People
Diahann Gallard
Research Group Leader
I am currently researching the etiology and practice of Secure Schools. I am also part of research projects on the efficacy and pedagogies of nature and botany education.
Laura Nicholson
Deputy Research Group Leader
My research interests focus on student motivation and psychological predictors of learning and achievement. This includes achievement emotions, test anxiety, psychological need satisfaction, academic buoyancy, emotion regulation, competence and value beliefs and student perceptions of teacher messages. I am Associate Editor of the British Journal of Educational Psychology.
David Putwain
My research focuses on how motivation, emotion, and the classroom environment, influences, and is in turn influenced by, learning and achievement. I have a particular interest in test anxiety, interventions to reduce test anxiety, and the design of motivationally enhancing instruction and classroom environments. I sit on the editorial boards for Learning and Instruction, Learning and Individual Differences, Social Psychology of Education, and Educational Psychology. I am presently Co Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Educational Psychology.
Gillian Peiser
As far as EP is concerned, I am interested in the role of epistemic beliefs and epistemic emotions related to student teachers’ views about educational research in their professional learning.
In previous research, I have also looked into the role of social psychology on young peoples’ views about other cultures and national groups and how these impact views about second language learning or intercultural learning.
Eleanor Hadfield
I am currently researching effective approaches to developing children’s and teachers’ emotional literacy, and the application of trauma informed practice in higher education.
Aisling Culshaw
My research interest is predominantly around themes of marginalisation in education with a particular focus on how educational spaces can be made more inclusive by interrogating contextual factors that shape pedagogical practice. In recent studies I have explored the intersection of trauma informed education, behaviour management systems and emotional wellbeing in schools.
Amy Bidgood
My research focuses on preschool children's language and communicative development, and factors that might influence this. I have studied phonological and syntax development, as well as the impact of play and gesture. More recently, I have been investigating family digital media use, including how this can affect parent-child interaction, language development, and literacy.
Andrea Mallaburn
As the lead for the Absolute Chemistry Research Group, our research focuses upon school aged learners and their teachers. For more than ten years, we have led the design and delivery of impactful interventions at Liverpool John Moores University to support primary and secondary school-aged learners from deprived areas or groups. This work predominantly focuses on supporting individuals to engage with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and access insights and aspirations for Higher Education.
Tahrim Hussain
My research aims to investigate how achievement and achievement-related emotions, motivation and behaviour of adolescent students differ in appraisals of high-stake test situations in challenging or threatening states.
Emma Sumner
My research interests span three strands:
- understanding how children acquire language and literacy skills
- investigating the nature of language and literacy difficulties in children and young people with special educational needs
- reviewing practices to support such difficulties
I have been involved in developing reading apps to understand how educational technologies may support struggling readers in the classroom and, more recently, studying the efficacy of common exam access arrangements for students with learning difficulties.
Projects
The Relations between Deprivation, Achievement, Academic Self-Concept, School Wellbeing, Academic Buoyancy and Emotional Regulation in Secondary School Students (Bodfield, Putwain, O’Sullivan, Bosanquet, Sommerville and Madden)
Learning by Questions: The Impact on Maths Achievement and Attitudes in Year 5 (Putwain and Wood)
Inspiring the next generation of scientists: The role of personal and teacher influences (Putwain and Mallaburn)
Are healthy emotion regulation skills the key to managing exam anxiety in adolescents? (Putwain, Pekrun, and Daumiller)
Lecturers’ Perceptions of Trauma-Informed Practice in Higher Education (Bodfield and Culshaw)
The impact of epistemic beliefs and emotions on student teachers’ views about educational research (Peiser)
Dyslexia and Wobbly Wellbeing: exploring connections between dyslexia, literacy challenges and wellbeing (Ross, Wood, Malone)
Supporting pre-service teachers in developing young children’s emotion regulation skills (Hadfield)
Publications
Beaumont, J., Putwain, D. W., Gallard, D., Malone, E., Marsh, H. W., & Pekrun, R. (2023). Students’ emotion regulation and school-related well-being: Longitudinal models juxtaposing between- and within-person perspectives. Journal of Educational Psychology, 115(7), 932–950.
Bodfield, K. S., Carey, P., Putwain, D. W., & Rowley, A. (2023). A thematic analysis of self-reported teacher perceptions and management of atypical student behaviours and their relation to the student self-concept. Pastoral Care in Education, 1-21.
Fenouillet, F., Nelson, V., Lorant, S., Masson, J., & Putwain, D.W. (2023). French study of Multidimensional Test Anxiety Scale in relation to performance, age and gender. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 41(7), 828–834.
Held, T., & Hascher, T. (2023). Stability and change of secondary school students' motivation profiles in mathematics: Effects of a student intervention. Journal of School Psychology, 100, 101240.
Malone E., Saini, P., & Poole, H. (2024). How trainee teachers’ intersectionality exacerbates issues of wellbeing. Education 3-13, 52(2), 264-278.
Putwain, D.W., & Wood, P. (2023). Riding the bumps in mathematics learning: Relations between academic buoyancy, engagement, and achievement. Learning and Instruction, 83, 101691.
Putwain, D.W., Gallard, D.G., Beaumont, J. (2023). Adaptability vs. Buoyancy: Which Offers the Greater Protection Against Test Anxiety and Could Relations be Reciprocal? Learning and Individual Differences, 101, 102247.
Robson, D.A., Johnstone, S.J., Putwain, D.W., & Howard, S. (2023). Test anxiety in primary school children: A 20 year systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of School Psychology, 98, 39-60.
Putwain, D.W., Nicholson, L.J., & Kutuk. G. (2023). Warning Students of the Consequences of Examination Failure: An Effective Strategy for Promoting Student Engagement? Journal of Educational Psychology, 115(1), 36–54.
Putwain, D.W., Symes, W., Marsh-Henry, Z., Marsh, H.W. & Pekrun, R. (2023). COVID-19 meets Control-Value Theory: Emotional reactions to cancelled high-stakes examinations. Learning and Individual Differences, 105, 102319.
Doctoral and Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr Tanja Held
Tanja's research examines how inter-individual and contextual factors influence academic emotions and motivation, and how motivation can be promoted.
Tahrim Hussain
Tahrim’s research aim is to investigate how achievement and achievement-related emotions, motivation and behaviour of adolescent students differ in appraisals of high-stake test situations in challenging or threatening states.
Aaisha Patel
Aaisha is studying for a doctorate exploring the impact of ethnicity and socioeconomic status on motivation, achievement and aspirations in science through the lens of Expectancy Value theory.
Dr Rory McDonald
Rory’s current work examines the dynamics of inequity within STEM subject areas, STEM/STEAM Integration, and the design and evaluation of curriculum-mapped outreach and widening participation interventions.
External Affiliated Members and Visiting Scholars
Dr Daniela Raccanello (University of Verona)
Giada Vicentini (University of Verona)
