Zahraa McDonalds holds a PhD from the University of Johannesburg (UJ). She started journey as a Researcher at the Cape Town University of Technology (CPUT) and UJ. She has worked in education research for over 9 years and has been involved in research work across various sectors. She has practical experience in qualitative and quantitative methods. She also has experience leading research projects focused on student experiences of higher education; student teachers and students in other faculties.

Zahraa is an education research specialist whose role at JET is to provide research support on special projects.

She has authored and co-authored various journal articles, chapters in books and a book.