Dr Shaw is an academic researcher and lecturer in Initial Teacher Education (Religious Studies) at Liverpool John Moores University, where she is the subject lead for the Secondary Religious Education Initial Teacher Education programme, which leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). She is also a Lecturer in Philosophy teaching on the Great Thinkers Series within Continuing Education at the University of Liverpool.

Dr Shaw's work is interdisciplinary, bringing together philosophy, education, literature, gender studies, religion, and identity studies. She earned a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Liverpool in 2015 and has developed a research profile that examines identity, belonging, meaning, and human existence through existential and phenomenological approaches. Prior to joining Liverpool John Moores University, Dr Shaw served as Senior Lecturer, Course Leader, and Researcher in the School of Education at Edge Hill University (2016-2026), where she taught across Initial Teacher Education programmes and the MA in Education. During this period, she secured Research Investment Funding for an interdisciplinary project exploring Britishness, identity, and belonging. Her research has received both national and international recognition.

Author of several publications, including Britishness, Identity and Belonging in Education: Social Justice in Troubling Times (Springer Nature, 2024), Dr Shaw was awarded the Nautilus Book Silver Award in 2024 for her work on female embodiment and empowerment. Her recent scholarship focuses on teacher education and adaptive pedagogies, interfaith engagement, religion and worldview education, social justice, and supporting future teachers to engage with the lived experiences of faith communities. Through her teaching, research, and public engagement, Dr Shaw seeks to illuminate the complex relationships between personal experience, philosophical inquiry, education, and wider social and cultural debates.