I am interested in understanding and treating statistical anxiety amongst Psychology students and serve as a co-lead for the statistics pedagogy SIG within the Researchers of Statistical Education (RoSE). I am also interested in the link between mind-wandering and academic self-regulation in university students. I am also interested in developing and evaluating initiatives designed to enhance the student experience, as well as understanding the barriers faced by males in choosing to study psychology at university. Finally, I am also interested in student’s attitudes towards online learning.

Scholarship: Inclusivity in education (specifically, education inequalities and widening participation); Educational attainment in contexts of adversity; The student experience, particularly feelings of belonging and being part of a learning community; Student transitions - from secondary education into tertiary education; from tertiary education onwards; Acculturation of international students; Decolonising the curriculum/diversity in the curriculum. 

My pedagogical research broadly focuses on the internationalisation of Higher Education. More specifically, I am interested in international students' experience, belongingness and the internationalisation of the curriculum. I also research on the hidden curriculum and microaggressions, student engagement and improving the quality of assessment and feedback.  

Another area of research that interests me focuses on qualitative methods, with a special interest in enhancing quality in qualitative research. My recent work involves developing and reviewing criteria that are useful for interpretive methodological approaches in qualitative research. I am a member of the Qualitative Methods in Psychology (QMIP) BPS section and the Teaching Qualitative Methods working group in the BPS. 

My research interests span across three broad areas:

Transitional Experiences of First Year Psychology Students Predictors of Positive Student Experiences at University Student Wellbeing.

Within each of these areas, I have focused on psychological factors and predictors to improve the overall experiences of students studying in Higher Education. I have used both quantitative and qualitative research methods in my scholarly activity to explore psychological as well as lived experiences of students. Additional and emerging pedagogical interests are listed below: 

Pedagogical Interests 

- Student and Staff Experiences of AI in Education 

- Learning Strategies 

- Assessment and Feedback Enhancement 

 

My research interests are in individual characteristics (personality, intelligence, motivation) and how these factors are related to educational attainment. I am interested in factors related to student engagement, particularly student identity and authentic assessment. I am currently leading a project using the TESTA framework (Transforming the Experience of Students Through Assessment) within our School, as part of a collaboration with other Schools across the University. I have also been involved in projects related to active teaching methodologies, particularly the use of student response systems in large classes. My other scholarly interest lies in quality assurance of higher education, where I have led on two curriculum reviews, in addition to work on national committees. 

I am interested in health psychology and in education and learning and my research explores these areas. One of my mantras is that ‘we are none of us that good that we can’t still improve’ and my recent research explores this within students in terms of how they are learning and coping and how they could do both better. At its simplest, my research looks to identify the ingredients of those who succeed and flourish and then to cascade these ingredients down to all, including, more broadly, in how we, all of us, cope better. To this end, I led the Faculty initiative for the School to create short videos offering bitesize insights into our research. As a positive psychologist, I measure stress not just in its usual ‘degrees of distress’ format but by capturing experiences of eustress or good stress too. 

Pedagogical Interests  

- Student health and wellbeing 

- Successful coping in students 

- Developing and testing a ‘coping toolkit’ in students 

My research interests broadly lie in the psychology of health and well-being, stress and coping and trauma. More specifically, one of the main strands of my research focuses on the personal and professional influence of working in ‘high-stress’ occupations (experienced by prison officers, emergency services and more recently, military veterans). In addition, I focus on using qualitative research methods to examine the psychological impact of stress on health and well-being. 

My pedagogical interests span across several broad areas:

Student perception of assessment and feedback Barriers to successful transition to Higher Education Authentic student learning at university 

Pedagogical Interests

- Assessment and feedback 

- Student anxieties around group-work and presentations 

- Student engagement and authentic learning 

My interests span mental health / health and wellbeing across the lifespan; older adults’ health; dementia; inclusion of family carers in interventions and evaluations; strengths-based coping; positive mental health, resilience; creative mindfulness; emotion management; lifespan development; and individual & cultural differences.

Pedagogical Interests

•Student stress & coping •(International) students’ experience •(International) students’ wellbeing •International students’ support needs •Use of AI to support teaching and learning