Dr Karen Arm, SFHEA

I am a Senior Lecturer in Learning and Teaching who specialises in research practice-led pedagogy. As well as being the Course Leader of the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods for doctoral students, I lead the research module on the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education for staff. In addition, I support Southampton Solent University’s experiential route to AdvanceHE Fellowship as an assessor for the scheme and am an AdvanceHE National Teaching Fellowship Reviewer. I am also a member of the SEDA Conference and Events Committee and the editorial board for the International Journal for Students as Partners.

My main research interests lie in the field of justice and equity in higher education with a particular specialism in social class identity. I am a member of the Solent Identities and Inequalities Research Group. My ESRC-funded doctorate at the University of Bristol explored the lived experiences of social mobility via higher education.

I am committed to developing an institutional culture of research informed enhancements to learning and teaching and lead the Solent Student Partner Programme - a cross-institutional team of students working as partners in the pursuit of educational change. In 2020 I won an AdvanceHE Good Practice Grant to develop and share my innovative partnership approach to course enhancement. In 2024, I was invited by OneHE to be their expert on student partnership and develop an open education course on this topic for educators across the globe. In 2025, my Solent Student Partner team were awarded the SEDA Student Partnership Impact Award as an international recognition of the impact they have had on educational research, policy and practice.

• Research-led teaching
• Social justice and equity in higher education
• Class and social mobility
• ‘Lived’ student identities
• Inclusive learning, teaching and assessment
• Co-creation and student as partners
• UK higher education policy development