Dr Jo Skelton

BEd (Hons), MA, PhD

Associate Professor of Mathematics Education

School of Education, Humanities and Languages

jskelton@brookes.ac.uk

Role

Jo is an associate professor in the School of Education, Humanities and Languages. She is the course leader for the International Postgraduate Certificate of Education (iPGCE), working with international teachers and trainees. She is the subject coordinator for the MA Education, with a lead on Academic Development. She supervises PhDs, MA dissertation and Independent Studies.

Her research interests focus on mathematics education with applied linguistics, specifically focusing on linguistic diversity in mathematics education. Jo is an active member of a range of mathematics education research groups, including BSRLM, IGPME and ERME.

Teaching and supervision

Courses

Education (MA)

Modules taught

• EDUC7066: Introduction to Professional Learning
• EDUC7070: The Inclusive Classroom in International Contexts
• EDUC7009: Investigating Practice: Independent Study
• EDUC7089: Independent Study

Jo also supervises MA Education dissertations.

Supervision

Jo supervises PhD students, with a focus on linguistics and/or mathematics education.

Research

Jo's research focuses on mathematics education and linguistic diversity. In particular, she explores the development of mathematical thinking in multilingual learners. She is especially interested in how pedagogical approaches can support learners to draw on their full linguistic repertoires, including those in marginalised and/or Indigenous communities.

Groups

Publications

Skelton J, Spiro J, Linguistic and conceptual transfer: crosslinguistic translanguaging in the English-French bilingual mathematics classroom in the UK
The Mathematics Enthusiast [in press] (2026) ISSN: 1551-3440 Linguistic and conceptual transfer: crosslinguistic translanguaging in the English-French bilingual mathematics classroom in the UK Open Access version on RADAR

Skelton J, Quotitive division in the bilingual classroom: Exploring structure to support the development of conceptual understanding with primaryaged multilingual learners
(2023) pp.1687-1694 ISBN: 9789637031045 Quotitive division in the bilingual classroom: Exploring structure to support the development of conceptual understanding with primaryaged multilingual learners Open Access version on RADAR

Skelton, J. & Watson, A. (2024) Reflective descriptions of mathematical thinking: Learning from expert-novice comparisons. Mathematics Teaching 291, pp. 5- 8;
Barker, N. & Skelton, J. (2024) Teacher and Researcher Knowledge Exchange: Applying design principles from research to enhance language for mathematics learning. Impact Journal, pp. 1- 10;
Skelton, J. (2022) Teaching Maths Through Stories Mathematics Teaching 280, pp. 11- 15;
Skelton, J. (2019) Case Study: Outstanding Practice in Mathematics. In Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) (2019) “Building Research-informed Teacher Education Communities” A UCET Framework.

Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

• The British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM)
• The Association for Mathematics in Education (AMiE)
• The International Group for the Psychology of mathematics Education (IGPME)
• The European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (ERME)
• The National Centre of Excellence for the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) (Strategic Board Member)

Conferences

• Seminar presentation at the BERA Inaugural International Conference: Global Perspectives in Teacher Education: Challenging the Standard Education Model, 26-27th June 2025, Leeds Beckett University.
• Seminar presentation at 15th International Congress on Mathematics Education, July 2024, ICC Sydney, Australia.
• Seminar presentation at the 46th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME46) in Haifa, Israel; July 2023
• Seminar presentation at the 13th Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education: Mathematics education for global sustainability (CERME13) in Budapest, Hungary; July 2023

Consultancy

Jo is an accredited PD Lead for the National Centre of Excellence for the Teaching of Mathematics

Further details

Jo is Co-Chair of the Programme Committee for the 10th British Congress on Mathematics Education (BCME 10). She holds the Chartered Mathematics Teacher designation (CMathTeach), awarded by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA). She is an Honorary Visiting Fellow at Akal University, Punjab, India, and a Brookes Teaching Excellence Fellow.