The Social Psychology of Education Research Group is based within the School of Education at the 果冻传媒 of Worcester. Founded in 2016 and led by Professor Alison Kington, the group brings together colleagues who are interested in the importance of social and learning interactions, relationships and identities across all phases of education, in both formal and informal settings. Our commitment is to investigate how these aspects of classroom life impact the effectiveness and retention of practitioners, and the quality of children’s school experiences. 


Our Focus

A group of students are sitting together outside the Hive drinking coffee

 

Social psychology is a field of psychology mainly concerned with understanding how the presence of others affects our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Social psychology of education draws on social psychology, as well as work in sociology and education that examines social influences on individuals, in order to better understand how people behave and interact. As a field of study, this provides a framework by which we can explore how teachers, practitioners and students identify and inter-relate within educational contexts, as well as how socio-cognition interacts with everyday social and learning situations. In turn, our research presents crucial insights into the dynamics within schools and classrooms, and how these can be altered or improved to ultimately improve wellbeing, effectiveness and staff retention.

Our Work

UPDATE:

We have a call for papers for a special issue of Education Sciences Journal called "The Nature, Quality and Dynamics of Teacher-Pupil Relationships in the Classroom". To find out more and to submit a paper, follow .

 

Publications

Our research appears in a range of international peer-reviewed journals including:

  • British Journal of Educational Psychology
  • British Journal of Educational Research
  • Cogent Education
  • Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
  • Environmental Education
  • European Journal of Educational Research
  • European Journal of Educational Studies
  • Evaluation and Research in Education
  • Frontiers in Psychology
  • International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning
  • Impact: The Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching
  • Journal of Early Childhood Research
  • Journal of Mixed Method Research
  • Journal of Professional Capital and Community
  • Journal of Education Policy
  • Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs
  • Management in Education, Pedagogy, Culture and Society
  • Research Papers in Education
  • Practice: Contemporary Issues in Practitioner Education
  • Review of Education
  • School Leadership and Management
  • Teaching and Teacher Education
  • Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice

 We also write for academic and student audiences in edited volumes published by Bloomsbury Academic, Cambridge Scholarly Publishing, Critical Publishing, Nova Publications, Open 果冻传媒 Press, Routledge, and Springer. 

Funding

Our research has been funded by:

  • Economic and Social Research Council
  • Education Development Trust (formerly CfBT)
  • National Institute of Education, Singapore
  • Stoke-on-Trent Local Authority
  • Higher Education Authority
  • Nottingham City Council
  • Department for Education
  • 果冻传媒 of Worcester Postgraduate Award Fund

Collaboration

We work in partnership with academics at several UK Universities including: 果冻传媒 of Oxford, 果冻传媒 of Nottingham, 果冻传媒 of York, 果冻传媒 of Liverpool, Open 果冻传媒, 果冻传媒 College London, 果冻传媒 of Gloucestershire, and Newman 果冻传媒.

Internationally, we work with academics from: 果冻传媒 of Groningen, National Institute of Education, Singapore, The Education 果冻传媒 of Hong Kong, and The Islamia 果冻传媒 of Bahawalpur.

Impact

Our research has had impact in policy, practice and public arenas. This is evidenced through our work with the following organisations and bodies:

  • Cabinet Office Open Innovation Team
  • Education Select Committee Enquiry into the impact of COVID-19 on education and children’s services
  • Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology
  • British Psychological Society
  • Education and Skills Strategic Education Board
  • Education Development Trust Schools Partnership Programme (SPP)
  • UW Leadership Development Programme
  • UW Early Career Teachers Development Programme
  • Stoke-on-Trent Local Authority
  • Worcestershire Teaching Schools Alliance (WTSA)
  • Worcestershire Children First Service
  • Early Years leaders network
  • The Hive

 For more information, please contact the research group lead, Professor Alison Kington at a.kington@worc.ac.uk

Information for prospective PhD students

 

We welcome proposals from prospective students with interests in any areas aligned to our Research Group.  Please see the  pages for details on . The following provide details of self-funded studentships currently offered by the Social Psychology of Education Research Group:

Exploring the Pupil-teacher Relationship in Policy, Popular Discourse and Teacher Conceptualisation

School Leaders' Decision-making in Complex Organisations

Follow us on Twitter: @SocialPsyEd