Joanna possesses over 20 years of experience in conducting diverse educational studies, employing a range of methodologies from large-scale national longitudinal surveys, such as the Monitoring Curriculum and Assessment project (1997–2007), to detailed case studies and qualitative interviewing. Her role in CORE has been to design and lead social interventions in order to gauge project impact within the communities.
The focus of her work includes significant contributions to educational leadership, such as the ESRC-funded Distributed Leadership research (2009–2011), alongside three major research projects for the National College of School Leadership (2007–2010). She has specialized in urban education, evaluating the Pupil Premium, and studying therapeutic interventions and students with special needs in the Republic of Ireland (2012–2014). Additionally, Joanna contributed to the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice on projects related to domestic violence and the rights of undocumented migrants (2013–2014).
She is part of the Co-design of community-owned energy projects (Co-E-opt) project.