Jenny is a Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Rural Education and Communities research group. Before completing her doctorate, she worked extensively in areas of government in various fields of data analysis and had key roles in the development and analysis of survey and administrative data on literacy, adult learning, workplace training and early childhood development. Her current research interests include inequality in education, the sociology of Indigenous schooling, the social demographics of schooling and school curricula, the drivers of university enrolment, and student engagement.

As a Post-Doctoral Researcher, her major role is in developing and producing statistical outputs for analysis of NSW students, schools and curriculum as part of the project: Access, achievement and the spatial distribution of curriculum in senior secondary schooling. By examining access and achievement on a state-wide scale, this project aims to better understand why some students choose certain school subjects, the opportunities their subject choices afford, and the broader influences on subject choices and subsequent achievement. She also works with researchers in the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling in collaboration with the Commonwealth Department of Education, Skills and Employment to examine the impact of the HECS-HELP loan scheme and associated policy changes on incentives to participate in higher education and engage in the labour market.

Jenny’s PhD research examined the spatial implications of Indigenous primary school achievement through analysis of a range of key quantitative data sources. The research involved analysis of Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) data, and a uniquely merged dataset of National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and Census data using AURIN technology, Stata and HLM. This research continues an ongoing journey to understand equity issues affecting First Nations peoples in Australia.