Dr Holly Linklater

Lecturer in Inclusive Pedagogy

Biography

Background

Since qualifying in 2000 I have taught in a number of primary schools in England as well as within univerisities in England and Scotland. Most of the time I managed to combine doing both at once.

In school my teaching was predominantly with the youngest children, although for the last 2 years I taught "juniors". Through lecturing at universities I have taught teachers for primary and secondary sectors, developing expertise in professional studies, reflective practice, and researching practice. 

Undergraduate teaching

I teach on the initial teacher training routes (BEd & PGDE). 

Postgraduate teaching

I am director for the course Comparative Approaches to Inclusive and Special Education, which is part of the MSc in Inclusive and Special Education programme.  

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

I supervise students for dissertations at undergraduate and Masters level, and welcome inquiries from people interested in studying for a PhD. 

Research summary

  • pedagogy
  • inclusion
  • social justice
  • children and childhood
  • ethnography / autoethnography

Project activity

Much of my research has been undertaken from the perspective of being a teacher, in primary schools in England; working closely with practising teachers and people training to teach. 

I am particularly interested in practice, and reseach, that focusses on a commitmnet to recognising all children's humanity and how diversity and difference do not need to be barriers to educational or social inclusion. I ask questions like ‘what does it mean to be everybody’s teacher?’. I am interested in how teachers think about children and young people as learners; how and why teachers make particular choices and decisions; and, the sort of knowledge and expertise that might be required in order to respond to the needs of children and young people.

Some of the funded research projects I have worked on recently are:

  • Learning without Limits | Norway - University of Cambridge
  • Pupil Voice and Self Assessment - University of Edinburgh
  • Inclusive Practice Project - University of Aberdeen 
  • Making Children Count | an autoethnography exploration of pedagogy - University of Aberdeen

All of these projects have in common the theme of getting behind descriptve accounts of what we do and why, to ask questions about how and why we do what we do.

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