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Encompassing psychological approaches to learning, development and teaching from early childhood to adulthood.
Head of Department: Dr Zachary Walker
The Department of Psychology and Human Development (PHD) brings together staff with research and teaching interests that encompass psychological approaches to learning, development and teaching from early childhood to adulthood.
We are the only university department within the discipline in the UK devoted to work in developmental psychology, particularly as regards its application to education and other real-world settings.
- Our staff
Management and administrative team
- Head of Department: Dr Zachary Walker
- Departmental Administrator and PA to Head of Department: Louisa Robinson and Pravina Tailor
- Academic Heads of Teaching and Learning: Dr Spencer Hayes and Dr Liory Fern-Pollak
- Academic Heads of Research: Professor Andrew Tolmie and Dr Jo Van Herwegen
- Research Ethics Lead: Dr Laura Crane
- Enterprise Lead: Gill Brackenbury
- Research Impact and Engagement Lead: Dr Amelia Roberts
- Inclusion Lead: Dr Liory Fern-Pollak
Find a researcher
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Study with us
Our department runs a range of courses, including the MSc in Child Development, MSc Psychology of Education and Doctorate in Professional Educational Child and Adolescent Psychology which are British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited.
In addition the UCL Centre for Inclusive Education is responsible for a wide range of outreach courses, many at Master's level, providing professional development for those involved in teaching and related work in special needs.
- Undergraduate
Our BPS-accredited Psychology with Education BSc offers students the opportunity to study at a world-leading centre for education studies and related social sciences.
- Graduate taught
- Child Development MSc
- Developmental and Educational Psychology MSc
- Education (Psychology) MA
- Educational Neuroscience MSc
- Psychology of Education MSc
- Psychology and Education Grad Cert
- Special and Inclusive Education MA
- Special and Inclusive Education (Autism) MA
- Special and Inclusive Education (Specific Learning Difficulties) MA
- Specialist Qualification in Habilitation and Disabilities of Sight (Children and Young People) Grad Dip
- Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia) MA
Also:
- Graduate research
Our activities
- Consultancy
Our department provides high quality consultancy in a wide range of areas related to education and psychological development in London and surroundings, nationally and internationally in over 25 countries.
Clients
Major partners for whom the Institute provides consultancy services include schools, social services departments, hospital departments, local authorities, universities, government agencies and NGOs, Ministries of Education, professional bodies and learned societies.
Case Studies
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Current and recent research, funded by a wide range of bodies such as the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Leverhulme Trust and the Nuffield Foundation among others, includes:
- School organisational contexts for learning.
- Language, literacy and numeracy.
- Teaching processes and pedagogy.
- Learning processes.
- Social and emotional competence.
- Special educational needs.
Our research identity is in psychology (particularly in relation to education) and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Educational neuroscience is being developed within our psychology interests.
We publish and research in the following key areas:
- Psychology and typical development, focussing on classroom practices and their relationship with learning (science, maths, literacy, class size, deployment of TAs, motivation).
- Educational neuroscience.
- SEN areas of autism, emotional disorders, hearing impairment, disorders of perception, language difficulties, learning difficulties, literacy difficulties, numeracy difficulties, visual impairment and youth offending.
Doctoral students make a valued contribution in these areas.
Featured research
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- Awareness of developmental Dyscalculia and Mathematical Difficulties toolkit (ADD UP)
- Motor and Executive Cognitive Interaction (MECI)
- Child Development and Learning Difficulties Lab
- The Nurture Lab
- Better Together: a wellbeing initiative for doctoral students
- COVID-19: Global social trust and mental health
- Using technology to measure children’s social life and engagement in primary school
- Empowering staff to enhance oral language in the early years
- Multilanguage and Cognition Lab
- Practice around Access Arrangements for Students with SpLDs (PASS)
Find more about our researchers, publications, activities, groups and themes: