Maxine Watkins has a keen interest in the social psychology of education and teaching. Her PhD took a grounded theory approach to explore the dynamic nature of a teacher professional identity and its relationship with career decisions and commitment to the profession. Analysis of life history and professional timeline interviews supported the development of a multidimensional, identity-based model of teacher career. Her model differentiates between multiple levels of identity (individual, relational, collective) and the relationship with different foci of commitment (career role, school community, shared ideology).

Maxine was a lecturer in psychology within the School of Psychology at the University of Worcester between October 2018 to July 2021 and is now a research fellow in the School of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham.