Samantha-Kaye Johnston is a Research Officer at the Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment (OUCEA).
Samantha-Kaye was formally educated in Jamaica, where she completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology. In England, she received her Master of Arts in Education and then completed her Ph.D. in Psychology in Australia. Using a cognitive psychology lens, Samantha’s expertise and interest lie at the intersection of education and psychology. She aims to link these areas with evidence-based e-learning technologies to improve teaching, learning, and assessment outcomes.
Samantha has 10+ years of experience in the project management sector, where she has been actively involved in education development initiatives. In 2016, as part of her Project Capability, she founded the Marlon Christie scholarship, which provides a scholarship for Jamaican students with reading difficulties to attend university. As an extension of this project, Samantha founded Reading for Humanity, to elevate the science of reading, the science of learning, and the science of technology within the classroom. Her work is informed by her experience as an advocate and researcher in Jamaica, England, and Australia, primarily within the K-12 sector, as well as within non-governmental, private, community organisations, and United Nations bodies.
She has experience as a University Associate at Curtin University and Teaching Associate at Monash University, as part of their undergraduate and graduate psychology teaching teams. Within this space, she has been teaching and/or assessing various psychology units, including Introduction to Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Science and Professional Practice in Psychology, and Indigenous and Cross-Cultural Psychology.
During her time in the ed-tech sector, and in collaboration with UNESCO’s Future of Education Initiative, she conceptualised and spearheaded Project Seat-at-the-Table (Project SAT), an international qualitative research initiative that aimed at providing primary and secondary school students with the opportunity to provide their input on the future of technology in their education. As an affiliate at the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard University, Samantha’s seeks to strengthen internet governance within online learning. In particular, she is interested in ensuring that the rights of young students are protected while they interact within the digital space, including elevating the voices of students in decision-making processes.
Above all, Samantha believes that every child should have the same opportunity to shape their destiny, emphasing that we cannot always build the future for them, but we can build them for the future. Consequently, her goal is to ensure that teachers implement evidence-based pedagogical approaches that will strengthen 21st-century skills, including, critical thinking and creativity, in all students.
