Dr Vadna Murrell Abery

After completing her Teacher Training in Guyana, South America, Vadna embarked on  a varied career and a higher education programme within the United Kingdom, from which she gained considerable experiences in Leadership Development  and Education Management. Having completed the Diploma in Education, Special Needs (IOE) University of London, this was later followed by the Diploma in Education also at the same university. During this period she was engaged in Administrative work and as a Tutor in the Adult Literacy Programme.

She subsequently joined the Careers Service and gained the Diploma in Careers Guidance, North East London Polytechnic (University of East London). Within the local authority, she managed Careers Programmes in five secondary schools and developed suitable approaches to interviews using different cultural frameworks to promote genuine understanding and interest. She developed Study and Work Preparation Modules as a basis for teaching students within their respective schools to foster awareness and creativity in their future planning. In addition, she organized external links within these communities and took the initiative to work with influential leaders to promote fundamental changes in the aspiration and goals among those who had missed earlier opportunities.

In West London, she took on the Leadership role fully and engaged with many major organisations that catered for the post 16 age groups. This covered a wide client base from the mandatory school leaving age to those from non traditional backgrounds within the United Kingdom and overseas. Thus her role in Outreach developed , as she established networks between various Universities and Polytechnics, major national and international employers, Further and Higher Education Colleges as well as Training Institutions. Her wide client base covered many nationalities of varying age groups thus enabling her to develop a sound understanding of their Learning and Development Needs and as a result devising various practical strategies to promote their educational and career ambitions. During this time she gained the M.A in Educational Administration and Institutional Management (University of Reading, 1990).

She joined a College of Further and Higher Education and actively contributed to the initial development and expansion of the Student Services Department. As Team Leader of a multi disciplinary team, including careers, counselling, technical and teaching, she developed a Learning and Support base for all the students including the development of a Portfolio of Learning and Achievement. In addition, through her research with external adult students she set up an Accreditation of Prior Learning Programme through which acceptance was gained to Courses in Higher Education.

Her role as Academic Course Director and Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Management within a Higher Education and Professional Development Institution enabled her to focus on two areas. Firstly devising and delivering Courses in Leadership and Management to middle and senior managers within the U.K and overseas and secondly to engage in two strands of academic research: (a) the Theories and Practice in Adult Learning and (b) Leadership Development, Cross Cultural Approaches and Styles. She gained the PhD (University of Reading, 2003) through her research on the Personal Learning Approaches of a small professional group of adult learners. Since then she has contributed widely to workshops, seminars and conferences on this subject. In addition to her work on Leadership Development, she has presented courses on Human Resource Development, Self Development, Professional Managerial Competencies, Effective Communication, Strategic Leadership; Styles and Practical Approaches, Managing Organisations, Change and Culture. She has also supervised, assessed and marked Research Projects for the Advanced Diploma and for the MSc Degree via Distance Learning.

She continues to explore the areas of Learning and Leadership Development and has used her wide range of experiences to work in the area of Professional Development for teachers. She worked as a Teacher Education Advisor and Teacher Trainer to a provincial university in China, training student teachers in Communicative Methodology, Theory and Practice of Teaching and Learning and as Teacher Assessor of student teachers in schools. She trained established teachers in the practice of Education Action Research and supervised Action Research Projects—reviewing their practice and devising strategies for their learning and continuing professional development. She wrote many papers within the university on the practical approaches to Teaching and Learning to support the Teacher Development Programme.

She also presents at conferences:

2004 - Learning from the Learner’s Perspective. . British Education Leadership Management and Administration Society. U.K

2005 - Adult Learning. . Four Case Studies. . American Education Research Association. Montreal, Canada.

2005 - How we learn as Adults. . Education, Management and Administration of South Africa, Johannesburg

2008 - My Learning Journey. . Learning experiences reflecting on my work in China. Ningxia Teachers University, China

2011 - Teachers using Action Research Methods as a framework for their Continuing Professional development. BELMAS Conference, Wyboston Lakes, Bedfordshire

She was a member of the Volunteer Liaison Group and engaged in facilitation and support for recently returned volunteer professionals having completed their assignments. for the Voluntary Services Overseas Organisation. She is also an E – Moderator for mandatory On Line Courses for candidates selected for overseas assignments. She is a school governor and a member of different academic research organisations on Leadership Development and Education Action Research, thus attending and contributing to various seminars throughout the year.

She is currently a Teacher Trainer and an Education Consultant using strategies within career and leadership development as a basis for her work which is mainly overseas in developing countries and undertakes different assignments. She is presently engaged in a Research Programme on Leadership Development and thus uses her wide range of experiences to support this project.