Susan is an Honorary Research Fellow and former Deputy Director of the department.
Susan completed a B.Ed at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia, and read for a MSc in Comparative and International Education and a DPhil in Education at the University of Oxford. Susan’s entire career has been in education in various forms: she taught in secondary schools in Australia and England before starting her academic career.
Susan’s research interests are in the following areas:
- Technical and vocational education and training policy
- Vocational excellence
- Apprenticeship
- Work based and professional learning
- Quality and esteem in FE
- Territory landscape
- Skills economy
Research
Books
Hayward, G., & James, S. (2004). Balancing the Skills Equation. Policy Press.
Book chapters
James Relly, S., & Keep, E. (2019). Recognizing and Developing Vocational Excellence Through Skills Competitions. In Handbook of Vocational Education and Training (pp. 1205-1217). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94532-3_112
James Relly, S., & Keep, E. (2018). Recognizing and developing vocational excellence through skills competitions. In S. McGrath, M. Mulder, J. Papier, & R. Suart (Eds.), Handbook of Vocational Education and Training: Developments in the Changing World of Work. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49789-1_112-1
James Relly, S., & Keep, E. (2018). What is vocational excellence?. In R. McLean & M. Mulder (Eds.), Handbook of Vocational Education and Training.
James Relly, S., & Keep, E. (2016). Employers and meeting the Government’s apprenticeship target: what could possibly go wrong?. In Where next for apprenticeships?. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ddedf8ed-17f1-4beb-a301-86c21f620c2b
James, S., & Warhurst, C. (2013). Questioning the UK government’s vision of higher education and social mobility: evidence from a non-graduate occupation. In S. Natale & A. Libertella (Eds.), Higher Education: economic and social mobility. Global Scholarly Publications.
Keep, E., & James, S. (2012). Are Skills the Answer to Bad jobs? Incentives to Learn at the Bottom end of the Labour Market. In C. Warhurst, F. Carre, P. Findlay, & C. Tilly (Eds.), Are Bad jobs Inevitable?: Trends, Determinants and Responses to Job Quality in the Twenty-First Century. Palgrave Macmillan.
James, S., Bryson, J., & Keep, E. (2012). Recruitment and Selection. In S. Bach & M. Edwards (Eds.), Managing Human Resources: Human resource Management in transition. Wiley.
James, S., & Keep, E. (2011). Employer Demand for Apprenticeships. In T. Dolphin & T. Lanning (Eds.), Rethinking Apprenticeships (pp. 55-65). Institute for Public Policy Research IPPR.
Grunert, K., James, S., & Moss, P. (2010). Tough Meat, Hard Candy: Implications for Low-Wage Work in the Food-Processing Industry. In LOW-WAGE WORK IN THE WEALTHY WORLD (pp. 367-420).
James, S. (2009). Learning to Cook: Analysing Apprentice’s Knowledge and Skill Construction in the Workplace. In HANDBOOK OF TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING RESEARCH (pp. 674-683).
Dutton, E., Warhurst, C., Lloyd, C., James, S., Commander, J., & Nickson, D. (2008). "Just like the elves in Harry Potter": Room attendants in United Kingdom hotels. In Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom (pp. 96-130).
James, S., & Lloyd, C. (2008). Supply Chain pressures and migrant workers: Deteriorating job quality in the United Kingdom food-processing industry. In Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom (pp. 211-246).
James, S., & Lloyd, C. (2008). Supply Chain pressures and migrant workers: Deteriorating job quality in the United Kingdom food-processing industry. In Project Muse 4 (pp. 211-246). DUMMY PUBID.
Dutton, E., Warhurst, C., Lloyd, C., James, S., Commander, J., & Nickson, D. (2008). "Just like the elves in Harry Potter": Room attendants in United Kingdom hotels. In Project Muse 4 (pp. 96-130). DUMMY PUBID.
James, S. (2007). To Cook or not to Cook: Participant Observation as a Data Collection Technique. In G. Walford (Ed.), Methodological developments in ethnography. Elsevier.
James, S., & Hayward, G. (2004). Producing Skills: conundrums and possibilities. In G. Hayward & S. James (Eds.), Balancing the skills equation: key issues and challenges for policy and practice. Policy Press.
James, S. (2004). Becoming a chef: the politics and culture of learning. In G. Hayward & S. James (Eds.), Balancing the Skills Equation: Key issues and challenges for policy (pp. 219-243). The Policy Press.
Journal articles
James Relly, S., & Laczik, A. (2021). Apprenticeship, employer engagement and vocational formation: a process of collaboration. Journal of Education and Work, 35(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2021.1983524
James Relly, S. (2021). The political rhetoric of parity of esteem. Oxford Review of Education, 47(4), 513-528. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1866522
James Relly, S. (2020). Moving from competence to excellence: The role of training managers in providing pedagogical leadership in UK further education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(5), 704-716. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2020.1812548
Chankseliani, M., & James Relly, S. (2016). Three-capital approach to the study of young people who excel in vocational occupations: a case of WorldSkills competitors and entrepreneurship. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 3(1), 46-65. https://doi.org/10.13152/IJRVET.3.1.4
Chankseliani, M., James Relly, S., & Laczik, A. (2015). Overcoming vocational prejudice: how can skills competitions improve the attractiveness of vocational education and training in the UK?. British Educational Research Journal, 42(4), 582-599. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3218
James Relly, S., & Wilde, S. (2015). WorldSkills UK training managers: Midas touch or fools’ gold?. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 2(2), 85-98. https://doi.org/10.13152/IJRVET.2.2.1
James, S., Warhurst, C., Tholen, G., & Commander, J. (2013). What we know and what we need to know about graduate skills. Work Employment and Society, 27(6), 952-963. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013500116
Keep, E., & James, S. (2012). A Bermuda triangle of policy? ‘Bad jobs’, skills policy and incentives to learn at the bottom end of the labour market. Journal of Education Policy, 27(2), 211-230. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2011.595510
Caroli, E., Gautié, J., Lloyd, C., Lamanthe, A., & James, S. (2010). Delivering Flexibility: Contrasting Patterns in the French and the UK Food Processing Industry. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 48(2), 284-309. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2010.00792.x
Lloyd, C., & James, S. (2008). Too much pressure? Retailer power and occupational health and safety in the food processing industry. Work Employment and Society, 22(4), 713-730. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017008098366
James, S. (2006). Learning to Cook: Production Learning Environment in Kitchens. Learning Environments Research, 9(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-005-9001-5
Tholen, G., Warhurst, C., Commander, J., Lindsay, J., & James, S. (n.d.). The Five Obstacles that Hamper Better Understanding of Graduate Labour and Skills. SKOPE Issues Paper No.27.
Reports
James Relly, S., Robson, J., Emms, K., Laczik, A., Randhawa, A., Aizawa, I., Dong, L., Hwang, S., Pinto, V., & Zlock, Z. (2021). Drivers of technical excellence in the skills economy. WorldSkills UK. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9e4c4607-b5df-4d64-a7c5-3437eb17c49c
James Relly, S. (2019). Good people in a flawed system: the challenges of mainstreaming excellence in technical education. In World Skill Uk. worldskillsuk. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4f98ae45-3ad4-46ea-9bdb-5f9f08ffd359
JAMES RELLY, S., & Nokelainen, P. (2017). What contributes to vocational excellence? A study of the characteristics of WorldSkills UK participants for WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. OUC.
James Relly, S., Allen, J., & Mayhew, K. (2015). Further education college participation in worldSkills and other competitions. http://vocationalexcellence.education.ox.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Project-4-Further-education-college-participation-in-WorldSkills-and-other-skills-competitions.pdf
Chankseliani, M., James Relly, S., & Mayhew, K. (2015). WorldSkills competitors and entrepreneurship. SKOPE. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:920f310f-39cf-4243-af1e-0f26ec4d895c
Wilde, S., James, S., & Mayhew, K. (2015). Training Managers: Benefits from and barriers to WorldSkills UK participation. Oxford University Consulting.
Chankseliani, M., Mayhew, K., & James, S. (2015). Benefits of developing vocational excellence: a report to the National Apprenticeship Service of Project 3 (phase II) of the DUVE suite of projects. In Benefits of Developing Vocational Excellence. A Report to the NationalApprenticeship Service of Project 3 (Phase II) of the DUVE suite of projects (pp. 1-67). Skills Funding Agency. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:14b74129-ea3a-4c37-97de-371c16905a16
James Relly, S., Nokelainen, P., & Stasz, C. (2014). What contributes to vocational excellence? A pilot study of the individual characteristics of the WorldSkills UK 2011 squad. In SKOPE Research Paper. SKOPE.
James Relly, S., Rodriguez Leal, T., & Mayhew, K. (2014). Interim Evaluation Report on the Skills Competition CPD Programme. Oxford University Consulting.
James Relly, S., Rodriguez Leal, T., & Mayhew, K. (2014). Final Evaluation Report on the Skills Competition CPD Programme. Oxford University Consulting.
James, S., Holmes, C., & Mayhew, K. (2013). Learning Environments to Develop vocational Excellence. Oxford: SKOPE. In A Report to the National Apprenticeship Service of Project 2 of the DUVE suite of projects.. SKOPE.
James, S., Mayhew, K., Chankseliani, M., & Laczik, A. (2013). Benefits of developing vocational excellence: a report to the National Apprenticeship Service. Oxford: SKOPE. In Benefits of Developing Vocational Excellence
A Report to the National Apprenticeship Service of Project 3 of the DUVE suite of projects. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c9fbb733-8201-468a-92db-9d43ae122843
James, S., Nokelainen, P., & Stasz, C. (2013). What contributes to Vocational Excellence? A study of the WorldSkills UK squad 2013. A Report to the National Apprenticeship Service. Oxford: SKOPE.
James, S., Mayhew, K., Laczik, A., & Mordarska, M. (2013). Report on Apprenticeships, Employer Engagement and Vocational Formation in England. Oxford University Consulting.
James Relly, S., Holmes, C., & Mayhew, K. (2012). Learning environments to develop vocational excellence. In Learning environments to develop vocational excellence (pp. 1-33). Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:59b29e29-f559-4630-aeb4-effaffd1f34d
James, S., Nokelainen, P., Smith, H., Rahimi, M., & Stasz, C. (2012). What contributes to vocational excellence? Overview from a study conducted at WorldSkills 2011. WorldSkills Foundation.
James Relly, S., & Holmes, C. (2012). Developing Vocational Excellence: Learning Environments within Work Environments. In SKOPE Research Paper. Cardiff and Oxford Universities.
James, S., Nokelainen, P., & Stasz, C. (2012). Developing and Understanding Vocational Excellence: individual attributes and characteristics, report to WorldSkills UK. SKOPE.
James, S., & Chankseliani, M. (2012). Skills, Work and Employment in the Real Estate Industry, report to AssetSkills Northampton. SKOPE.
James Relly, S. (2010). What is apprenticeship?. In SKOPE Issues Paper. SKOPE.
James Relly, S., & Keep, E. (2010). What Incentives to Learn at the Bottom End of the Labour Market?. In SKOPE Research Paper. Cardiff University, SKOPE.
James Relly, S., & Keep, E. (2010). Recruitment and Selection – The Great Neglected Topic. In SKOPE Research Paper. SKOPE.
James Relly, S. (2009). The Skills Training Levy in South Africa: Skilling the Workforce or Just Another Tax?. In SKOPE Issues Paper. SKOPE.
James Relly, S. (2006). Adding new ingredients to an old recipe: NVQs and the influence of CATERBASE. In Skope issues paper. ESRC Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE).
James Relly, S., Hayward, G., & Oh, S. (2002). Alternative Models of Provision Project Working Paper No. 3: Work-related Learning. Department of Educational Studies.
James Relly, S., & Hayward, G. (n.d.). Diversity in Learning: Establishing the Cognitive Styles and Learning Strategies of Young People in the Youth Justice System. Department of Educational Studies.
James Relly, S., Warhurst, C., Commander, J., Lindsay, K., & Tholen, G. (n.d.). The Five Obstacles that Hamper Better Understanding of Graduate Labour and Skills. In SKOPE Issues Paper. Cardiff University.
