Staff profile

I am an ethnographer of education. I am interested in several different aspects of educational practice, including vocational and workplace learning, professional learning, and higher education. I use ethnography to describe and make sense of these: that is to say, I do research that sets out to describe and then explore the 'everyday' lives of people and things who are involved in learning and education within these different contexts.

I am interested in the people who are involved in learning in the broadest sense, and I have written about learners/students, teachers/instructors, and technicians/support workers, amongst others. I am equally interested in the material objects and resources involved in learning, and I have written about lecture halls, technicians' workshops, and online courses, amongst other things.

In order to think about how people and things come together to make learning happen, I draw on the work of the French anthropologist and philosopher Bruno Latour. This includes Actor-NetworkTheory of course but I am also increasingly busy with his later project, An Inquiry into Modes of Existence. I have written several empirical and theoretical papers [mostly open access - email me if you can't get something] informed by as well as expanding Latour's work for different journals, including Social Epistemology, Social Anthropology/Anthropologie Sociale, and Higher Education Research and Development, and for different volumes published by Springer, Emerald, and Wilhelm Fink.

In order to think about learning, which I understand as a social and cultural practice, I draw on Communities of Practice theory and the wider work of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. I have written a number of articles and books about Communities of Practice in further education colleges, in universities, and in workplaces.

I am also interested in different ways of thinking about professional knowledge, professional expertise, and professionalism, specifically within the further, adult and vocational [FAVE] or post-compulsory education and training [PCET] sector, where I worked for several years as a teacher educator before moving to universities and where I continue to run workshops in colleges if asked. My FAVE/PCET research has been cited by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] and used by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills [Ofsted].

I am deputy editor of the Routledge journal Ethnography and Education, am one of the editors of International Studies in Sociology of Education, and am a member of the Editorial Management Committee for the Journal of Vocational Education and Training. I also sit on the organising committee for the Oxford Ethnography and Education conference and am happy to hear from anyone who is interested in presenting their work there.

Completed supervisions

‘Fish out of water?’ A case study exploring low-income students’ experiences of an elite university.

The Study of Teacher Written Feedback: The Effectiveness of Electronic Feedback on Student Writing Revisions.

Graduating from care: A narrative study of care leavers' journeys into and through university.

The Formative Potential of Standards-Based Grades and Report Cards.

An Examination of How Teachers Operationalise Formative and Summative Assessment.

Student learning experiences in higher education in Hong Kong:An investigation of students’ experiences of academic engagement in relation to the affective dimension of learning.

The difficulties of conceptualising and operationalising critical thinking through assessment practices: a case study of academics in a UK business school.

Tracing translation of an education policy initiative (Maths Mastery) into primary school teachers' classroom practices: an actor-network theory ethnography.

The Apparatus of Queer Inclusion in English Primary Schools: a Foucauldian insight into policy and teachers' discourse.

Commuting to class: an ethnography of commuter students' experiences of UK Higher Education.

An Institutional Ethnographic Inquiry into the Everyday Work of Course Leaders for College-based Higher Education.

Towards Communities of Compassion: Exploring What Affords a Compassion Enabling Environment in Early Childhood Education.

Exploring New Frontiers of Affinity Spaces - Learning by Observing and Pitching In in Online Classrooms.

Constructing social class: what matters to young children? A sociomaterial exploration of how class is produced by 4-5-year-old children in an English primary school.

"I swear adults think we don't have opinions. They should ask. They might learn something!" Exploring disability, difference and pedagogic possibilities for vision impairment education with visually impaired young people.

Information for prospective doctoral research student supervisions

I have supervised quite a few PhD students over the years [a list of completed supervisions appears above]. Some used their PhDs to start or to consolidate their academic careers, others have used their research degrees to change direction, to work for third sector or professional bodies in the wider education sector. 

I am always pleased to hear from potential research students with an interest in conducting research in matters relating to learning, teaching and/or assessment in further, higher or adult education; I am also interested to hear from prospective students who are interested in using the work of Bruno Latour in education research, or in employing sociocultural theories, communities of practice theory, literacy as social practice or actor-network theory approaches.

It's always nice to hear from people who want to do a PhD on a part-time basis. I did my PhD this way, and I am happy to encourage and help others to do the same.

• Actor-Network Theory
• Communities of Practice
• Further, Higher and Adult Education
• Modes of Existence
• Professional learning and development

• 2025: On the meaning and possibilities of ethnographic research in education:
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy:
• Invited Conference Papers: Curriculum as Accomplishment: Tracing human and non-human actors in the delivery of educational curricula. Presented at Le Sujet de L’Acteur. An anthropological outlook on Actor Network Theory. Centre for Advanced Studies, Univeristy of Cologne, 2013. The papers from this symposium were published in 2014 and details are available here.

  Breaking Boundaries? Interdisciplinary perspectives on using technology for learning and participation in society [ESRC-funded seminar series]. Department of Education and Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 2014.

  ICTs and the Internet as Field and Framework. Presented at Rethinking Educational Ethnography. University of Borås, 2015. Selected papers from this conference were published in 2017 and details are available here.

  Learning and Pedagogy in Digital Times: platforms, inclusion, and social justice. Presented at Inclusive Practices of Creative and Innovative Teaching. University of Zaragoza, 2023. Details of the conference are available here.

• External Examining and Advising: During the last few years, I have examined PhD and EdD theses in the UK at the universities of East Anglia, Exeter, Huddersfield, Lancaster, Leicester, Newcastle, Northumbria, Oxford, Plymouth, Sunderland, UCL; internationally, at Zaragoza [Spain] and at Canberra and Griffith [both Australia]. Other external roles have included: University of Central Lancashire (external examiner for Doctorate in Education); Universities of Derby and Greenwich (external examiner for PGCE (PCET)); Open University (external advisor for Childhood and Youth qualifications).
• Peer reviewing: Studies in Higher Education; Higher Education Research and Development; International Journal of Educational Research; Ethnography and Education; Culture, Pedagogy and Society; Research in Post-Compulsory Education; Medical Education; Critical Studies in Education; International Journal of Lifelong Education; Social Epistemology; Critical Studies in Education; Education for Primary Care; British Educational Research Journal; Studies in the Education of Adults.
  
• Editing: I am the deputy editor of Ethnography and Education and am an associate editor for Higher Education Research and Development.

  I am also a member of the editorial boards for Higher Education Quarterly, Research in Post-Compulsory Education and Studies in the Education of Adults.

Authored book

• Communities of Practice in Higher Education: Learning, Teaching, Research
  
  Tummons, J. (2024). Communities of Practice in Higher Education: Learning, Teaching, Research. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003412106
• Exploring Communities of Practice in Further and Adult Education: Apprenticeship, Expertise and Belonging
  
  Tummons, J. (2022). Exploring Communities of Practice in Further and Adult Education: Apprenticeship, Expertise and Belonging. Routledge.
• Learning Architectures in Higher Education - Beyond Communities of Practice
  
  Tummons, J. (2018). Learning Architectures in Higher Education - Beyond Communities of Practice. Bloomsbury.
• The A-Z of Lifelong Learning.
  
  Tummons, J., & Ingleby, E. (2014). The A-Z of Lifelong Learning. McGraw-Hill.
• Teaching in Further Education: an outline of principles and practice.
  
  Curzon, L., & Tummons, J. (2013). Teaching in Further Education: an outline of principles and practice. Continuum.
• Teaching Higher Education Courses in Further Education Colleges.
  
  Tummons, J., Orr, K., & Atkins, L. (2013). Teaching Higher Education Courses in Further Education Colleges. SAGE/Learning Matters.
• Doing your research project in the Lifelong Learning Sector.
  
  Tummons, J., & Duckworth, V. (2012). Doing your research project in the Lifelong Learning Sector. McGraw-Hill.
• Understanding Behaviour 14+
  
  Duckworth, V., Flanagan, K., McCormack, K., & Tummons, J. (2012). Understanding Behaviour 14+. McGraw-Hill.
• Assessing Learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector.
  
  Tummons, J. (2011). Assessing Learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Learning Matters.
• Inclusive Practice in the Lifelong Learning Sector.
  
  Powell, S., & Tummons, J. (2011). Inclusive Practice in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Learning Matters.
• Contemporary Issues in Lifelong Learning.
  
  Duckworth, V., & Tummons, J. (2010). Contemporary Issues in Lifelong Learning. McGraw-Hill.
• Becoming a Professional Tutor in the Lifelong Learning Sector.
  
  Tummons, J. (2010). Becoming a Professional Tutor in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Learning Matters.
• Curriculum Studies in the Lifelong Learning Sector.
  
  Tummons, J. (2009). Curriculum Studies in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Learning Matters.

Chapter in book

• The Many Worlds of Ethics: Proposing a Latourian Investigation of the Work of Research Ethics in Ethnographies of Education
  
  Tummons, J. (in press). The Many Worlds of Ethics: Proposing a Latourian Investigation of the Work of Research Ethics in Ethnographies of Education. In Ethics, Ethnography and Education.
• Ethnographies of Higher Education and Modes of Existence: using Latour's philosophical anthropology to construct faithful accounts of higher education practice
  
  Tummons, J. (2019). Ethnographies of Higher Education and Modes of Existence: using Latour’s philosophical anthropology to construct faithful accounts of higher education practice. In J. Huisman & M. Tight (Eds.), Theory and method in higher education research. (pp. 207-223). Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1108/s2056-375220190000005013
• Teaching the new professionals: a recent history of teacher education and teacher professionalism in the further education sector in England
  
  Tummons, J. (2019). Teaching the new professionals: a recent history of teacher education and teacher professionalism in the further education sector in England. In S. Loo (Ed.), Professional Development of Teacher Educators in Further Education: Pathways, Knowledge, Identities, and Vocationalism. Routledge.
• Unpacking practice: the challenges and possibilities afforded by sociomaterial ethnography.
  
  Cameron, P., MacLeod, A., Tummons, J., Kits, O., & Ajjawi, R. (2019). Unpacking practice: the challenges and possibilities afforded by sociomaterial ethnography. In J. Lynch, J. Rowlands, T. Gale, & S. Parker (Eds.), Practice Methodologies in Education Research. (pp. 187-205). Routledge.
• Institutional Ethnography, Theory, Methodology, and Research: Some Concerns and Some Comments.
  
  Tummons, J. (2017). Institutional Ethnography, Theory, Methodology, and Research: Some Concerns and Some Comments. In J. Reid & L. Russell (Eds.), Perspectives on and from Institutional Ethnography. (pp. 147-162). Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1108/s1042-319220170000015003
• Using Software for Qualitative Data Analysis: Research outside paradigmatic boundaries
  
  Tummons, J. (2014). Using Software for Qualitative Data Analysis: Research outside paradigmatic boundaries. In M. Hand & S. Hillyard (Eds.), Big Data? Qualitative approaches to digital research. (pp. 155-177). Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1108/s1042-319220140000013010
• Learning architectures and communities of practice in higher education.
  
  Tummons, J. (2014). Learning architectures and communities of practice in higher education. In J. Huisman & M. Tight (Eds.), Theory and Method in Higher Education Research II (pp. 121-139). Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1108/s1479-3628%282014%290000010012
• Curriculum as Accomplishment. Tracing Human and Non-human Actors in the Delivery of Educational Curricula
  
  Tummons, J. (2014). Curriculum as Accomplishment. Tracing Human and Non-human Actors in the Delivery of Educational Curricula. In G. Kapriev, M. Roussel, & I. Tchalakov (Eds.), Le Sujet De L’Acteur: an anthropological outlook on Actor-Network Theory. (pp. 163-180). Wilhelm Fink.
• Constructing Ethnographic Data in Medical Education.
  
  Tummons, J. (n.d.). Constructing Ethnographic Data in Medical Education. In P. Hackett & C. Hayre (Eds.), Handbook of Ethnography in Healthcare Research. [Contracted by publisher] Routledge.
• Online, offline, hybrid, or blended? Doing ethnographies of education in a digitally-mediated world.
  
  Tummons, J. (n.d.). Online, offline, hybrid, or blended? Doing ethnographies of education in a digitally-mediated world. In M. Ward & S. Delamont (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research in Education [Contracted by publisher] (2nd ed., pp. 178-189). Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Ethics and Ethnographies of Education: Current Themes and New Directions
  
  Tummons, J. (n.d.). Ethics and Ethnographies of Education: Current Themes and New Directions. In Ethics, Ethnography and Education [Contracted by publisher].

Conference Paper

• Open access to qualitative grant data in an interdisciplinary Canadian ethnographic research study.
  
  Kits, O., Angus, C., Macleod, A., & Tummons, J. (2013). Open access to qualitative grant data in an interdisciplinary Canadian ethnographic research study. Presented at 19th Qualitative Health Research Conference, University of Alberta.

Edited book

• Ethnographies of Education for Social Justice
  
  Vigo Arrazola, B., & Tummons, J. (Eds.). (2025). Ethnographies of Education for Social Justice. Routledge.
• PCET: Learning and Teaching in the Post Compulsory Sector
  
  Tummons, J. (Ed.). (2020). PCET: Learning and Teaching in the Post Compulsory Sector. Sage/Learning Matters.
• Professionalism in Post-Compulsory Education and Training: Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives
  
  Tummons, J. (Ed.). (2018). Professionalism in Post-Compulsory Education and Training: Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives (1st ed.). Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
• Ethics, Ethnography and Education
  
  Russell, L., Barley, R., & Tummons, J. (Eds.). (n.d.). Ethics, Ethnography and Education [Contracted by publisher]. Emerald.

Journal Article

• Learning, instruction and assessment in the workplace: applying and augmenting Communities of Practice theory
  
  Tummons, J. (2025). Learning, instruction and assessment in the workplace: applying and augmenting Communities of Practice theory. Studies in Continuing Education, 47(2), 403-417. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037x.2024.2372490
• Knowledge, expertise, craft, and practice: becoming and being a cycle technician
  
  Tummons, J. (2024). Knowledge, expertise, craft, and practice: becoming and being a cycle technician. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 76(4), 928-945. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2022.2132527
• “What’s he writing in there?” Reciprocal field relations and relational curiosity in ethnographies of education
  
  Tummons, J. (2024). “What’s he writing in there?” Reciprocal field relations and relational curiosity in ethnographies of education. Ethnography and Education, 19(4), 319-332. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2024.2368032
• “I’ve got a mountain of paperwork to do!” literacies and texts in a cycle technicians’ workshop
  
  Tummons, J. (2023). “I’ve got a mountain of paperwork to do!” literacies and texts in a cycle technicians’ workshop. Journal of Education and Work, 36(5), 381-392. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2023.2226076
• Theorising the everyday work of cycle mechanics
  
  Tummons, J. (2023). Theorising the everyday work of cycle mechanics. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 28(3), 313-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2206712
• Negotiating humanity: an ethnography of cadaver-based simulation
  
  MacLeod, A., Cameron, P., Luong, V., Kovacs, G., Patrick, L., Fredeen, M., Kits, O., & Tummons, J. (2023). Negotiating humanity: an ethnography of cadaver-based simulation. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 28(1), 181-203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-022-10152-4
• Mapping academic practice: a Latourian inquiry into a set of lecture slides
  
  Tummons, J. (2023). Mapping academic practice: a Latourian inquiry into a set of lecture slides. Higher Education Research and Development, 42(7), 1748-1761. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2174086
• The Lifecycle of a Clinical Cadaver: A Practice-Based Ethnography
  
  MacLeod, A., Luong, V., Cameron, P., Kovacs, G., Fredeen, M., Patrick, L., Kits, O., & Tummons, J. (2022). The Lifecycle of a Clinical Cadaver: A Practice-Based Ethnography. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 34(5), 556-572. https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2022.2092111
• Atrocity stories and access to elite universities: chickens at the station
  
  Hillyard, S., Tummons, J., & Winnard, S. (2021). Atrocity stories and access to elite universities: chickens at the station. Symbolic Interaction, 44(3), 533-554. https://doi.org/10.1002/symb.513
• On The Educational Mode of Existence: Latour, Meta-Ethnography, and the Social Institution of Education
  
  Tummons, J. (2021). On The Educational Mode of Existence: Latour, Meta-Ethnography, and the Social Institution of Education. Social Anthropology Anthropologie Sociale, 29(3), 570-585. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8676.13087
• Reassembling teachers' professional practice: an ethnography of intertextual hierarchies in primary mathematics
  
  Unsworth, R., & Tummons, J. (2021). Reassembling teachers’ professional practice: an ethnography of intertextual hierarchies in primary mathematics. Ethnography and Education, 16(1), 109-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2020.1788405
• Higher education, theory, and modes of existence: thinking about universities with Latour
  
  Tummons, J. (2021). Higher education, theory, and modes of existence: thinking about universities with Latour. Higher Education Research and Development, 40(6), 1313-1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1804337
• Ontological pluralism, modes of existence, and actor-network theory: upgrading Latour with Latour
  
  Tummons, J. (2021). Ontological pluralism, modes of existence, and actor-network theory: upgrading Latour with Latour. Social Epistemology, 35(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2020.1774815
• Education as a mode of existence: a Latourian inquiry into assessment validity in higher education
  
  Tummons, J. (2020). Education as a mode of existence: a Latourian inquiry into assessment validity in higher education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 52(1), 45-54. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2019.1586530
• Ethnography, materiality, and the principle of symmetry: problematising anthropocentrism and interactionism in the ethnography of education
  
  Tummons, J., & Beach, D. (2020). Ethnography, materiality, and the principle of symmetry: problematising anthropocentrism and interactionism in the ethnography of education. Ethnography and Education, 15(3), 286-299. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2019.1683756
• Actor-network theory and ethnography: Sociomaterial approaches to researching medical education
  
  MacLeod, A., Cameron, P., Ajjawi, R., Kits, O., & Tummons, J. (2019). Actor-network theory and ethnography: Sociomaterial approaches to researching medical education. Perspectives on Medical Education, 8(3), 177-186. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-019-0513-6
• Technologies of Exposure: Videoconferenced Distributed Medical Education as a Sociomaterial Practice
  
  MacLeod, A., Cameron, P., Kits, O., & Tummons, J. (2019). Technologies of Exposure: Videoconferenced Distributed Medical Education as a Sociomaterial Practice. Academic Medicine, 94(3), 412-418. https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0000000000002536
• Progressive research collaborations and the limits of soft power
  
  Kits, O., Angus, C., MacLeod, A., & Tummons, J. (2019). Progressive research collaborations and the limits of soft power. Perspectives on Medical Education, 8(1), 28-32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-019-0496-3
• Using technology to accomplish comparability of provision in distributed medical education in Canada: an actor–network theory ethnography
  
  Tummons, J., Fournier, C., Kits, O., & Macleod, A. (2018). Using technology to accomplish comparability of provision in distributed medical education in Canada: an actor–network theory ethnography. Studies in Higher Education, 43(11), 1912-1922. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1290063
• Professionalism in Vocational Education: International Perspectives
  
  Atkins, L., & Tummons, J. (2017). Professionalism in Vocational Education: International Perspectives. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 22(3), 355-369. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2017.1358517
• Imitation is not always flattery! The consequences of academy schools in England for further education policy
  
  Ingleby, E., & Tummons, J. (2017). Imitation is not always flattery! The consequences of academy schools in England for further education policy. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 22(2), 237-251. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2017.1314682
• ICTs and the internet as a framework and field in ethnographic research
  
  Tummons, J. (2017). ICTs and the internet as a framework and field in ethnographic research. Acta Paedagogica Vilnensia : Mokslo DarbuÌ ̈rinkinys, 39, 132-143. https://doi.org/10.15388/actpaed.2017.39.11488
• ‘Very positive’ or ‘vague and detached’? Unpacking ambiguities in further education teachers’ responses to professional standards in England
  
  Tummons, J. (2016). ‘Very positive’ or ‘vague and detached’? Unpacking ambiguities in further education teachers’ responses to professional standards in England. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 21(4), 346-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2016.1226589
• Teaching without a blackboard and chalk: conflicting attitudes towards using ICTs in higher education teaching and learning
  
  Tummons, J., Fournier, C., Kits, O., & Macleod, A. (2016). Teaching without a blackboard and chalk: conflicting attitudes towards using ICTs in higher education teaching and learning. Higher Education Research and Development, 35(4), 829-840. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2015.1137882
• The Invisible Work of Distributed Medical Education: Exploring the Contributions of Audiovisual Professionals, Administrative Professionals and Faculty Teachers
  
  MacLeod, A., Kits, O., Mann, K., Tummons, J., & Wilson, K. (2016). The Invisible Work of Distributed Medical Education: Exploring the Contributions of Audiovisual Professionals, Administrative Professionals and Faculty Teachers. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 22, 623-638. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-016-9695-4
• Sociomateriality: A Theoretical Framework for Studying Distributed Medical Education
  
  Macleod, A., Kits, O., Whelan, E., Fournier, C., Wilson, K., Power, G., Mann, K., Tummons, J., & Brown, A. (2015). Sociomateriality: A Theoretical Framework for Studying Distributed Medical Education. Academic Medicine, 90(11), 1451-1456. https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0000000000000708
• Ethnographies across virtual and physical spaces: a reflexive commentary on a live Canadian/UK ethnography of distributed medical education
  
  Tummons, J., MacLeod, A., & Kits, O. (2015). Ethnographies across virtual and physical spaces: a reflexive commentary on a live Canadian/UK ethnography of distributed medical education. Ethnography and Education, 10(1), 107-120. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2014.956229
• Professional standards in teacher education: tracing discourses of professionalism through the analysis of textbooks
  
  Tummons, J. (2014). Professional standards in teacher education: tracing discourses of professionalism through the analysis of textbooks. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 19(4), 417-432. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2014.955634
• The textual representation of professionalism: problematising professional standards for teachers in the UK lifelong learning sector
  
  Tummons, J. (2014). The textual representation of professionalism: problematising professional standards for teachers in the UK lifelong learning sector. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 19(1), 33-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2014.872918
• Repositioning professionalism: teachers, mentors, policy and praxis.
  
  Ingleby, E., & Tummons, J. (2012). Repositioning professionalism: teachers, mentors, policy and praxis. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 17(2), 163-178.
• The problematics of mentoring, and the professional learning of trainee teachers in the English further education sector.
  
  Tummons, J., & Ingleby, E. (2012). The problematics of mentoring, and the professional learning of trainee teachers in the English further education sector. International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology, 3(1), 29-39.
• Theory, reflectivity and communities of research practice in Higher Education.
  
  Tummons, J. (2012). Theory, reflectivity and communities of research practice in Higher Education. Higher Education Research and Development, 31(3), 299-310.
• Deconstructing Professionalism: an actor-network critique of professional standards for teachers in the UK lifelong learning sector
  
  Tummons, J. (2011). Deconstructing Professionalism: an actor-network critique of professional standards for teachers in the UK lifelong learning sector. International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation, 3(4), 22-31.
• 'It sort of feels uncomfortable': problematising the assessment of reflective practice.
  
  Tummons, J. (2011). ’It sort of feels uncomfortable’: problematising the assessment of reflective practice. Studies in Higher Education, 36(4), 471-483.
• Dominant discourses of pre‐service teacher education and the exigencies of the workplace: an ethnographic study from English further education
  
  Dixon, L., Jennings, A., Orr, K., & Tummons, J. (2010). Dominant discourses of pre‐service teacher education and the exigencies of the workplace: an ethnographic study from English further education. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 62(4), 381-393. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2010.529501
• Institutional ethnography and actor–network theory: a framework for researching the assessment of trainee teachers
  
  Tummons, J. (2010). Institutional ethnography and actor–network theory: a framework for researching the assessment of trainee teachers. Ethnography and Education, 5(3), 345-357. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2010.511444
• The assessment of lesson plans in teacher education: a case study in assessment validity and reliability
  
  Tummons, J. (2010). The assessment of lesson plans in teacher education: a case study in assessment validity and reliability. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(7), 847-857. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930903125256
• Higher Education in Further Education in England: an actor-network ethnography.
  
  Tummons, J. (2009). Higher Education in Further Education in England: an actor-network ethnography. International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation, 1(3), 55-69.
• Assessment, and the literacy practices of trainee PCET teachers
  
  Tummons, J. (2008). Assessment, and the literacy practices of trainee PCET teachers. International Journal of Educational Research, 47(3), 184-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2008.01.006