Dr Becky Lees
Faculties, deparments and locations
- Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
- Department of Accounting, Finance and Informatics
- Kingston Business School
- Kingston Hill
Head, Department of Accounting, Finance and Informatics
- Email:
- b.lees@kingston.ac.uk
About
After completing my undergraduate degree at Kingston Business School, I returned as a member of staff in 2000. In my time here I have lectured in quantitative methods, management science and information management as well as held a variety of course management and quality focused roles. I am currently Head of Department for Accounting, Finance and Informatics and School Lead for Assurance of Learning.
I hold a PhD in Educational Research from Lancaster University. My interests lie within pedagogic research in higher education, focusing on the student journey from transition to HE, through their learning and assessment experience, to skills development to support employability and students' next steps. I am particularly interested in supporting students to achieve programme learning outcomes, and the development of continuity, collaboration and co-construction in assessment across a student's degree programme.
I am a senior fellow of the HEA and hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. I am a University Teaching Fellow and have achieved Certified Management and Business Educator status from the Chartered Association of Business Schools.
Qualifications
- 2018: PhD Educational Research, Lancaster University
- 2013: HEA Senior Fellow, HEA Academy
- 2003: MSc Computer Science, Birkbeck, University of London
- 2002: Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Kingston University
- 1999: BA (Hons) Business Studies, Kingston University
Domains
Courses taught
Wherever possible, my teaching is research-informed. My research interests lie within pedagogy in higher education and I have published articles and presented at international conferences on the following areas of teaching and learning:
- interventions to support student employability
- teaching, learning and assessment strategies to promote student empowerment and engagement
- social media policy research: comparative systems and implementation issues
In 2015, I was part of a small research group that was awarded runner-up for the Kingston University Rose Award, for a project on 'Growing a Research Community amongst Teaching Practitioners'.
I am a member of the CABS Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE) CPD review board. I am also an external examiner for the Open University.
Professional and scholarly affiliations
- Chartered Association of Business Schools CMBE CPD review board
University responsibilities
- Head, Department of Accounting, Finance and Informatics
- School Lead on Assurance of Learning
Publications
Marketing education and the employability challenge
Anderson, Deborah and Lees, Rebecca, 2017, Journal of Strategic Marketing (25), 2, pp 128-137
Reflections on academics' assessment literacy
Lees, Rebecca and Anderson, Deborah, 2015, London Review of Education (13), 3, pp 42-48
Case study 3.5 : developing solutions to re-engage students with low attainment
Avery, Barry, Lees, Becky and Russell, Daniel (2025). In: Roushan, Gelareh, (eds.), Polkinghorne, Martyn, (eds.) and Patel, Uma, (eds.), Teaching and Learning with Innovative Technologies in Higher Education : Real-World Case Studies. New York, U.S.: Routledge, pp 109-114
Empowering students through co-creation, continuity and continuous assessment
Avery, Barry, Lees, Rebecca and Russell, Daniel (2020). In: Mawani, Sharmina, (eds.) and Mukadam, Anjoom A., (eds.), Student empowerment in higher education : reflecting on teaching practice and learner engagement. Berlin, Germany: Logos Verlag, pp 439-452
Online formative assessment: does it add up to better performance in quantitative modules?
Fitkov-Norris, Elena and Lees, Becky (2015). In: Mendy, John, (eds.) and Geringer, Susan D., (eds.), Leading issues in business research methods. Reading, U.K.: Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited, pp 101-114
Online formative assessment: does it add up to better performance in quantitative modules?
Fitkov-Norris, Elena and Lees, Bekcy (2012). In: McClean, Rachel, (ed.), Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on Research Methods. Reading, U.K.: Academic Publishing International Limited, pp 115-121
From spark to fire : fostering student citizenship for underrepresented groups
Gad, Samar and Lees, Becky(2023). In: Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Conference 2023, 22-23 May 2023 :Newport, U.K.
Business not as usual : adapting a business school to hybrid learning in response to the pandemic
Avery, Barry, Lees, Becky and Roberts, Ian(2021). In: Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Conference 2021, 29 - 30 Jun 2021 :Held online
Commuter students : are you local?
Avery, Barry, Lees, Rebecca and Russell, Daniel(2019). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2019 : Creativity, Criticality and Conformity in Higher Education, 11 - 13 Dec 2019 :Newport, U.K.
Engaging and empowering students through inter- and intra-module continuity
Lees, Rebecca, Avery, Barry and Russell, Daniel(2019). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2019 : Creativity, Criticality and Conformity in Higher Education, 11 - 13 Dec 2019 :Newport, U.K.
Using co-construction and continuous assessment to empower and engage first year students
Avery, Barry, Lees, Rebecca and Russell, Daniel(2019). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2019 : Creativity, Criticality and Conformity in Higher Education, 11 - 13 Dec 2019 :Newport, U.K.
Empowering students through co-creation, continuity and continuous assessment
Avery, Barry, Lees, Rebecca and Russell, Daniel(2019). In: Kingston University's Annual Festival of Learning 2019, 25 Jun 2019 :Kingston, U.K.
Social media policies in UK higher education institutions : an overview
Lees, Rebecca(2018). In: 10th International Conference on Social Computing and Social Media, (SCSM 2018), held as part of HCI International 2018 : 20th Conference on Human Computer Interaction, 15 - 20 Jul 2018 :Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
The impact of management education on students' perceptions of employability
Jones, Clare, Anderson, Deborah, Horton-Walsh, Sarah, Lees, Rebecca and Montano, Sarah(2017). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2017 : Higher Education rising to the challenge: Balancing expectations of students, society and stakeholders, 6-8 Dec 2017 :Newport, U.K.
Meeting the challenge of Business School accreditation with pedagogic research
Anderson, Deborah, Avery, Barry, Lees, Rebecca, Russell, Dan, Southall, Jane and Wason, Hilary(2016). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2016: Exploring Freedom and Control in Global Higher Education, 07-09 Dec 2016 :Newport, U.K.
Analysing a research group 'start-up' through the communities of practice lens
Anderson, Deborah, Lees, Rebecca, Avery, Barry and Russell, Daniel(2016). In: British Educational Research Association (BERA) Annual Conference 2016, 13-15 Sep 2016 :Leeds, U.K.
Social capital : a framework for innovative marketing pedagogy?
Anderson, Deborah, Avery, Barry and Lees, Rebecca(2016). In: 45th European Marketing Academy (EMAC) Annual Conference: Marketing in the Age of Data, 24-27 May 2016 :Oslo, Norway
Developing social capital : a close-up look at pedagogic practices.
Anderson, Deborah, Avery, Barry and Lees, Rebecca(2016). In: Higher Education Close Up 8 (HECU8): Locating Social Justice in Close-Up Reserach in Higher Education, 18-20 Jul 2016 :Lancaster, U.K.
Is group work a useful bridging tool for students crossing the boundary to employment?
Southall, Jane and Lees, Rebecca(2015). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2015, 9-11 Dec 2015 :Newport, U.K.
"Tagging" the literature with the Thematic Analysis Grid: a tool to facilitate collaborative research
Anderson, Deborah, Lees, Rebecca and Wason, Hilary(2015). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2015, 9-11 Dec 2015 :Newport, U.K.
The integrative curriculum – using synoptic assessment to support the achievement of programme learning outcomes
Lees, Rebecca(2015). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2015, 9-11 Dec 2015 :Newport, U.K.
Crossing the divide from education to employment - do business students see group work as a useful bridge?
Lees, Rebecca and Southall, Jane(2015). In: Kingston Education Research Network (KERN) FORUM 2015: Engagement and Collaboration, 19 Jun 2015 :Kingston Upon Thames, U.K.
Mind the gap : developing self-efficacy amongst 1st year students during transition to higher education (work in progress)
Wason, Hilary, Lees, Rebecca and Anderson, Deborah(2015). In: 3rd International Conference on Contemporary Marketing Issues (ICCMI) 2015, 30 Jun - 02 Jul 2015 :Kingston upon Thames, U.K.
Mind the gap: developing student confidence during transition
Wason, Hilary, Charlton, Nathalie and Lees, Rebecca(2015). In: 14th European Conference on Research Methodology (ECRM) for Business and Management Studies, 11-12 Jun 2015 :Valletta, Malta
Student conceptions of employability : a phenomenographic study
Lees, Rebecca, Anderson, Deborah and Avery, Barry(2015). In: 14th European Conference on Research Methodology (ECRM) for Business and Management Studies, 11-12 Jun 2015 :Valletta, Malta
Student conceptions of employability: a phenomenographic study
Lees, Rebecca, Anderson, Deborah and Avery, Barry(2015). In: Festival of Learning 2015, 12-16 Jan 2015 :Kingston Upon Thames, U.K.
The power of the one-pager : a simple idea for effective, informal formative assessment
Anderson, Deborah and Lees, Rebecca(2015). In: 5th Assessment in Higher Education Conference (AHEC), 24-25 Jun 2015 :Birmingham, U.K.
Feedback use in formative assessment – are academics practising what they preach?
Lees, Rebecca(2014). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2014: Inspiring future generations: embracing plurality and difference in higher education, 10-12 Dec 2014 :Newport, U.K.
Investigating staff opinion of the module evaluation process
Lees, Rebecca(2012). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2012: What is higher education for? Shared and contested ambitions, 12-14 Dec 2012 :Newport, U.K.
Online formative assessment and study habits: does it add up to better performance in quantitative modules?
Fitkov-Norris, Elena and Lees, Rebecca(2011). In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research Conference 2011: Positive Futures for higher education; connections, communities and criticality, 7-9 Dec 2011 :Newport, U.K.