I owe Alison Kelly a great deal for her encouragement of, and interest in, my academic career.
While I was teaching drama in the late 70s, I met Alison at the Women in Education group in Manchester. She encouraged me to apply for an MA at Manchester University and became my supervisor, supporting me in the use of drama as a research method, despite her own preference for more quantitative approaches. Alison remained my supervisor for the first part of my PhD on adolescent girls, only stopping when she left the university to take up a post at Stockport education authority.
I appreciated her constructive advice and support, which extended to welcoming me to her home, where I enjoyed meeting her family and international visitors. Alison's own research on the Girls into Science and Technology (Gist) project was an inspiration and in the vanguard of other innovative, feminist education projects at the time.