Research themes
Our research
The Psychology in Education Research Centre (PERC) conducts innovative and applied psychological research relevant to education and educational settings. Our goal is to explore these factors in a manner that is both rigorous and broadly accessible to the psychology and educational communities.
We employ a range of methodologies to explore four related themes underlying psychology in education.
Interested PhD students and potential collaborators may wish to contact the researcher/s indicated in parentheses after each sub-theme.
Mental health and wellbeing in education
- Positive youth development (Dr Nadia Jessop)
- Bullying and mental health (Dr Nathalie Noret, Dr Umar Toseeb)
- Body image and appearance satisfaction (Dr Beth Bell)
- Digital technologies in relation to youth wellbeing and mental health (Dr Beth Bell)
- Child and adolescent mental health (Dr Umar Toseeb, Dr Dusana Dorjee, Dr Nathalie Noret, Dr Beth Bell)
- Cognitive, affective and neural mechanisms of mental health and wellbeing (Dr Dusana Dorjee)
- Mental health and wellbeing curricula in schools (Dr Dusana Dorjee)
- Translational neuroscience of mental health and wellbeing (Dr Dusana Dorjee)
Development and cognition
- The links between play and development (Dr Gill Francis)
- Implicit / statistical learning and reading: development and individual differences (Dr Elpida Pavlidou)
- Second language teacher identity and cognition (Dr Irena Kuzborska)
- Second language reading and writing (Dr Irena Kuzborska)
- Cognitive reappraisals and trauma (Dr Nathalie Noret)
- Development of reading and writing (Dr Cameron Downing)
Special educational needs and disabilities
- Understanding and developing dyslexia interventions (Dr Elpida Pavlidou)
- Developmental language disorder (Dr Umar Toseeb)
- Transdiagnostic approaches to special educational needs (Dr Umar Toseeb)
- Neurodiversity and autism (Professor Kathryn Asbury, Dr Umar Toseeb, Dr Laura Fox)
- Friendships and peer relationships (Dr Laura Fox)
- Neurodiversity and play (Dr Gill Francis)
- Disorders which impair our ability to learn to write (Dr Cameron Downing)
- Assessment and intervention of reading and writing difficulties (Dr Cameron Downing)
Individual and group differences in education
- Gene-environment interplay in education, development, and behaviour (Professor Sophie von Stumm, Professor Kathryn Asbury, Dr Umar Toseeb, Dr Gill Francis)
- Personality and education (Professor Sophie von Stumm)
- Teacher beliefs about genetics (Dr Kathryn Asbury)
- Hidden inequalities in education (Dr Nadia Jessop)