I am an Associate Professor in Inclusive Education and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I currently lead the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination PgCert, offer equality, diversity and inclusion input in Initial Teacher Education (PgCert) and supervise several research projects at masters and doctoral level. In my past role, as Personal Tutor Scheme Lead for Kingston Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education, I guided and supported colleagues in facilitating students' participation, achievement and well-being. I actively contributed to institutional self-assessment and action planning for improving our diverse students' and staff's experience and outcomes, acknowledging intersectionality across the university.
The different aspects of my professional practice and research as an educator for more than 20 years have been underpinned by the principle of social justice. My commitment to the participation of learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEN/D) at all levels of their education has been evidenced in my various strategic roles at school and local authority level, as an Inclusion Manager and SEN/D education consultant respectively; this entailed several cross-disciplinary projects that challenged children's exclusions, facilitated evidence-based interventions and provided schools with knowledge and guidance for leading inclusive settings in a multi-disciplinary way.
Diverse learners' interpretations of inclusive policies was the focus of my PhD research and this shaped my consecutive Higher Education undertakings. At KU, I have designed enabling learning strategies for underrepresented groups, such as work-based learners and have led award-winning practice (Disability Awareness Resource) in initial teacher education, based on incorporating research, civic engagement and co-production in the teaching and learning experience. The 'Inclusion and Social Justice' Special Interest Group that I have led for several years serves as a hub of evolving collaborative multi-disciplinary projects across school, faculty, university, the third sector and community, both locally and internationally.
Associate Professor in Inclusive Education.
Over the past 10 years, I have carried out development work, led modules and supervised students within a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. I ensure that intra-disciplinary collaborations, projects and practices I am involved in, all become part of the teaching and learning experience of my students. My research-led teaching has been enhanced by the following projects: 'Exploring the concept of reasonable adjustments in relation to disability and social justice for children and young people in a multi-professional context' (ICCIP grant); an 'Evaluation of initial teacher education students' experiences from 20-day extended placement in a special needs school or resource setting' (TDA grant); 'Lessons learnt from Serious Case reviews' (DfE funded) and 'Fighting for our Rights' (HLF funded). Innovative learning opportunities have stemmed from the above, such as co-teaching different groups or disciplines in class and beyond, affecting the curriculum at the schools of education and nursing, connecting with various charities the National Trust. In the context of the SIG on Inclusion and Social Justice, I share this knowledge and support further developments with colleagues and postgraduate students. The doctorate/PhD works I supervise across faculty, retain a thread under the above theme, covering issues of inclusion and diversity within an intersectional lens. I have achieved knowledge exchange and advised the sector by being a reviewer for several journals and external examiner for a number of relevant courses, or by offering funded consultancy to the third sector.
As the Personal Tutor Scheme (PTS) Lead for the Joint Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education (Kingston and St George's) for the past year and a half, I have aimed to bring emphasis on inclusion and social justice to the role; I offer bespoke support to teams and involve colleagues in projects and inclusive toolkits. With my monthly, interactive, themed forums, the HSCE PTS Canvas module and monthly PTS newsletters, I have drawn on existing expertise and expand staff's collective repertoire around Social Justice in HE and beyond. Through my participation in KU's PTS Tasks and Finish group and PTS Advisory group, I support cross-fertilisation of knowledge and practice across faculties. Based on my endeavours on inclusive practice placements in FHSCE, I offer insights on employability to the department of Learning and Teaching Enhancement Centre (LTEC) and the newly formed KU Employability Community of Practice. In response to the rapid shift towards online T&L delivery, due to the pandemic, I have run staff consultations, contribute to the FHSCE Assessment and Feedback Development steering group and lead a KU SADRAS project with the aim to improve students belonging through a co-produced personal tutoring scheme in the online era.
(2021) Internal Kingston UniversityReport, unpublished.
(2021) Internal Kingston UniversityReport, unpublished.
[Collaborator] and [Collaborator] (2021) Internal Kingston UniversityReport, unpublished.
In the context of leading the Special interest group (SIG) on Inclusion and Social Justice several multi-disciplinary funding bids have been attempted and a number of them were secured; alongside these, I have been leading SADRAS projects that secure small research funds for student partners.
2024 UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) (£13,5K) for 'Co-Production of Inclusive Therapeutic Horticulture for Neurodiverse Communities'
2023-24 Support fund (£10K) for Bidding Team: Inclusivity, anti-oppression and underserved communities' network
2022 Impact Awards Evaluation Fund (£7,88K) 'Transforming the curriculum, through a narrative of activism; an evaluation'.
2022 The KU Provost Fellowship Award (£3K)
2021-22 SADRAS (£1K) for working collaboratively with students as partners and colleagues across the joint Faculty of Health Social Care and Education (Kingston Universityand St. George's) on 'One faculty-two universities; ‘How can my personal tutor help me learn and succeed?'
2020- 21 SADRAS20-18 (£1K) for working collaboratively with students as partners and colleagues across the university on 'The value of the KU PTS as a mechanism for supporting belonging in an online environment'.
2016-2018 Heritage Lottery Fund for £76,9K to KCIL for partnership work with HSCE (schools of Nursing and Education), H2H and St. Philip's school to capture the oral histories of disabled people living in the borough between 1960s and 1990s in the context of Fighting for our Rights Project.
2013-2014 DfE Funding for Study on Serious Case Reviews: £60K with HSCE multi-disciplinary team (with Jones, Rawlings, Maisey, Johnson and Capstick).
2012-2013 IPI Small Grant funded study with FHSCS, KU/SGUL.
2010 ICCIP Innovation and Development Programme: £3K for small scale research on reasonable adjustments in collaboration with SGUL.
(2021) Internal Kingston UniversityReport, unpublished.
(2021) Internal Kingston UniversityReport, unpublished.
, Morrow, Elizabeth, , , O'Donoghue, Bern and Anderson, Eli (2022) Nurse Education Today, 119, p. 105548. ISSN (print) 0260-6917
, , O'Donaghue, Bern, and Morrow, Elizabeth (2022) Journal of Nursing Education, ISSN (print) 0148-4834 (Epub Ahead of Print)
, Georgeson, Jan, and (2021) Roeper Review, 43(2), pp. 99-111. ISSN (print) 0278-3193
and (2019) International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education, 10(2), pp. 4041-4047. ISSN (online) 2042-6364
Litten, Deborah and (2013) Special Educational Needs(64), pp. 68-70.
and Blandford, Sonia (2010) Support for Learning, 25(4), pp. 179-186. ISSN (print) 0268-2141
and (2015) In: Biewer, Gottfried , Bohm, Eva Theresa and Schutz, Sandra, (eds.) Inklusive pädagogik in der sekundarstufe [Inclusive education in secondary schools]. Stuttgart, Germany : Kohlhammer. pp. 39-56. ISBN 9783170297272
Rask, Hilma, , [Contributor] and [Contributor] (2011) In: Hodson, Pamela and Jones, Deborah, (eds.) Unlocking speaking and listening. London, U.K. : Routledge. pp. 35-47. ISBN 041560317X
and (2011) In: Trodd, Lynn and Civers, Leo, (eds.) Interprofessional working in practice: learning and working together for children and families. London, U.K. : Open University Press. pp. 53-67. ISBN 9780335244478
, , and Morrow, Elizabeth (2023) In: BERA Annual Conference 2023; 12-14 Sep 2023, Birmingham, U.K.. (In Press)
, , and (2021) In: International Research Conference 2021 : (Re)connecting, (Re)building : Higher Education in Transformative Times; 06 - 10 Dec 2021, Held online.
, , , , , , Groves, Konami, Davies, Rachel, , and Topcu, Mel (2021) In: Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference: Making Connections, Innovating and Sharing Pedagogy; 29-30 Jun 2021, Milton Keynes, U.K. (Held online). (Unpublished)
, , , , , , Groves, Konami, Davies, Rachel, , and Topcu, Mel (2021) In: Festival of Learning 2021; 25 Jun 2021, Kingston upon Thames, U.K. (Held online). (Unpublished)
and Kostidakis, Theodoros (2019) In: LATE Spring Conference : We are our Stories; 09 Mar 2019, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)
and (2018) In: World Congress on Special Needs Education (WCSNE-2018); 10-13 Dec 2018, Cambridge, U.K.. (Unpublished)
and (2014) In: Accountability and Blame in Social Work; 09 Apr 2014, Kingston, U.K.. (Unpublished)
(2014) In: Discourse Power Resistance 14: Research & Practice - Exchange & Change; 08-10 Apr 2014, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)
and (2012) In: European Conference for Educational Research 2012: The Need for Educational Research to Champion Freedom, Education and Development for All; 18-21 Sep 2012, Cadiz, Spain.
(2012) In: Educational Research Forum; 15 Jun 2012, Kingston upon Thames, U.K.. (Unpublished)
and (2012) In: 3rd Teacher Education Advancement Network Annual Conference; 18 May 2012, Birmingham, U.K.. (Unpublished)
(2012) In: The next steps for supporting young people with Special Educational Needs; 26 Jan 2012, London, U.K..
and (2011) In: European Conference on Educational Research 2011, Urban Education; 12-16 Sep 2011, Freie Universitat, Berlin, Germany. (Unpublished)
(2010) In: 3rd Erasmus Mundus Special Education Needs International Conference (EMSENIC) - Towards inclusion: being with others; 24 -25 June 2010, Roehampton, U.K.. (Unpublished)
(2009) In: ECER 2009 (European Conference on Educational Research); 28 - 30 Sept 2009, Vienna, Austria. (Unpublished)
(2006) In: ECER 2006 (European Conference on Educational Research); 13 - 16 Sept 2006, Geneva, Switzerland. (Unpublished)
(2006) In: Transitional Spaces, Transitional Processes and Research; 2 - 5 March 2006, Volos, Greece. (Unpublished)
(2005) In: ESREA Life History and Biography Network Conference; 3 - 6 March 2005, Anghiari, Italy. (Unpublished)
(2004) In: ECER 2004 (European Conference on Educational Research); 22 - 25 Sept 2004, Rethymnon, Crete. (Unpublished)
(2004) In: DPR (Discourse Power and Resistance) Conference; 5 - 7 April 2004, Plymouth, U.K.. (Unpublished)
(2003) In: BERA 2003; 11 - 13 Sept 2003, Edinburgh, U.K.. (Unpublished)
, , Morrow, Elizabeth, , O’Donoghue, Bern, Bassett, Jame and (2022) (Project Report) Kingston upon Thames, U.K. : Kingston University& Kingston Centre for Independent Living. 139 p.
, , , , and (2014) (Project Report) Manchester, U.K. : Department for Education. 112 p. ISBN 9781781053980
(2017)
In my trajectory as an educator, there is a tight thread connecting my research-led teaching and professional practice, offering cross-fertilisation inside and outside academia. As a consultant for Camden School Improvement Service, I successfully bid for and developed multi-disciplinary projects with impact at Local Authority level and beyond. These aimed at improving children's access and participation to education and included: ‘Transition from Primary to Secondary School for children with SEN/D'; Self-Evaluation Tool for Inclusion- ‘Award for Inclusion'; Drama for Feelings. These tools and case studies of lived experiences are still being used in the HE teaching and learning experiences I develop.
Conversely, the development of material at KU also influence educational practice at schools, higher education and the community. In the context of the Heritage Lottery Funded 'Fighting For our Rights project', I co-produced an Education Resource Pack with student teachers that is available nationally. This multi-disciplinary civic-engagement project with the school of Nursing and H2H and led by Kingston Centre for Independent Living received the KU Inclusive Curricula Award (2018) and the TEAN Commendation Award for Effective Practice in Teacher Education (2019). It has sparked more development work in local schools, scholarly outputs and activity through webinars and research conferences. Further project work is supported and shared with other HE institutions, through the developing community of practice facilitated by the SIG on Inclusion and Social Justice. One such example is a pilot virtual drama project that was initiated during the pandemic, which was co-produced by nursing students, an alumni student teacher and artists, following the principles of H2H.
The development of the ‘Inclusion Passport' and the 'Supporting Students' Inclusive Practice Placements' Network' (AdvanceHE Connect grant) is another example of work-in-progress, interdisciplinary activity in the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education with impact on our curricula, mentoring strategies, the employer sectors and regulatory bodies our students operate under.
(2021) Internal Kingston UniversityReport, unpublished.
(2021) Internal Kingston UniversityReport, unpublished.
[Collaborator] and [Collaborator] (2021) Internal Kingston UniversityReport, unpublished.
Inviting HSCE colleagues to join the PTS forums
Inviting HSCE colleagues to join the PTS forums
Social media