Research Interests
Open to PhD applications in the field of
- Educational assessment
- Gender and achievement
- Inequalities in educational achievement
- Assessment policy reform and implementation
- Single-sex and mixed-sex schooling
- Gender and education
Public outreach & key achievements
- Founding member of the Association for Educational Assessment-Europe, elected President from 2018-2020
- Executive editor of the journal Assessment in Education (published by Taylor and Francis)
- International Panel Member – Norwegian Research Council Review of Educational Research (2016-2017)
- Selected to advise the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA, Republic of Ireland) on their assessment policy reforms within the Junior Cycle (2016)
- Engagement on examinations research with the regulator for examinations in England (Ofqual) with new GCSE and A level specifications
- Engagement with education policy makers, e.g. AQA Education (England), Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), NCCA (Ireland) on consultation mechanisms with young people in relation to qualification reform
- Pitting boys vs girls at school won’t close the gender gap, The Conversation
- Young people must be consulted on reforms to A-levels and GCSEs, The Conversation
Research students
| PhD Title | Assessment and Children’s Rights: Using a Children’s Rights Based Approach to (re)consider the impact of the current arrangements for pupil transfer to post-primary school |
| Name | Leanne Henderson |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Year of Study | 2014-2018 |
| PhD Title | Rural and Urban differences in young people's educational achievements |
| Name | Gemma Cherry |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Year of Study | 2016-2019 |
| PhD Title | Impact and Washback of IELTS test on Chinese students in English Immersion College |
| Name | Hui Ma |
| Country | China |
| Year of Study | 2016-2020 |
| EdD Title | Assessment in Higher Education – A Case Study |
| Name | Aisling Keane (part-time) |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Year of Study | 2016-2019 |
| EdD Title | Student Attitudes to Formative Feedback in Summative Assessment in Higher Education |
| Name | Claire McCann (part-time) |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Year of Study | 2010-2018 |
| EdD Title | Evaluating widening access in Higher Education |
| Name | Tim Crawford (part-time) |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Year of Study | 2014-2020 |
Alumni: Where are they now
| PhD Title | Young People’s Views and Experiences of GCSE Reform in Northern Ireland and Wales |
| Name | Rhian Barrance |
| Year of Study | 2013-2017 |
| Country | Wales |
| Current Position | Research Fellow, University of Cardiff |
| PhD Title | Teachers' knowledge of, and roles in, formative assessment in mathematics classrooms |
| Name | Whitney Wall |
| Year of Study | 2009-2012 |
| Country | USA |
| Current Position | Researcher, Virginia Tech University |
| PhD Title | Girls, bullying and new technologies: their experiences and perspectives |
| Name | Donna Kernaghan |
| Year of Study | 2008-2011 |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Current Position | Policy Officer, Barnardos UK |
Discover More
- Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work
- Centre for Children's Rights