Dr Jen Jackson

Dr Jen Jackson is a Senior Research Fellow, Effective Practice in Education at the Australian Council for Educational Research.

She was previously a Program Director at the Australian Education Research Organisation. From 2019, she was Education Policy Lead at Mitchell Institute, Victoria University. Jen was a Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) from 2017-2019.

Jen has wide-ranging experience in education policy and research, with a particular interest in education systems, and the research–policy interface. At the Victorian Department of Education and Training, Jen worked in early childhood policy and regulation, as well as in system-wide strategic policy management roles. As a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and Victoria University, Jen’s work focused on measuring how well education systems meet the needs of all learners, including contributing to several reports for government on measurement of school performance; reporting on system-wide indicators, from early childhood to tertiary education; and coordinating international data collection for the International Study of City Youth. Jen has also worked in Curriculum Corporation (now Education Services Australia), and as a researcher for the Parliament of Victoria Education and Training Committee.

Jen has a PhD from Victoria University, and Masters Degrees in Public Policy (Massey University, NZ) and Education (University of Melbourne). Her doctoral research used large-scale survey data to map diversity in the Australian early childhood workforce, and examine its implications for improving equity in early childhood policy and practice.

• Massey University Masters Scholarship 2002
• New Zealand Federation of Graduate Women Selina Nancy Collins Scholarship 2001
• University of Auckland English Department Senior Prize 2000