Research Interests
I am an Educational Psychologist by training and my research work lies at the intersection of Educational Psychology and Special Educational Needs. My research interests concern the educational and psychosocial outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs, including those with Developmental Language Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down Syndrome and Williams Syndrome. I am also particularly interested in the effect of educational transitions, including from primary to secondary education and secondary education to post-compulsory education on children's wellbeing. Recent research aims to identify the individual and contextual factors associated with children's wellbeing, sense of school belonging and school climate.
Biography
I am a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. I am currently Convener of the Psychology in Education Standing Committee of the European Federation of Psychologists' Association (EFPA) and past-chair of the Division of Educational and Child Psychology (DECP) of the British Psychological Society.
- Castle, Victoria E., Sideropoulos, V., Jones, Cat L., Zhang, D., Van Herwegen, J., Palikara, Olympia, 2024. The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health and wellbeing of children with special education needs and disabilities : a systematic review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Sideropoulos, V., Kye, H., Dukes, D., Samson, A. C., Palikara, O., Van Herwegen, J., 2023. Anxiety and worries of individuals with down syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic : a comparative study in the UK. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53, pp. 2021-2036
- Prokofieva, Maria, Zarate, Daniel, Parker, Alexander S., Palikara, Olympia, Stavropoulos, Vasileios, 2023. Exploratory structural equation modeling: a streamlined step by step approach using the R Project software. BMC Psychiatry, 23 (1)
- Jones, Cat, Palikara, Olympia, 2023. How do parents and school staff conceptualize parental engagement? A primary school case study. Frontiers in Education, 8
- Jones, Cat, Palikara, Olympia, 2023. Have teachers? perceptions of parental engagement changed following COVID-19? Evidence from a mixed-methods longitudinal case study. Education Sciences, 13 (7)
- Sideropoulos, Vassilis, Van Herwegen, Jo, Meuleman, Ben, Alessandri, Michael, Alnemary, Faisal M., Rad, Jamal Amani, Lavenex, Pamela A. Banta, Bolshakov, Nikita, Bölte, Sven, Buffle, Paulina, Cai, Ru Y., Campos, Ruth, Chirita-Emandi, Adela, Costa, Andreia P., Costanzo, Floriana, Des Portes, Vincent, Dukes, Daniel, Faivre, Laurence, Famelart, Nawelle, Fisher, Marisa H. et al (Select to open full list), 2023. Anxiety, concerns and COVID-19 : cross-country perspectives from families and individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. Journal of Global Health, 13
- Jones, Cat, Palikara, Olympia, 2023. Have teachers' perceptions of parental engagement changed following COVID-19? Evidence from a mixed-methods longitudinal case study. Education Sciences, 13 (7)
- 'Kalliontzi, Eleni, 'Ralli, Asimina M., 'Palikara, Olympia, 'Roussos, Petros, 2022. Examining the relationship between oral language skills and executive functions : evidence from Greek-speaking 4?5-year-old children with and without developmental language disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 124
- 'Palikara, O., 'Castro-Kemp, S., 'Ashworth, M., 'Van Herwegen, J., 2022. 'All views my own? Portraying the voices of children with complex neurodevelopmental disorders in statutory documents. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 129
- Kenyon, Gough, Palikara, Olympia, Lucas, R., 2022. Predictors of school concern across the transition to secondary school with developmental language disorder and low language ability : a longitudinal developmental cascade analysis. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 57 (6), pp. 1368-1380
- Sideropoulos, V., Dukes, D., Hanley, M., Palikara, Olympia, Rhodes, S., Riby, D. M., Samson, A. C., Van Herwegen, J., 2022. The impact of COVID-19 on anxiety and worries for families of individuals with special education needs and disabilities in the UK. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52 (6), pp. 2656-2669
- Gomez, Rapson, Stavropoulos, Vasileios, Zarate, Daniel, Palikara, Olympia, 2021. Symptom checklist-90-revised : a structural examination in relation to family functioning. PLoS One, 16 (3)
- Moffa, Kathryn, Wagle, Rhea, Dowdy, Erin, Palikara, Olympia, Castro, Susana, Dougherty, Danielle, Furlong, Michael J., 2021. The me and my school questionnaire : examining the cross-cultural validity of a children?s self-report mental health measure. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 9 (1), pp. 31-41
- Gough Kenyon, Sheila M., Palikara, Olympia, Lucas, Rebecca M., 2021. Consistency of parental and self-reported adolescent wellbeing : evidence from developmental language disorder. Frontiers in Psychology, 12
- Castro-Kemp, S., Grande, C., Gaona, C., Palikara, Olympia, 2021. Consistency between provision, outcomes and functioning needs in statutory documents for young children with developmental disabilities in England. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 108
- La Salle, Tamika P., Rocha-Neves, Jesslynn, Jimerson, Shane, Di Sano, Sergio, Martinsone, Baiba, Majercakova Albertova, Silvia, Gajdo?ová, Eva, Baye, Ariane, Deltour, Caroline, Martinelli, Victor, Raykov, Milosh, Hatzichristou, Chryse, Palikara, Olympia, Szabó, Éva, Arlauskaite, Zydre, Athanasiou, Danai, Brown-Earle, Orlean, Casale, Gino, Lampropoulou, Aikaterini, Mikhailova, Aleksandra et al (Select to open full list), 2021. A multinational study exploring adolescent perception of school climate and mental health. School Psychology, 36 (3), pp. 155-166
- Ashworth, Maria, Palikara, Olympia, Burchell, Elizabeth, Purser, Harry, Nikolla, Dritan, Van Herwegen, Jo, 2021. Online and face-to-face performance on two cognitive tasks in children with Williams syndrome. Frontiers, 11
- Palikara, Olympia, Castro-Kemp, S., Gaona, C., Eirinaki, V., 2021. The mediating role of school belonging in the relationship between socioemotional well-being and loneliness in primary school age children. Australian Journal of Psychology, 73 (1), pp. 24-34
- Harvey, Hannah, Ashworth, Maria, Palikara, Olympia, Van Herwegen, Jo, 2020. The underreporting of vision problems in statutory documents of children with Williams syndrome and Down syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50, pp. 4553-4556
- Gough Kenyon, Sheila M., Lucas, Rebecca M., Palikara, Olympia, 2020. Expectations of the transition to secondary school in children with developmental language disorder and low language ability. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90 (2), pp. 249-265
- Castro-Kemp, Susana, Palikara, Olympia, Gaona, Carolina, Eirinaki, Vasiliki, Furlong, Michael J., 2020. The role of psychological sense of school membership and postcode as predictors of profiles of socio-emotional health in primary school children in England. School Mental Health, 12, pp. 284-295
- Gaona, Carolina, Palikara, Olympia, Castro, Susana, 2019. ?I'm ready for a new chapter' : the voices of young people with autism spectrum disorder in transition to post-16 education and employment. British Educational Research Journal, 45 (2), pp. 340-355
- Ashworth, Maria, Palikara, Olympia, Van Herwegen, Jo, 2019. Comparing parental stress of children with neurodevelopmental disorders : the case of Williams syndrome, Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 32 (5), pp. 1047-1057
- Castro-Kemp, Susana, Palikara, Olympia, Grande, Catarina, 2019. Status quo and inequalities of the statutory provision for young children in England, 40 Years on from Warnock. Frontiers in Education, 4
- Van Herwegen, Jo, Ashworth, Maria, Palikara, Olympia, 2019. Views of professionals about the educational needs of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 91
- Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E, Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, Charman, Tony, 2019. Health-related quality of life in children with autism spectrum disorders and children with developmental language disorders. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 4, pp. 1-14
- Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, Charman, Tony, 2019. Health-related quality of life in children with autism spectrum disorders and children with developmental language disorders. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 4
- Castro, Susana, Grande, Catarina, Palikara, Olympia, 2019. Evaluating the quality of outcomes defined for children with education health and care plans in England : a local picture with global implications. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 86, pp. 41-52
- Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, Charman, Tony, Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, Charman, Tony, Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia et al (Select to open full list), 2019. Health-related quality of life in children with autism spectrum disorders and children with developmental language disorders. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 4
- Bonneville-Roussy, Arielle, Bouffard, Thérèse, Palikara, Olympia, Vezeau, Carole, 2019. The role of cultural values in teacher and student self-efficacy : evidence from 16 nations. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 59
- Gaona, Carolina, Castro, Susana, Palikara, Olympia, 2019. The views and aspirations of young people with autism spectrum disorders and their provision in the new education health and care plans in England. Disability and Rehabilitation
- Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, Charman, Tony, Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, Charman, Tony, Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia et al (Select to open full list), 2019. Health-related quality of life in children with autism spectrum disorders and children with developmental language disorders. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 4
- Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, Charman, Tony, Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, Charman, Tony, Coales, Catherine, Heaney, Natalie, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia et al (Select to open full list), 2019. Health-related quality of life in children with autism spectrum disorders and children with developmental language disorders. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 4
- Palikara, Olympia, Castro, Susana, Gaona, Carolina, Eirinaki, Vasiliki, 2019. Professionals' views on the new policy for special educational needs in England : ideology versus implementation. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 34 (1), pp. 83-97
- Castro, Susana, Palikara, Olympia, Gaona, Carolina, Eirinaki, Vasiliki, 2018. ?No policy is an island? : how the ICF international classification system may support local education planning in England. Disability and Rehabilitation, 42 (11), pp. 1623-1631
- Wagle, Rhea, Dowdy, Erin, Yang, Chunyan, Palikara, Olympia, Castro, Susana, Nylund-Gibson, Karen, Furlong, Michael J., 2018. Preliminary investigation of the psychological sense of school membership scale with primary school students in a cross-cultural context. School Psychology International, 39 (6), pp. 568-586
- Gough Kenyon, Sheila M., Palikara, Olympia, Lucas, Rebecca M., 2018. Explaining reading comprehension in children with developmental language disorder : the importance of elaborative inferencing. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 61 (10), pp. 2517-2531
- Palikara, Olympia, Castro, Susana, Gaona, Carolina, Eirinaki, Vasiliki, 2018. Capturing the voices of children in the education health and care plans : are we there yet?. Frontiers in Education, 3 (24)
- King, Diane, Palikara, Olympia, 2018. Assessing language skills in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 34 (2), pp. 101-113
- Van Herwegen, Jo, Ashworth, Maria, Palikara, Olympia, 2018. Parental views on special educational needs provision : cross-syndrome comparisons in Williams Syndrome, Down Syndrome, and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 80, pp. 102-111
- Castro, Susana, Palikara, Olympia, 2016. Mind the gap : the new special educational needs and disability legislation in England. Frontiers in Education, 1 (4)
- Charman, Tony, Ricketts, Jessie, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, 2015. Emotional and behavioural problems in children with language impairments and children with autism spectrum disorders. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 50 (1), pp. 84-93
- Palikara, Olympia, Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, 2011. Patterns of change in the reading decoding and comprehension performance of adolescents with specific language impairment (SLI). Learning Disabilities, Vol.9 (No.2), pp. 89-105
- Dockrell, Julie E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, 2011. Explaining the academic achievement at school leaving for pupils with a history of language impairment : previous academic achievement and literacy skills. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 27 (2), pp. 223-237
- Lindsay, Geoff, Dockrell, Julie E., Palikara, Olympia, 2010. Self-esteem of adolescents with specific language impairment as they move from compulsory education. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, Vol.45 (No.5), pp. 561-571
- Palikara, Olympia, Lindsay, Geoff, Dockrell, Julie E., 2009. Voices of young people with a history of specific language impairment (SLI) in the first year of post-16 education. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, Vol.44 (No.1), pp. 56-78
- Palikara, Olympia, Lindsay, Geoff, Cullen, Mairi Ann, Dockrell, Julie E., 2007. Working together? The practice of educational psychologists and speech and language therapists with children with specific speech and language difficulties. Educational & Child Psychology, 24 (4), pp. 76-88
- Ralli, Asimina M., Kalliontzi, Eleni, Kazali, Elena, Palikara, Olympia, 2023. Understanding the developmental needs of children with developmental language disorder according to professionals. In Katsarou, Dimitra (ed.), Childhood developmental language disorders : role of inclusion, families, and professionals, Hershey, PA, IGI Global, pp. 159-174
- Castro, Susana, Palikara, Olympia, 2017. The education health and care planning process in England. Castro, Susana; Palikara, Olympia (eds.), An Emerging Approach for Education and Care, United Kingdom, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
- Dockrell, J. E., Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, 2006. Language difficulties and educational achievement. In 25 Congreso Internacional de AELFA, 2o. Encuentro Iberoamericano de Logopedia : Granada 28-20 junio 2006, Granada, Granada Editorial Universidad de Granada, pp. 67-79
- Regneri, Michaela, King, Diane, Walji, Fahreen, Palikara, Olympia, 2020. Images and imagination : automated analysis of priming effects related to autism spectrum disorder and developmental language disorder. CMCL 2020, Virtual conference, 8-12 Nov 2020, Published in Proceedings of the Workshop on Cognitive Modeling and Computational Linguistics, pp. 11-27
- Soukakou, Elena, Dionne, Carmen, Palikara, Olympia, 2024. Promoting quality inclusion in early childhood care and education : inclusive practices for each and every child. UNESCO : World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education
- Palikara, Olympia, Ashworth, Maria, Van Herwegen, Jo, 2018. Addressing the educational needs of children with Williams Syndrome : a rather neglected area of research?. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Springer, pp. 3256-3259
- Moreau, Marie-Pierre, Palikara, Olympia, 2015. International evidence on impact of funding linked to additional needs on participation and attainment by 16-19 year olds. Department for Education
- Dockrell, Julie E., Ricketts, Jessie, Palikara, Olympia, Lindsay, Geoff, Charman, Tony, 2012. Profiles of need and provision for children with language impairments and autism spectrum disorders in mainstream schools: a prospective study - technical annex (measures and analysis). Department for Education
- Dockrell, Julie E., Ricketts, Jessie, Palikara, Olympia, Lindsay, Geoff, Charman, Tony, 2012. Profiles of need and provision for children with language impairments and autism spectrum disorders in mainstream schools : a prospective study. Department for Education
- Dockrell, Julie, Lindsay, Geoff, Palikara, Olympia, Cullen, Mairi Ann, 2007. Raising the achievements of children and young people with specific speech and language difficulties and other special educational needs through school, to work and college. Department for Education and Skills
| Title | Funder | Award start | Award end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costed Extension: 'Back to secondary school for children with neurodevelopmental disorders in the times of COVID-19: the effect on children's academic and psychosocial adjustment': to continue to employ the part-time research assistant | Baily Thomas Charitable Fund | 01 Jun 2021 | 31 Jul 2021 |
| Back to secondary school for children with neurodevelopmental disorders in the times of COVID-19: the effect on children's academic and psychosocial adjustment | Baily Thomas Charitable Fund | 01 Jun 2020 | 31 May 2021 |