
• Preston,J.; Avery,B.; Chakrabarty,N. and Edmonds,C. (2011) Emergency preparedness as public pedagogy: the absent–presence of race in ‘Preparing for Emergencies, International Journal of Lifelong Education, 30,6, 749-762.
• Preston, J., Binner, J., Branicki, L., Ferrario, M. and Kolokitha, M. (2011) 'Multiple attacks on transport infrastructure: an inter-disciplinary exploration of the impact of social networking technologies upon real time information sharing, response and recovery', Journal of Homeland Security
• Bhopal,K. and Preston,J. (2011) Intersectionality and 'Race' in Education, Routledge: New York.
• Preston,J. and Kolokitha,M. (2011) 'Public support and education campaigns' in Shanty, F. (ed.) Counterterrorism: From the Cold War to the War on Terror, ABC-CLIO: California
• Preston,J. (2010) Concrete and Abstract Racial Domination, Power and Education, 2, 2; 115 - 125.
• Preston,J. (2010) Prosthetic white hyper-masculinities and ‘disaster education, Ethnicities, 10, 331-343
• Preston,J.; Jenkins,A.; Green,A.; May,T. Obolenskaya,P. and Edmonds, C. (2010) ‘The macro-social benefits for society’ Report for the European Commission (CEDEFOP)
• Preston, J. (2009) Preparing for Emergencies: citizenship education, whiteness and pedagogies of security, Citizenship Studies, 13, 2, 187 – 200
• Preston,J. (2009) White Apocalypse: Preparedness Pedagogies as Symbolic and Material Invocations of White Supremacy. In Jennifer A Sandlin, Brian D Schultz and Jake Burdick (eds.) Handbook of Public Pedagogy, London: Routledge.
• Chakrabarty, N & Preston, J (2009). ‘Debate 4: Social and community cohesion and education. (Do schools contribute to social and community cohesion?)’, in Davies, I & Arthur, J, (ed.s), Routledge Education Studies Reader. Abingdon: Routledge.
• Chakrabarty, N & Preston, J (2009). ‘Merely Gestural? Schools as a site for Posturing against a Theatre of the Depressed’, in Ang, L, Trushell, J, & Walker, P, (ed.s), Learning and Teaching in a Metropolis. Amsterdam: Rodopi
• Green, A., Preston, J.and Oketch, M. (2009) Making global classifications of types and levels of TVET. In: International handbook of education for the changing world of work: bridging academic and vocational learning. Springer, Dordrecht, Netherlands, pp. 2067-2080. ISBN 9781402052804
• Oketch, M., Green, A. and Preston, J. (2009) Trends and issues in TVET across the globe. In: International handbook of education for the changing world of work: bridging academic and vocational learning. Springer, Dordrecht, Netherlands, pp. 2081-2094. ISBN 978-1-4020-5280-4 (Print) 978-1-4020-5281-1 (Online)
• Preston, J. (2008) Protect and Survive: ‘Whiteness’ and the middle class family in civil defence pedagogies, Journal of Education Policy, 23, 5, 469-482.
• Chakrabarty, N. and Preston, J. (2008) ‘Posturing fear in a world of performed
  evil: Terrorists, teachers, and evil neo-liberals’ in Fisher, R (Ed) (2008) ‘Perspectives
  on Evil and Human Wickedness’, Oxford Inter-Disciplinary Press. pp 227- 238
• Preston J. and Green A. (2008) 'The role of vocational education and training in enhancing social inclusion and cohesion. In Modernising vocational education and training. Vol. 1. Luxembourg : Office des publications officielles des Communautés européennes (OPOCE), p. 121–193.

• Preston, J. (2007). Whiteness and class in education. London: Springer
• Chakrabarty, N and Preston, P (2007) 'Putnam’s pink umbrella? Transgressing melancholic social capital' in Helve, H and Bynner, J (eds.)) Youth and Social Capital, London: Tufnell Press.
• Preston, J. (2006). Class Strategies and Stealth Policies in Adult Education. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 25 (3), 335-350.
• Green, A., Preston, J. and Janmaat, G. (2006). Education, equality and social cohesion. London: Palgrave.
• Green, A., Oketch, M. and Preston, J. (2006) Participation in Formal Technical and Vocational Education Programs Worldwide: An Initial Statistical Study, UNEVO, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Montreal.
• Schuller, T., Preston, J. and Hammond, C. (2006). Mixing methods to measure learning benefits. In L. West (ed.), Using Biographical Methods in the study of Adult and Lifelong Learning: European Perspectives. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
• Green, A. and Preston, J. (2005). Speaking in Tongues: Encouraging Diversity in Mixed Methods Research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8 (3), 167-171.
• Preston, J., Feinstein, L. and Anderson, T. (2005). Can Adult Education Change Extremist Attitudes? London Review of Education, 3 (3), 289-309.
• Preston, J. (2005). Mis-Recognising Lifelong Learning in Non-Formal Settings. In J. Crowther and P. Sutherland (eds.), Lifelong Learning: Concepts and Contexts. London: Taylor and Francis.
• Preston, J. (2005). Identity, Learning and Engagement: A qualitative inquiry using the NCDS. Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No.13, London : WBL.
  Schuller, T. and Preston, J. (2005). Skills, Values and Networks: Evidence on the Wider Benefits of Learning. In D. Wildermeersch, V. Stroobants and M. Bron (eds.), Active Citizenship and Multiple Identities in Europe. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
• Schuller,T., Preston,J., Hammond,C., Brassett-Grundy,A. and Bynner,J. (2004) The Benefits of Learning: the impact of education on health, family life and social capital, London: Routledge
• Green, A., Preston, J. and Malmberg, L. (2004). The Macro-Social Benefits of Vocational Education, Training and Skills. In M. Tessaring and P. Dearcey, Evaluation and Impact of Education and Training. Brussels: CEDEFOP (EU).
• Oketch, M., Green, A. and Preston, J. (2004). An analysis of UNESCO statistics on vocational education. Report prepared for UNESCO experts meeting, Bonn, 25th October 2004.
• Preston, J. and Feinstein, L. (2004) Adult Education and Attitude Change. Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 11, London : WBL.
• Preston, J. (2003). Enrolling alone? Lifelong learning and social capital in England. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 22 (3), 235-248.
• Preston, J. (2003). White Trash Vocationalism? Formations of Class and Race in an Essex Further Education College. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 5 (2), 6-17.
• Preston, J. (2003). Education, Equity and Social Cohesion. Learning and Skills Research, 6 (2).
• Preston, J. and Green, A. (2003). The Macro-Social Benefits of Education, Training and Skills in Comparative Perspective. WBL Research Report No. 9, Institute of Education, London.
• Preston, J. and Hammond, C. (2002). FE and Wider Benefits: Practitioner Views. Learning and Skills Research, 5 (3), 31-33.

•  Whiteness and class in education
• All shades of a wide, white, world (Time Higher Education Supplement article)