Eira Wyn Patterson originally trained as a research scientist, before moving into the field of teacher education. Most recently she led the MA Education at the University of Winchester. Currently Eira is a Staff Tutor at the Open University within the Access programme, and this role enables her to operationalise her commitment to empowering the education journeys of those who are marginalised, by giving them a voice. She is currently leading a project researching the experiences of Open University Access students who have studied within English prisons, with the aim of enabling prison-based learners to inform innovations in practice. Through her interest in research methodology, she is exploring how creative approaches can complement Activity Theory to enable authentic sharing of participant voice. Also, her work in the field of rigour in qualitative research (Open Research Online) aims to facilitate greater impact of qualitative studies as enablers and vehicles of change.