Developing research in literacy and literacy education: a cross disciplinary collaboration

 

The development and the teaching of literacy skills to both children and adults are topics of interest to members of both the Institute of Education and the Department of Psychology. While Psychology academics tend to have research interests which centre on the nature and development of the skills involved in reading and writing, the interests of members of the Institute of Education tend to focus on the pedagogies and school practices associated with these skills. Members of both departments have a good deal to learn from each other but their research has generally been conducted independently up until now. This series of research seminars is designed principally to explore the possibilities of cross-disciplinary collaboration between members of the two departments. We are grateful to the Institute of Advanced Studies, whose Incubation Grant makes the series possible.

The first seminar in this series featured:

• Dr Jane Medwell, from the Institute of Education, talking about her research into Handwriting and Composition. Further details of this research programme can be found here.
• Dr Julia Carroll, from Psychology, talking about her research into the links between speech and language difficulties and literacy. Further details of this research can be found here.

The second seminar featured:

• Dr Laura Shapiro, from Aston University, talking about her research into the impact of early skills on reading development. Laura's paper can be found here and her Powerpoint can be downloaded from here.
  
• Dr Janet Vousden, from Psychology, talking about her rational analysis of children's reading material. Janet's paper can be downloaded from here (members of the University only) and her Powerpoint is here.