I am a Professor, and currently Deputy Head of School (Research) in the School of Education. Before this, I was the Director of Research (2019-2023). My primary research focus is on the relationship between poverty dynamics and developmental outcomes. I am interested in understanding the mechanisms by which socioeconomic circumstances and experiences of poverty influence educational attainment and psychological outcomes across the lifespan. I harness the power of large longitudinal datasets to aid our understanding of these mechanisms. My goal is to undertake research that drives policies and practices which can improve outcomes for those experiencing adversity nationally and internationally.

My research is collaborative and involves partnerships within and outside academia. Current and previous external collaborative partners include the General Teaching Council for Scotland; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Child Poverty Action Group; Poverty Alliance Scotland and Mental Health Scotland. My research has also involved engagement with the media, practitioners and policy makers in the UK, Ghana and Malawi resulting in the submission of an Impact Case Study to REF 2021. I currently serve on the following Committees and Advisory Boards:

• Scottish Government Independent Review of Scottish Qualifications and Assessment Reform
• Scottish Government Academic Reference Group (RSE representative)
• Scottish Government Attainment Scotland Fund Evaluation Advisory Panel
• Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) – Appointed to the Education Committee
• Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection (CELCIS)

Previous committee and advisory board memberships include:

• British Psychological Society – Expert Reference Group on Poverty (2020-2021)
• Scottish Funding Council –Access and Inclusion Committee (2014 – 2020).
• British Psychological Society – Served in various positions on the Psychology of Education Committee (2006-2017)

Prior to joining Strathclyde, I worked for the University of Aberdeen, first as a Research Fellow on the Scottish Teachers for a New Era (STNE) project and subsequently as a Lecturer in Education. During this period, I examined the impact of initial teacher education experiences on student teachers’ cognitive dispositions and the extent to which these dispositions influence their classroom competence. My education was in Ghana, Sweden and the UK.

My research has received funding from a variety of organisations including the ESRC, NIHR, Nuffield Foundation, British Academy, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and several Charities. My ongoing funded projects include:

• Nuffield funded research on school absenteeism, attainment and labour market outcomes (with Klein, M. University of Strathclyde)
• ESRC funded research into the role of school absenteeism in the poverty-attainment gap (with Klein, M. University of Strathclyde)

• NIHR Global Health Research on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing in Malawi (with Morse, T. et al., in Strathclyde, KUHES and MUBAS)
• Adoption UK funded impact and implementation evaluation of TESSA (with Jones, C. University of Strathclyde)
• SFC GCRF Institutional funded project on strengthening school-community engagement in disadvantaged schools in Ghana and Malawi (with partners in UK, Ghana, Malawi)

My primary research focus is on the relationship between poverty dynamics and developmental outcomes. I am interested in understanding the mechanisms by which socioeconomic circumstances and experiences of poverty influence educational attainment and psychological outcomes across the lifespan. I harness the power of large longitudinal datasets to aid our understanding of these mechanisms. My goal is to undertake research that drives policies and practices which can improve outcomes for those experiencing adversity nationally and internationally.

Specific Research Interests:

1. Educational Inequality – poverty dynamics and its effects on educational outcomes across the life course; mechanisms of achievement gaps (inc. school absenteeism, parental sociodemographic characteristics, teacher characteristics resource inequality, early childhood education)
2. Psychological outcomes – poverty dynamics and its effects on socio-emotional and behavioural development; mental health and wellbeing across the lifecourse
3. Teacher Education –teacher effectiveness; teacher expertise; pedagogical innovations
4. Methodology – quantitative methods; structural equation modelling; secondary data analysis; longitudinal designs; psychometrics; mixed methods

As well as supervising PhD and Masters students, I teach on the BA in Education, PGDE, MSc Early Years Pedagogue and  MEd Inclusive Education programmes. My contributions cover the following areas:

Poverty, Social Class and Educational Achievement

Learning Theories  

Memory

The Role of Social and Emotional Interaction in Child Development

Collaborative Learning

Development of Scientific and Mathematical Knowledge in Childhood

Educational Policy

Social Issues in Education

Research Methods