Caroline Ukoumunne BA Hons, MA, MPhil

Senior Lecturer

Caroline Ukoumunne is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Greenwich.

Prior to her post in 2006, Caroline worked in Higher Education starting her career in 1992 as a lecturer in English Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University where she taught in a range of courses including African Literature, African Drama, 19th and 20th European American Drama and Cultural Studies. In this role she developed one of the first African Literature courses in the UK and extended teaching in postcolonial theory.

Since joining the University of Greenwich, she has taught across a range of programmes including BA Hons Youth and Community Studies, BA Hons Education Studies and BA Hons Childhood and Youth Studies. Her main areas of teaching have focused on diversity and equality and she has jointly developed the first course in Critical Race Theory and Practice in the UK.

Her work in this department has included research in the area of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) degree attainment and was one of the coordinators on a year long project with the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and the Equalities Challenge Unit to improving degree attainment. This work was the precursor to the current Race Equality Charter project that has been initiated by the Equalities Challenge Unit to address inequalities in Higher Education. Following on from this, Caroline's doctoral research has focused on African-Caribbean histories of education.

Caroline's teaching interests include Critical Race Theory in Practice, Postcolonial Theory, Gender and Cultural Studies.

Caroline has received two funding awards from the University of Greenwich for the development of innovative teaching projects.

Posts held previously:

  • 1992-2006, Lecturer in English Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University

Responsibilities within the university

  • Senior Lecturer on Youth and Community Studies, School of Education

Research / Scholarly interests

Caroline's research interests have a trans-disciplinary focus on race, gender and education; drawing on epistemological approaches from Literature, History and Cultural Studies. Her current areas of research seek to explore the complex relationships between race, ontology and education.

Recent publications

  • Rose, C.H., Webb, M., Ukoumunne, C., Secomb, L., Pollard, L., Coupar, K. and Headington, R. (2010). Improving the degree attainment of black and minority ethnic students. Reflective Paper. HEA.

Presentations

  • Ukoumunne, C. and Webb, M. (2010). Promoting inclusive change: addressing equity and success for BME students in higher education. In: BME masterclass workshop.
  • Ukoumunne, C. and Webb, M. (2010). From deficiency to excellence: making good students excellent. In: BME masterclass workshops for BME secondary teachers.