Research
Research
Moray House School of Education and Sport
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Members and networks

Details of our academic staff, and the external organisations we work with can be found here.

Academic staff

Dr Josie Booth

Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology and Chartered Psychologist (BPS). My research seeks to understand and support how children learn and the relationships with their health behaviour (e.g. physical activity and obesity). Much of my research involves school-based programmes which are often co-created with teachers and pupils, and includes neurodivergent populations, such as ADHD. I use a range of methodological approaches, such as Randomised Controlled Trials, secondary data analysis of longitudinal data sets, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Dr Katie Cebula

Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology. My research and teaching interests focus on the experiences of families with children with developmental disabilities, with a particular focus on sibling relationships. I am also interested in educational approaches for and experiences of neurodivergent children. A separate strand of my research looks at experiences of university students, focusing mainly on mental health.

Dr Sarah Foley

Lecturer in Developmental Psychology. My research and teaching interests focus on family influences on children's social, emotional and cognitive development. I have a particular interest in the causes and consequences of variability in parents' representations of and behaviour towards their children as well as the interdependence of family members in diverse family forms. 

Dr Samantha Friedman

Lecturer in Applied Psychology (FHEA). My research focuses on critical perspectives on autism, nature, wellbeing and the intersection of these topics. I’m particularly interested in supporting autistic and otherwise neurodivergent young people through nature-based learning. Through my teaching and research, I also focus on avenues for improving school experiences and environments for neurodivergent teachers and young people.

Dr Liam JB Hill

Teaching Fellow in Developmental Psychology and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. As a teacher and researcher I have expertise in the following areas: cognitive and motor development, neurodiversity, longitudinal birth cohort research and quantitative research methods. I am particularly interested in motor skill development and the role movement plays in supporting wider aspects of children and young people’s learning and wellbeing.

Professor Andrew Manches

Professor of Children and Technology. I am a Learning Scientist who uses design-based research approaches to examine how children’s interaction influences learning, and the implications for design, notably multimodal communication and technologies. Much of my work has focuses on the role of gesture in early STEM and the implications for pedagogy and design innovation. I have experience and interest in the role of entrepreneurship in education research.

Dr Sarah McGeown

Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology.  I use research-practice partnerships to understand and support children and young people’s literacy experiences and outcomes. You can learn more about my research on the Literacy Lab blog.

Dr Julie Smith

Lecturer in Developmental Psychology and Chartered Psychologist (BPS). I am a qualified Clinical Associate in Applied Psychology (Children and Young People). My teaching and research interests include understanding what aspects of relationships promote and sustain social and emotional wellbeing in children and young people. In particular, I am interested in the relationship between pedagogical approaches and wellbeing in educational settings, including student wellbeing in Higher Education. I am also interested in the development of children’s problem-solving skills in STEM subjects, with a focus on metacognitive use in collaborative situations. I am particularly interested in evaluative research in applied settings.

Dr Tracy Stewart

Lecturer in Developmental Psychology (FHEA) and Chartered Psychologist (BPS). My research expertise is in understanding the development and maintenance of cognitive and emotional factors that give rise to clinical and pre-clinical symptoms across childhood and adolescence, mainly depression and anxiety. This also includes vulnerability and resilience to mental ill-health and school learning in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and mental ill-health in autistic children and adolescents. Much of my research involves working with children and young people in schools and / or who are on CAMHS waiting lists.

Dr Martin Toye

Lecturer, CPsychol, AFBPsS, FRSA. As a former primary school teacher and developmental psychologist, my research and teaching interests are split between developmental psychology and (initial) teacher education. My primary research interests are in developmental disorders (especially ADHD) and inclusive education. More recently, I have been involved in research as Co-I with Dr Gale Macleod on the Beyond Behavior Project, which explores the educational implications of having or not having a diagnosis of a developmental or behavioural disorder as a Scottish secondary school pupil.

PhD students

Our PhD community is closely integrated into our research activities and environment. Our students’ research interests span diverse areas including school-readiness, children and young people’s literacy, and autistic children’s school experiences. Their research draws upon a range of methodological approaches including:

  • systematic reviews
  • experimental research
  • interviews
  • observations
  • multimodal research methods such as photovoice

Several of our past and current PhD students have been funded by the ESRC/SGSSS.

Our students are affiliated with a number of thematic hubs within Moray House, including:

We also supervise interdisciplinary PhD students, for example in collaboration with Psychology, Medicine, and with external organisations such as Scottish Autism, Scottish Book Trust and National Literacy Trust.

For details of our current and past PhD students, please visit our academic staff members' webpages.

Networks

We work closely with numerous external partners, to ensure our work is relevant and resonates with the priorities, needs and interests of the different communities we hope to reach with our research.  Examples of the organisations we partner with include:

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