Dr Alison Fox is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the Open University in the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport, an Associate Head of School (Research and Knowledge Exchange), chair of the University’s Human Research Ethics Committee and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her research contributes to understanding contemporary issues in education: including beginning teacher retention; the opportunities and challenges of social media for professional learning; and democratic ethical appraisal and research practice. After teaching Environmental Science, Biology and Geography at secondary school and further education, she has become an experienced master’s and doctoral programme designer and supervisor. Her funded research projects include inter-university collaborations, internationally funded projects, commissioned research, and consultancy.