I will examine SEN students’ own beliefs about whether their conception of inclusion and the interventionist-pathognomonic belief system conceived by academics and teachers matches their own conceptions and awareness. This conception will then be compared to existing academic models, and students’ beliefs will be examined for correlation with their acceptance of aid and personal sense of achievement at school. This research aims to refine our understanding of pathognomonic and interventionist beliefs and the associated teaching practices as a means of offering mainstream teachers an effective set of tools to aid the learning and inclusion of SEN pupils based upon said pupils own lived experiences and expertise.

I first graduated with a degree in Law and Politics from QUB, followed by a Masters in Irish History and Politics from Ulster University and finally a Masters of Inclusion and Special Education from QUB. My interest in my current research comes from having been a SEN student myself, followed by 8 years working as a learning support assistant with SEN pupils in mainstream schools and my completion of the Inclusion and Special Educational needs Master's program at Queens. I have chosen to use participatory action research and Young Person's Advisory Groups to ensure my research fully takes advantage of the expertise and knowledge of SEN pupils and to ameliorate some of the more traditional power imbalance between researcher and researched.

PRIMARY SUPERVISOR: Dr Alison MacKenzie

SECONDARY SUPERVISOR: Dr Jennifer Roberts

I am particularly interested in contemporary social epistemic studies, especially the ones that tackles epistemic relations from a decolonial perspective. I am interested in children, women, and people with disabilities rights in contexts of conflict, particularly Palestine. I am also interested in applying the philosophies of social epistemology on works of fiction, particularly anime and manga.

PRIMARY SUPERVISOR: Prof Joanne Hughes

SECONDARY SUPERVISOR: Dr Alison Mackenzie

Link to Mohammed's Research Profile

Emilia completed her BA in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham, and her MSc Children's Rights at Queens University Belfast. Her Master's thesis documented the experiences of young women in East Belfast with regards to their sex education, through holding a number of focus groups. In addition to her own project, Emilia leads a couple of undergraduate tutorials in the departments of Sociology and Social Policy.

PRIMARY SUPERVISOR: Professor Laura Lundy 

SECONDARY SUPERVISOR: Dr Mary-Louise Corr

Link to Emilia's Research Profile