About

Judith Bennett is Professor Emerita of History and holds the John R. Hubbard Chair in British History at USC Dornsife. Her scholarly work focuses on medieval history, feminist history, and the history of women in late medieval England. She has written extensively on these topics, contributing to the understanding of gender roles, women's work, and social structures in medieval Europe. Bennett's notable publications include 'Medieval Women in Modern Perspective,' 'Women in the Medieval English Countryside,' and 'Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England,' among others. Her research has been recognized with numerous awards and fellowships, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Humanities Center Fellowship, and the Otto Grundler Prize in Medieval Studies. She has also served as an assistant professor and held distinguished academic appointments, contributing significantly to her field through both her scholarship and her leadership in medieval studies.

Research topics

• History
• Psychology
• Mathematics education
• Sociology
• Computer science

Selected publications

• Needed But Deplored: Spinners and Singlewomen in Industrial Coventry, <i>c</i> .1490–1525

  Past & Present · 2024-08-03

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Late medieval Coventry attracted so many in-migrating singlewomen that it might have seemed a city of women — for every ten women, only seven men. Some of these peasants-turned-townswomen supported themselves as labourers, domestic servants or prostitutes, but it was the demand for their industrial labour as spinners of cloth-yarn and cap-yarn that drew most women to the city. Coventry’s merchants and masters, who needed spinners’ work but deplored women’s autonomy, tried with considerable success to push these spinners into supervised living within the city’s established households. The experiences of Coventry’s singlewoman-spinners show that ‘maidservants’ were sometimes industrial workers; that singlewomen were corralled into ‘little commonwealths’ well before Protestantism; and that ‘girl power’ was more about economic growth than the empowerment of women.

  PublisherDOI

• Putting research into practice

  2024-05-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  This chapter summarises recent considerations about education as an evidence-based or evidence-informed profession. It explains key ideas about how educational research is conducted and discusses debates about what counts as ‘good’ educational research. Against this background, the chapter then outlines some examples of how educational research can inform teaching practice. Drawing on examples from the large-scale ‘Best Evidence Science Teaching’ (BEST) project, the chapter offers practical examples of how teachers can improve pupils’ conceptual understanding in science, using ideas about curriculum and lesson design based in research evidence.

  PublisherDOI

• Assessment and practical science: identifying generalizable characteristics of written assessments that reward and incentivise effective practices in practical science lessons

  International Journal of Science Education · 2023-11-19 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  High-stakes assessments prominently influence what is done in secondary school science lessons ('washback' effects). It is therefore important that assessments of knowledge and understanding gained from practical work are constructed to reward and incentivise effective practices in practical work. To do that, they must differentiate between pupils who have experienced practical work in different ways. This empirical, mixed-methods study identifies generalizable characteristics of written assessments that differentially reward pupils who experienced practical activities through hands-on work, teacher demonstration, video demonstration, or reading about the activity. Conclusions are drawn from 1486 post-intervention tests completed by pupils aged 14-15 in England, from lesson observations and teacher interviews. This study also identifies pedagogical practices that were more noticeable in practical work that was most rewarded by the written assessments: the work was teacher-guided; and pupils were encouraged to be active participants. Existing literature describes negative washback effects of high-stakes, written assessments that limit the use and effectiveness of practical work as a pedagogical tool. We describe ways in which written assessments could be constructed to better reward effective practices in practical work (practices that better support learning), with the intention of having positive washback effects on pedagogy by better incentivising these practices.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• No Romance without Finance: Courtship in Late Medieval England

  Speculum · 2023-12-20 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Today, we readily understand that medieval marriage was often preceded by complex economic negotiations about dowers, dowries, inheritances, and even the costs of weddings. This article argues that medieval courtship—whether aimed at marriage or not—was also an occasion for negotiation and benefit. Focusing on evidence from late medieval England, it shows that courtship was not solely (or even predominantly) a path to marriage: it was also a pastime, an amusement, and—for women—a transaction of its own. Medieval people expected that any man might give any woman material benefits in return for the pleasures of her company and, possibly, the pleasures of sexual relations with her, too. This article also shifts well-recognized medieval discourses about female greed to new modern understandings about female need. The reliance of poor singlewomen on the material benefits of courtship speaks to us today about their profound vulnerability and neediness.

  PublisherDOI

• Medievalismo e Feminismo

  Escritas do Tempo · 2021-04-30

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  O presente artigo foi redigido originalmente em inglês, cujo título é Medievalism and Feminism, de autoria da professora e pesquisadora Judith Bennett, publicado pela The University of Chicago Press (1993). Trata-se de uma discussão interessada em teorizar sobre o conceito de gênero a partir dos estudos empreendidos pelos medievalistas.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• What enables successful open-ended practical investigative work at A Level?

  White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) · 2021-03-30

  article

  The Gatsby Good Practical Science report (Gatsby, 2017) identified opportunities to carry out open-ended investigative projects as one of ten benchmarks for good practical science. However, there is currently no requirement for post-16 students in England to have access to such opportunities as this is not required by A-level specifications (the most common post-16 qualification in England). Nevertheless, some teachers incorporate open-ended investigative work into post-16 teaching. Drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers, enablers of and barriers to open-ended investigation are identified, and the ways in which several teachers have successfully implemented such work are demonstrated through vignettes. Ways that teachers can use and value open-ended project work within current A-level specifications are presented.

  Publisher

• Best Evidence Science Teaching: research evidence in action

  White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) · 2020-12-20 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  ‘Best Evidence Science Teaching’ (BEST) is a collection of open-access, research- evidence-informed resources for science teaching at 11–14. BEST includes progression toolkits comprising sequenced learning steps, diagnostic questions and response activities. Case studies illustrate how teachers are using BEST resources. Observations and interview data from 12 teachers suggest that BEST allowed these teachers to develop their practice in the following key areas identified by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Improving Secondary Science guidance report: preconceptions, memory, metacognitive talk, feedback, practical work and language of science. Findings suggest that research-evidence summaries were being used by teachers to inform how they describe and explain scientific concepts, listen to student responses, sequence teaching and select models and analogies. As such, they provided access to no-cost, subject-specific professional development ‘just in time’ for teaching.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Close encounters between young people and human spaceflight

  International Journal of Science Education Part B · 2020-02-23 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  Since the Apollo missions, human spaceflight has been advocated as a means of promoting positive attitudes towards science. In 2015, Principia launched Britain's first government-funded astronaut to the International Space Station, a core objective being education and inspiring young people. In this study, we examined how spaceflight education policy was enacted during the Principia mission, found out the ways in which young people encountered space, and how these encounters shaped their attitudes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 102 children and analysed through the construction of an actor-network. Young people encountered space through formal education in school as well as through non-formal encounters with family, friends, media and social media. Social media influences were associated with forming positive attitudes, whereas friends and teachers were associated with both positive and negative attitudes. The human dimension of spaceflight was important in young people encountering space but was not sufficient to stimulate sustained interest in space: children and young people wanted to know more about the science of human spaceflight. Young people confused science with science fiction. In some schools, young people became ‘spaced out’ by saturation of the curriculum with space. The findings have implications for policymakers and practitioners. The scientific stories associated with human spaceflight need greater attention. Social media could be used to greater effect in communicating science directly to young people. Non-formal education initiatives must be designed to align with teachers’ objectives, and there needs to be recognition and reward of teachers’ time and contributions.

  PublisherDOI

• Chapter 3. Being a Scientist: The Role of Practical Research Projects in School Science

  Advances in chemistry education · 2020-01-01 · 1 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Practical research projects are a feature of school science provision in several countries, very often linked to a belief that studying science in the context of real-life questions has benefits for students in relation to both academic performance and motivation to study science. To assess the impact of practical research projects on students, a mixed-methods study was undertaken comprising a systematic review of the literature together with students and teacher interviews. The review encompasses 39 papers reporting on work from 12 countries. The review indicates that practical research projects are often associated with wider initiatives such as authentic science, problem-based learning and project-based learning. The review demonstrates that there is considerable variability in the nature of practical research projects work in relation to their focus, models of provision, methods of assessment, the involvement of external partners such as universities and employers and funding. The review points to benefits of undertaking practical research projects including learning of science ideas, affective responses to science, views of pursuing careers involving science and development of a range of skills. Student interviews show that views of practical research projects were largely positive. Students felt that the projects provided them with an authentic experience of being a scientist and influenced their future career and study choices. Teacher interviews indicate that views of practical research projects were also positive, with projects being seen as motivational for their students. Some concerns were expressed over time demands. Teachers also felt that involvement with the projects provided them with good professional development and professional satisfaction.

  PublisherDOI

• Open-ended investigations in high school science: teacher learning intentions, approaches and perspectives

  International Journal of Science Education · 2020-06-19 · 8 citations

  articleSenior author

  Open-ended investigative work is important for science at the high school level because it provides students with experiences approaching the authentic practice of scientists. In England context, some teachers provide opportunities for open-ended investigation, even though at post-16 (pre-university) A-Level they are no longer required to do so. This qualitative study had two aims: to identify teachers’ intended learning outcomes for open-ended investigations and to understand the different ways that teachers perceive, interpret and teach open-ended investigative projects. Questionnaires (n = 17) and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with high-school teachers (n = 12) were used. Analysis of questionnaire data suggested five ‘key ideas’ related to teachers’ intended learning outcomes for open-ended investigations: state of the field, research design, data handling, iteration, and ‘real’ science. Interviews revealed repertoires for addressing learning relating to each of these key ideas. Phenomenographic analysis of interview data suggested six qualitatively different ways of perceiving open-ended investigation, which corresponded to different emphases for student learning: the teacher-scientist, the teacher-inquirer, the instrumentalist, the independence-builder, the scaffolder and the personal developer perspectives. The findings are expected to be useful for informing teacher professional development and reflection, and for those developing curricula, teaching materials or assessments involving open-ended investigation.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Stanley Chojnacki

  34 shared

• Valeria Finucci

  33 shared

• Cynthia Herrup

  33 shared

• Gail Hamner

  National Humanities Center

  32 shared

• Daniel Boyarín

  32 shared

• Kalman Bland

  National Humanities Center

  32 shared

• Malachi Haim Hacohen

  32 shared

• Jan Drijvers

  Duke University

  32 shared

Education

• MA in Science Education, Education

  King's College London

• PhD, Education

  King's College London

• Chemistry with Education, Chemistry and Education

  University of York

• Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), Education

  University of York

• MA Cymraeg: Iaith a Llenyddiaeth, Welsh

  Bangor University

  2025

Awards & honors

• Article Prize, Berkshire Conference of Women Historians, 201…
• Huntington Library Research Fellowship Recipient, R. Stanton…
• American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship Recipient,…
• National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship Recipient,…
• Fellow, Medieval Academy of America, 2002