Academic Posts

I am Principal Investigator for the 'Evaluation of the Universal Design for Learning Support Model Pilot' (2024-26) for the National Council for Special Education in Ireland, in collaboration with University College Cork.  I am currently based in the Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit, within the Faculty of Arts & Sciences.

I was appointed as Professor of Inclusive Education in the Faculty of Education at Edge Hill University in January 2022.  My previous academic posts were as Principal Lecturer in Inclusive Education at Manchester Metropolitan University; Lecturer in Inclusive Education at the University of Birmingham; and Lecturer in Learning Disabilities and Research Fellow at the University of Manchester.

Professional background

My professional background is as an Educational Psychologist.  Previously, I was a teacher in an FE college, working with students with learning difficulties.

Research Interests

Social justice in education and society; developing inclusive practices in educational settings; teachers professional learning for inclusive schooling; inclusive pedagogies with historically minoritised learners; disability as a lens on the cultural construction of difference; sociocultural, critical and decolonial theorising for intersectional study of race and disability; inclusive practices with digital technologies.

Research experience

Evaluation of Whole School SEND Review (2019-25), Education Endowment Fund £458k, Co-Investigator with Profs. S. Morris & C. Lewin https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/send-review/

Initial Teacher Education for Inclusion (ITE4I), Principal Investigator, with Prof, Yvette Solomon, MMU; Dr J. Mintz, UCL IoE; Prof. Kathy Hall & Dr Finn O'Murchu, UCC.  NCSE, Ireland, 2015-18, EU173,000.

Young Offenders with SEND, Principal Investigator at MMU with Achievement for All and Association of Youth Offending Team Managers, DfE 2016-18, £107,000.

Strategic Leadership of SEND in FE, Principal Investigator with the Association of Colleges and the Inclusion Circle, for DfE / Education & Training Foundation, 2016/17, £60,000.

Evaluation of Dyslexia Support Project, Co-Investigator for MMU with British Dyslexia Association and partners, DfE 2016-17 £50,000.

Promoting Cohesion, Challenging Expectations - Educating the teachers of tomorrow for race equality and diversity in 21st century schools, Principal Investigator, with R. Arshad, L. Mitchell, University of Edinburgh & D. Watt, L. Roberts, MMU, for the Higher Education Academy, £30,000, 2010-11.

Personalising Learning (BECTA, 2007) Research Team Member (£6,800), with University of Birmingham and Nottingham Trent University (P.I.: Professor Jean Underwood)

IMPACT 2008 (BECTA, 2008) Research Team Member, with University of Birmingham and Nottingham Trent University (P.I.: Professor Jean Underwood)

Inclusive Learning with ICT (BECTA 2004/5): Principal Investigator (£40,000) with Professors Mel Ainscow and Alan Dyson at University of Manchester.

Inclusive Learning with AAC (ACE Centre-North, 2003/4): Principal Investigator (£20,000) at University of Manchester.

Teaching Strategies for SEN (DfES, 2003): Research Team Member, with P. Davis and L. Florian, University of Manchester and University of Cambridge.

The impact of paid adult support on the participation and learning of pupils in mainstream schools (Howes A, Farrell P, Kaplan I, Moss S, EPPI Review, 2003) Contributor to systematic review, Inclusive Education Review Group, University of Manchester.