Loretta Anthony-Okeke

I am a Senior Lecturer in Education in the Manchester Institute of Education (MIE), Associate Director of Widening Participation in the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) at the University of Manchester, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

I teach on the BSc Education and MA International Education programmes, with a specialisation in a critical and asset-based approach to education.

I lead strategic initiatives that broaden access and foster success for underrepresented students across our diverse disciplines including Education, Geography, Planning, and Global Development. My work focuses on designing and implementing evidence-based outreach, transition, and support programmes tailored to the unique needs of SEED’s student body. By collaborating with academic and professional services colleagues, I help advance the University of Manchester’s commitment to social responsibility and inclusive excellence, ensuring that SEED remains at the forefront of widening participation and student success.

My teaching and scholarship interests are interdisciplinary, and directly relevant to explorations of education in post-compulsory and higher education settings, policies and experiences focusing on three key areas of the student experience - access, progress and outcome. I am particularly interest in critical discourse produced by students about those experiences, through culturally responsive research methodologies. 

I gained my undergraduate honours degree in English in Nigeria from the University of Abuja and went on to study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary English) at the National Teacher's Institute, Kaduna. I spent the first part of my professional career in Nigeria teaching English and Literature in Junior Secondary school, before moving into the primary school sector as a Key Stage 2 teacher in independent and international schools. Following a couple of years in leadership positions, first as Head of Curriculum Development and then Head Teacher, I moved to Manchester to complete an MA in Educational Leadership, and a PhD in Education.

I currently teach on the BSc Education and MA International Education programmes and I am part of the Higher Education Research and Scholarship Group (HERSG@ Manchester).

• Humanities New Academics Programme (HNAP), University of Manchester
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
• PhD, University of Manchester
• MA Educational Leadership (with Distinction), University of Manchester
• PGDE English, National Teacher’s Institute, Kaduna, Nigeria
• BA English and Literary Studies, University of Abuja, Nigeria
• Diploma in Computing Software, University of Lagos

My pedagogy is rooted in decolonial, inclusive, and digitally transformative practices that democratise knowledge and empower students as agents of change. 

Drawing on global and multi-ethnic teaching experiences, I design and deliver innovative, socially responsible curricula aligned with UN SDG4.

I champion ethical research, critical reflexivity, and collaborative learning, reshaping education into a dynamic force for equity, impact, and global progress.

• Society for Research into Higher Education
• Council for Advancement and Support of Education  
• Association for Learning Development in Higher Education
• Association for Learning Technology
• 100Black Women Professors NOW
• Women’s Higher Education Network
• Higher Education Research and Scholarship Group
• Teacher’s Registration Council of Nigeria
• Teaching English Teacher Educator Network, British Council

BSc Education

• Key Issues in Education
• Critical Pedadgogies and Higher Education in Global Majority Contexts
• Dissertation supervisor

MA International Education  

• Principles and Practices of Assessment in International Education 
• Dissertation supervisor 

Manchester Access Programme (MAP)

• Academic tutor (2021-present)

The Open Learning Initiative (OLIve), University of Bristol

• One-to-one volunteer tutor

Advancing inclusive education and leadership through decolonial practice, ethical research, and social responsibility. 

My work empowers students from diverse backgrounds to transition successfully into higher education, cultivates critical and ethical educators, and enhances career support for international students.

Through innovative and critical pedagogy, mentoring, and outreach, I contribute to tackling global inequalities and broadening understandings of leadership and learning from/about Global Majority perspectives.