PhD in International Higher Education,Oxford Brookes University;

M.Ed in Comparative Education and Curriculum Theory and Practice at Newcastle University; B.A. in English specialising in Drama at Hull: qualified teacher status (QTS), post-grad certificate in TEFL (FE), RSA post graduate diploma in TEFL (RSA Dip TEFL) in the teaching of English as a foreign/second language.

Dr Patricia Walker was elected in May 2006 as a Labour member of the London Borough of Ealing. In May 2007 she became Shadow Portfolio holder for Children and Young People .She is a member of the Race Equality Council London West, and sits on the Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE).

Dr Walker recently completed a sabbatical in which she undertook an empirical research project on Japanese international students in London.

Co-ordinating the undergraduate research module (ED 3000 independent research project) and linking with ED2000 Research Methods to ensure a developmental progressive undergraduate research curriculum predicated on developing autonomous learning strategies to equip students both at university and in their future professional lives.

Co-convenor of the research group CREATE (The Communities and Education Research Group) embracing research themes related to critical issues in higher, community and informal education. 

I have spent a professional lifetime in international higher education and this interest informs my teaching and research. As a result of my experience working in and with universities overseas and with international students in UK, I am particularly involved in cross-cultural issues in teaching and learning, in "race" "ethnicity" and how these impact on individuals’ participation and achievement in higher education.

• Education and Community Development

• Lead and co-ordinate Level III cross-school module ED3000, Research Project in Education, deliver plenary lectures, programme seminars, organise academic guidance for individual students
• Contribute lectures and workshops for ED2000 Research Methods in Education
• Through the CREATE research group to raise the profile and subsequent development of  a research culture in the School; devise opportunities for students and colleagues to become aware of current research activity, and provide a forum for novice researchers, including students to share their research in progress.   

1. Japan Foundation Endowment Committee Grant for research in female graduates post-graduation aspirations recently completed.

2. Currently working on a study of Japanese international students at UEL with a view to establishing the changing profile of Japanese Study Abroad and the importance of the Japanese market to UK HE.

3. Working on a paper on ‘NEETS and Freeters’ for upcoming international conference

4. Presented a paper at the CESE (European Council for Comparative Education) in Granada, Spain and at the Institute of Education, London, last year and will speak at the World Council of Comparative Education in Sarajevo later this year.

5. As well as her continuing work on Japanese HE, current research interests encompass international students and Black students in UK HE.

1. Walker, Patricia ‘System transition in Japanese short-term higher education What future for the Japanese junior college in crisis?’ In Compare – a journal of comparative education March 2007

2. Walker, Patricia ‘Teachers and Tea-fetchers: what the future holds for junior college graduates. Female student perceptions of the status, purpose and value of a Japanese Junior College education. Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies  December 2006

3. Walker, Patricia, “Internationalising Japanese Higher Education. Reforming the System or Re-positioning the Product” in Eades, Goodman, R. and Hada, Y.(Eds) (2005) The 'Big Bang' in Japanese Higher Education. The 2004 Reforms and the Dynamics of Change. Melbourne, Trans Pacific Press.

4. Walker, Patricia, “The Chrysanthemum and the Rose. Comparative perspectives on British and Japanese higher education”. Journal of Inter-cultural Education, Shigakenritsu Daigaku, Hikone, Japan, March 2002

5. Walker, Patricia, “Fathers toil while students sleep” THES July 2001
6. Walker, Patricia “Don’s Diary – The end of the academic year in Japan” THES April 2001
7. Walker, Patricia, ” Market or circus? Lessons on the commodification of British higher education from the international student experience” in Education and Social Justice, Vol. No.5 July 2001
8. Walker, Patricia, “An Outsider on the Inside. Viewing Japanese Higher Education”. The Japanese Learner, Oxford September 2000
9. Walker, Patricia, (2001) “ Private Myth or Public Mendacity. Japan”s “Meritocratic” Education System”, The Language Teacher, Education Special Edition, The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) Tokyo
10. Walker, Patricia, “Au Revoir Oxford and Konnichiwa, Japan” in Research News, Oxford Brookes University, March 2000
11. Walker, Patricia, “Buying In and Selling Out: Quality issues in academic international partnerships” Quality in Higher Education Volume 5.3 November 1999
12. Walker, Patricia, “Market Research – poor substitute for scholarly investigation into international student issues in Britain: a bibliographical approach.” Journal of International Education,. March 1999
13. Walker, Tricia, “Japanese students and international education - Quest or Flight?” The Japanese Learner, Oxford , March 1999
14. Walker, Patricia, “The Commodification of British Higher Education: a historical overview”. The Annals of Social and Human Sciences, Faculty of Economics, Shiga University, Japan, May 1998
15. Walker, Patricia, “British higher education: Promotion and Product” invited chapter in Hada, Yumiko, British Higher Education Post-Dearing (provisional title)
16. Walker, Tricia, “Why it’s Sayonara, Japan”, The Times Higher Education Supplement November 1998
17. Walker, Tricia, “A Foundation to Build Upon" Transworld Education, June 1997
18. Walker, Tricia, “Don’s Diary - a week in Japan", Times Higher Education Supplement October 1992
19. Walker, Tricia, (commissioned and submitted 1992) English for Students of Physics, Course Book with Key and Cassettes, Simon and Schuster,
20. Walker, Tricia “Profits in a Working Mix - the educational benefits of international students to the institutions receiving them", Times Higher Educational Supplement December 1991
21. Walker, Tricia, (1990) English for Academic Purposes: Computer Science, Students book, Teachers Book and Cassettes, Cassells
22. Walker, Patricia, " The General Certificate of Secondary Education and the ESL challenge”, TES (Special ESL supplement) 1989
23. Walker, Tricia, “English Language? Now you’re talking" Educational courses in Britain, Dominion Press, 1989
24. Walker, Tricia, “Crashing into the Barrier: The language needs of international students” Times Higher Educational Supplement, 1988 London
25. Walker, Tricia, “Recruitment: the Reality" UKCOSA News, 1987

1. Member of the Institute of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

PhD examines the effects of market forces in UK higher education on professional practice in universities and their consequences for the educational experience of international students and those who teach them. It explores whether it is possible in practice for HEIs to reconcile the professional ethics of educators with externally set targets and economic imperatives in an environment which is commercial in orientation and where operational practices are based on a free market philosophy