Dr Shereen Shaw and Helena Knapton Changing professional identity is hard work.  It means going through a period when comfortable, known ways of working and a sense of expertise along with colleagues’ respect are at best challenged, but may be diminished as you become someone with new ways of working and new expertise and different…

Paula Keaveney Standing in the snow in Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan, listening to the national anthem, which is an odd way to start a day, but this was the ceremony on the steps of the polling station before opening for business in December 2019. Shakhrisabz was the centre of our ‘area of observation’, from where our small…

Dr Michelle Howarth The recent Covid Pandemic has exacerbated health inequalities, increased the number of people living with long term conditions (LTC) and highlighted the impact that socio economic, cultural, and other wider determinants have on our health and wellbeing. In a post covid era, (or are we?), the number of people living with LTC…

Dr Jennifer Daniel  On Friday 15 September 2023, Manchester was shaken by the knife murder of 14-year-old Nathaniel Shani in Harpurhey, an area of high social deprivation three miles north of the city centre.  By the following Friday the school attended by Nathaniel had launched a lunchtime concert with pupils and ex-pupils performing songs chosen for Nathaniel, facilitated and…

Dr Claire Blennerhassett, Dr Michael Richards and Dr Steve Clayton Food selectivity is considerably more prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to children who are not autistic. Food selectivity is an umbrella term which refers to an insufficient variety of food consumption, characterised by a range of feeding issues including food refusal,…

Christina Blakey, Head of Knowledge Exchange Office, Edge Hill University While Knowledge Exchange within the University sector in the UK is not exactly a new frontier, you’ll have seen in recent years an increase in the use of the term ‘knowledge exchange’ and a heightened focus on universities engaging with, and investing in, knowledge exchange…

Dr Victoria Jamieson The magnitude of economic disadvantage, poverty, and social inequality suggests that issues of social injustice demand our attention now, more than ever before. Recent years have demonstrated the shifts, changes, and the unpredictability of the world, where new injustices continually emerge. While vulnerability to social injustice is predominantly a function of complex…

Dr Naomi Hodgson The 2021 film, Young Plato, screened this month as part of Edge Hill’s Annual Conference on Research in Education, and it has garnered widespread praise and won multiple awards at international film festivals for its depiction of Holy Cross Boys’ School in Ardoyne, Northern Ireland. More specifically, it is a depiction of…

Dr Karen Boardman, Jackie Sumner and Silvia Cont Every child has the right to play and learn outdoors. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) outlines Article 31 – the right to play as “Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural…

Matthew Greenhalgh Quality education, often measured through an individual’s academic achievement, is a proven factor of later successes in academia and employment, and has the potential to improve health outcomes, increase income, and support social mobility. However, research suggests disparities are presented across socio-economic classes, with disadvantaged students’ experiences of education and opportunities for learning…