{"id":5029,"date":"2026-05-27T22:57:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/?p=5029"},"modified":"2026-05-27T23:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:30:27","slug":"dr-beverley-jennings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Beverley Jennings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Year of graduation: <\/strong>2025<\/p>\n<p><strong>Supervisors:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reading.ac.uk\/education\/staff\/holly-joseph\">Prof Holly Joseph<\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reading.ac.uk\/education\/staff\/daisy-powell\">Dr Daisy Powell<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Research focus:<\/strong> My PhD thesis consisted of three research papers. The first used corpus linguistics to explore the vocabulary found in the reading texts in GCSE English language exams. The second paper explored the responses to a reading survey sent to 16-18 year old students. The final paper explored the vocabulary found in a sample of adolescent students\u2019 independent reading materials and in curriculum materials used across a range of school subjects. The findings highlighted the high challenge of the vocabulary that students\u2019 face both in their curriculum reading and in their exams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Memorable experiences at the IoE:<\/strong> I enjoyed the opportunities offered at the IoE to meet and mix with other PhD students, from reading groups to presenting at the summer conferences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Career:<\/strong> When I started my doctorate I was working as a secondary school teacher. Since graduating I have moved to work for the Education Endowment Foundation, where I project manage large educational research trials and also create resources that translate research into useful teacher and school facing content. I use the skills that I learnt at the IoE every day in my new job and love being involved in educational research that helps schools.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Title of thesis: The Vocabulary Challenge of the English Language GCSE Exam and the Implications for Adolescent Reading Experience<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1182,"featured_media":5039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-phd-alumni"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dr. Beverley Jennings &#183; Education Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dr. Beverley Jennings &#183; Education Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Title of thesis: The Vocabulary Challenge of the English Language GCSE Exam and the Implications for Adolescent Reading Experience\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Education Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-27T21:57:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-27T22:30:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/05\/3800a476-503c-4d22-b3d2-13347f63638d.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"646\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"742\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Qiqi Zheng\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Qiqi Zheng\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/\",\"name\":\"Dr. Beverley Jennings &#183; Education Research\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-27T21:57:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-27T22:30:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#\/schema\/person\/63db5c5f38771dfbe5e01d0ac7d22a29\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dr. Beverley Jennings\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/\",\"name\":\"Education Research\",\"description\":\"University of Reading\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#\/schema\/person\/63db5c5f38771dfbe5e01d0ac7d22a29\",\"name\":\"Qiqi Zheng\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55590383ec4a4453fb5bed53dba5fc525f2c1678878c1a7f6d602b8fe098e03f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55590383ec4a4453fb5bed53dba5fc525f2c1678878c1a7f6d602b8fe098e03f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Qiqi Zheng\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/author\/sf811214student-reading-ac-uk\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dr. Beverley Jennings &#183; Education Research","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dr. Beverley Jennings &#183; Education Research","og_description":"Title of thesis: The Vocabulary Challenge of the English Language GCSE Exam and the Implications for Adolescent Reading Experience","og_url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/","og_site_name":"Education Research","article_published_time":"2026-05-27T21:57:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-27T22:30:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":646,"height":742,"url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/05\/3800a476-503c-4d22-b3d2-13347f63638d.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Qiqi Zheng","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Qiqi Zheng","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/","url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/","name":"Dr. Beverley Jennings &#183; Education Research","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-27T21:57:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-27T22:30:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#\/schema\/person\/63db5c5f38771dfbe5e01d0ac7d22a29"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/2026\/05\/27\/dr-beverley-jennings\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dr. Beverley Jennings"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#website","url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/","name":"Education Research","description":"University of Reading","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#\/schema\/person\/63db5c5f38771dfbe5e01d0ac7d22a29","name":"Qiqi Zheng","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55590383ec4a4453fb5bed53dba5fc525f2c1678878c1a7f6d602b8fe098e03f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55590383ec4a4453fb5bed53dba5fc525f2c1678878c1a7f6d602b8fe098e03f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Qiqi Zheng"},"url":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/author\/sf811214student-reading-ac-uk\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5029"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5049,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5029\/revisions\/5049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}