Jenny Glen
Lecturer in Youth And Community Work
Education and Society, School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
Contact
Biography
Jenny Glen is currently a Lecturer and Placement Practice Convenor in Community Education, the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Dundee.
Jenny teaches and tutors students on the CE (Community Education) programmes including the Work Based route and the MSc in Community Education and also supports the delivery of the BA Professional Development programme for distanced and part time students from a wide range of professional contexts.
Jenny has over 35 years’ experience of youth, adult and community education practice and has led, developed, implemented and managed council-wide services, Government strategies, targeted teams and innovative practice in Edinburgh, London and Fife. Her roles included: the management and development of a London borough youth service and multi-disciplinary team, the development of specific services for young asylum seekers and refugees in London and work with the LGBT+ community in Edinburgh and London. Since returning to Scotland Jenny managed major funding bids for a new community hub in Fife.
Jenny is a Community Education practitioner, a feminist, and a member of the LGBT+ community and her teaching stance emphasises the importance of understanding the complexity and lived reality of people’s lives as the basis for transformative change. This approach centres on the values and ethos of Community Education and the fundamental importance of dialogue in teaching and participatory research.
Jenny is currently completing a Professional Doctorate which explore community education’s response to the climate crisis with a focus on community activism and social justice through the creation and development of community gardens.
Qualifications
- 2021 – Associate Fellow UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and learning support in higher education. (AFHEA)
- 2020: Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice – Associate Module
- 2019: Certificate of Completion of the LTHE Course
- 2002 - 2004: MA in Education (Lifelong Learning) Open University, London
- 1995 -1996: BA in Youth and Community Education, University of Edinburgh
- 1992-1994: Diploma in Youth and Community Studies, University of Edinburgh
Research
- PhD thesis titled, ‘Local activism, community gardens and the climate crisis - Exploring community activists’ perspectives on their work to address climate change through the creation and development of community gardens.’
- Lead on the SUII Knowledge exchange programme, ‘Community Gardens Beyond Communities.’ The programme involves working with a range of academic colleagues as well as community activists from Scotland, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico and Uganda. The programme focuses on the role of local community activism in addressing climate change and related challenges faced by urban centres and is centred on accelerating progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals through changing behaviours and attitudes.
- Exploring the Local Impact of Climate Friendly Gardens – a small case study, 2020
- A critical analysis of the UK Government’s Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (1999) and the impact of this policy on young parents.
- The impact of targeted youth services; the evaluation of the Connexions Service and the expansion of the Early Intervention Service for Children, Young People and Families linked to the Governments Troubled Families Programme.
- The evaluation of the Government’s Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (1999) in the London Borough of Islington.
- The impact of the Nai Roshni Partnership Young Peoples Project, Slough.
Teaching
Jenny has been teaching, lecturing, and tutoring within the Community Education undergraduate, postgraduate and work-based programmes since 2016 and has been Practice Learning Convenor since 2018.
Her approach to teaching is to encourage students to think critically, using dialogue and student led learning. Jenny provides pastoral and academic support to a significant number of full time, part time and distanced learning students. Jenny’s main areas of teaching are focused within the following themes and topics:
- Values and self determination
- Social Justice
- Community development
- Developing sustainable organisations in Community Education
- Critically pedagogy
- Practice Learning
Jenny has extensive experience on community boards:
- 2018 to present - Member of the CLD Standards Council, the Higher Education, Further Education CLD Standards Council Collaborative, the Inter University Collective, the Career Pathways for CLD Practitioners Group and the CLD Standards Council Placement Supervisors Working Group
- Director and Trustee of Tayport Community Trust with a focus on sharing academic knowledge and expertise about community engagement.
- 2018 – PLANT Board, Tayport, Fife
- 2002 – 2006 - Young Parents Support Group, Coram Family Centre, Kings Coss, London
- 1997 – 2002 - Slough Young Women’s Group
- 1989 – 1992 - Founder member, Stonewall Youth Project, Edinburgh
Stories
News
The Community Gardens Beyond Communities programme brought together a range of community workers, activists and academics, involved in community gardens and community food growing projects.