About
Research
Email: sara.spear@stmarys.ac.uk
Biography
Professor Sara Spear is the Provost and Chief Academic Officer, with responsibility for all academic activity across the University, including learning and teaching, academic quality, student retention and outcomes, academic partnerships, and research.
Sara joined St Mary’s in 2022 as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, before moving into the interim Provost role in September 2024. She was appointed into the permanent Provost role in December 2024.
Sara previously worked at Anglia Ruskin University, where she was Head of School of Management. She has also worked at the University of the West of England, as a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Associate Head of Department for Marketing, Events, and Tourism. Sara received her PhD in Marketing from the University of Portsmouth in 2015, where she was a Senior Lecturer in Marketing, with her research focused on corporate communication and reputation management.
Sara is a Chartered Manager and Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. She is also a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Research
Research profile
Sara is an active researcher, with particular interest in management and marketing and for social good, especially within educational and health care settings. Sara has delivered projects funded by the British Academy, British Council, Public Health England, and Cambridge and Suffolk Councils, amongst others.
Recent publications
- Spear, S. & Knight-Davidson, P. (2024) Perceived benefits and challenges of using an electronic cancer prediction system for safety netting in primary care: an exploratory study of C the Signs. Health Informatics. Journal, DOI: 10.1177/14604582241279742.
- Spear, S., Little, E., Tapp, A., Nancarrow, C., Warren, S., & Verne, J. (2024) Attitudes towards advance care planning amongst community-based older people in England. Plos ONE 19(8): e0306810. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306810
- Spear, S. & Kirkham, P. (2024). Effectiveness of educational interventions: an ecological systems analysis of initiatives from the UK Opportunity Areas programme. British Educational Research Journal, 50(5), 2480–2494.
- Greyson C. & Spear, S (2023). Using participative techniques to mediate power relationships between the researcher and child participant. Young Consumers, 24(4), 500–512.
- Spear, S., Tapp, A. & Morey, Y. (2021). End of life choices and storytelling – exploring preferences and conflicts. Storytelling, Self, Society, 17(2).
- Spear, S., Parkin, J., van Steen, T. & Goodall, J. (2021). Fostering ‘parental engagement with schooling’: primary school teachers’ insights from the COVID-19 school closures. Educational Review, 75(5), 932–951.
- Spotswood, F., Wiltshire, G., Spear, S. & Makris, A. (2021). Disrupting social marketing through a practice-oriented approach. RAUSP Management Journal, 56(3), 334–347.
- Spear, S., Spotswood, F., Goodall, J. & Warren, S. (2021). Reimagining parental engagement in special schools – a practice theoretical approach. Educational Review, 74(7), 1243–1263.
- Spear, S., Morey, Y. & van Steen, T. (2020). Mental health problems amongst students: academics’ experiences, perceptions and practices across UK universities, Higher Education Research & Development, 40(5), 1117–1130.
- Spotswood, F., Wiltshire, G., Spear, S., Morey, Y. & Harris, J. (2019) A practice theory approach to primary school physical activity: opportunities and challenges for intervention, Critical Public Health, 31(4), 392–403.
Full list of publications
Full list of publications