A sample of the Research Thesis and Professional Practice

Assignments completed by course members who were awarded the

DEdPsy between 2003 and 2012



Thesis Topics


The parenting dimensions of British Pakistani and White mothers
The educational success of children in public care studied using a risk and re-
silience framework
Perceptions of consultation by educational psychologists and teachers
The relationship between teachers perceptions of pupils intelligence and pupils
cognitive styles
Activating Childrens Thinking Skills (ACTS): an intervention evaluation study
Teachers beliefs about the manner in which children learn and how they can be
helped to learn
Managing anxiety intervention strategies for schools
The influence of mathematics anxiety on pupils choice of mental calculation
strategies
The high rate of exclusions of African Caribbean boys from secondary schools
Resilience and attributions of success and failure
Types of questions asked by teachers in teaching numeracy to the whole class,
and implications for childrens learning
Early screening for potential literacy difficulties and intervening in nursery
reception
Improving pupil behaviour: process and outcome in a partnership school
improvement project
Do teachers and teacher managers in a primary school differ in their views on
work-related stress?
The assessment of emotional and behavioural difficulties in young children: the
neuro-cognitive risk factors
Is play-based assessment a useful technique for educational psychologists?
Sense of School Belonging of Intellectually Gifted Children
Young Children's Reading Self-Concept. An experimental study of the impact of
different word level skills training approaches on early self-perceptions in the
domain of reading
Confabulation in Children
A developmental study of loneliness in children
Children with Specific Language Impairment and Achievement in Science in Key
Stage 2: the effect of their language difficulties on their performance in scientific
reasoning tasks and the implications for pedagogy
Investigating a sense of belonging: a qualitative study of pupils' experiences of
transition from primary to secondary school
Parent perspectives on preparing children for school. The influence of maternal
education upon what parents think and do
How do Restorative J ustice Conferences Work? Can the Impact of an RJ
Conference be Explained by Casual Attribution Theory?
A multi-method assessment of the social inclusion of children with needs: the
relationship between social status, support types and individual variables
Parental Drug and Alcohol Misuse - Implications for Educational Psychology
Assessment
Callous-unemotional traits: Implications for understanding the association
between self-concept, behaviour and social adjustment
Aspects of Handwriting in Pupils aged 12-14
A positive exploration of the factors underlying Emotional Well Being of Young
People following a diagnosis of visual impairment
An invisible group? An Exploration of Retention out-of-age cohort in the UK
Teachers' general and student-focused attitudes towards the inclusion of
students with special educational needs
The Holding Hands Project: Effectiveness in Promoting Positive Parent-child
Interactions and Behaviour in Pre-school Aged Children
An invisible group? An Exploration of Retention out-of-age cohort in the UK
An evaluation of the effectiveness of Teacher Coaching as a method of
continuing professional development and in raising teachers sense of efficacy in
their professional practice.
An exploration of job satisfaction in educational psychologists
Cognitive Characteristics of Children with Mathematics Difficulties
Safeguarding the Safeguarders
Early intervention: parental empowerment and well being
The effectiveness of a secondary school Peer Mentoring Programme as an anti-
bullying intervention and its impact on pupil well-being and school ethos.
A cognitive behavioural intervention to reduce levels of anxiety and depression:
The impact of the FRIENDS for Life programme on victims of bullying
The effectiveness of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Spelling Strategy:
An investigation into the strategys usefulness and practical application as a
teaching and learning tool with irregular high-frequency spellings for children at
Key Stage 2
An exploratory study of children's use of the language of emotion in the early
years
Children with focal epilepsy: Cognitive and educational outcomes
Will a modified Triple P Parenting Programme, which takes into account cultural
issues, produce better outcomes for the Pakistani/Muslim community?
Self-esteem of school aged children with Down Syndrome in relation to school
placement, socialisation skills/friendships and externalising behaviour
Impact of a Strengths-Based Model of Coaching
Investigating the impact of a multilayered reading intervention on the reading
skills, spelling skills, academic self-perceptions and personal resilience of
vulnerable pupils
Adopted children and their education: the views of parents and teachers
Education reform in the UAE: An investigation of teachers' beliefs and views of
change and factors impeding reforms in schools in Ras Al Khaimah
Important factors to consider in pre-literacy skills for bilingual (English/Arabic)
children in Egypt: a longitudinal study.

Professional Practice Assignments Topics (four from each course member)

1. Selective mutism
Decision making
Developing a specialism as an educational psychologist
Autism: do social stories work?

2. Peer mediation
Supporting schools concern
Child maltreatment, physical abuse and school performance
Reflections on personal and professional development as an
educational psychologist

3. Team functions within an organisation
Intervention based assessment and the needs of the LEA
Stress management training
The loneliness of leadership

4. The Lovaas Programme
The effects of bereavement and loss on pupils with severe
learning difficulties
The role of educational psychologists in supporting children and
young people with medical needs
Using the 360 degree feedback approach as a method of measuring
interpersonal effectiveness

5. Learning to learn: an evaluation of thinking skills packages
Nurture Groups: evidence of effectiveness
Supervision for Educational Psychologists in Training
Problem Based Learning in professional training

6. Autism and Aspergers Syndrome
Implementing a reciprocal teaching intervention to improve
reading comprehension
The role of memory in mathematics in the infant school
The interpersonal effectiveness of educational psychologists and their
appraisal

7. Meeting the needs of able children
The role of pupil referral units in promoting the inclusion of school
refusers
Gender and achievement in schools
The evolving professional

8. Issues in moderate learning difficulties
Assessing the learning environment
Aspergers Syndrome: supporting young people at high school
Interpersonal effectiveness and professional development

9. ADHD three years on: a causal modelling framework
Developing an LEA response to the needs of children of refugees
and asylum seekers
Anti-racist dialogues in education
Reconstructing an educational psychologist: building on strengths
and developing new directions

10. Promoting resilience in schools contexts
The efficacy of consultation as means of attribution change for the
causes of pupils social and behavioural difficulties
Developing interprofessional collaboration
Using problem solving frameworks as a vehicle for multi-disciplinary
working

11. Baseline assessment and the identification of SEN: a project in an
Education Action Zone
Measuring the outcomes of consultation: part of a best value approach
The Numeracy Strategy or recovery programmes for pupils with
difficulties in Numeracy
Communication skills in the statutory process: the professional
development of one EP

12. The profession and its context
Early identification: developing a screen to detect the potential for
literacy difficulties in 4 year olds
Developing a supervision system in an EPS
Personal professional development

13. An account of educational psychology involvement in a middle school
subject to special measures
The usefulness of the Behaviour Environment Audit (BEA) in
teachers action planning
Connecting services: providing joined-up working for schools, pupils
and families
Changing roles in Educational Psychology: experiences of professional
development

14. An evaluation of First Lessons in Coping with Stress: a relaxation
programme for older secondary school students
Gender balance in the staffing of Educational Psychology Services
Educational Psychologists as trainers in organizational stress
management for schools: a critique of trainers manuals
Personal and interpersonal effectiveness in multi-agency working

15. One approach to the management of challenging behaviour in children
with severe learning difficulties
The social-emotional needs of able children
Educational Psychology and multi-agency work
Personal and professional development over a four year doctorate
course, with reference to 360-degree feedback and working mothers

16. A consultation-based model of service delivery to pre-school providers
Assistant Educational Psychologists: post-modern apprentices?
Nurture-based approaches within ordinary school settings
The development of interpersonal management skills within the role of
a senior educational psychologist

17. Preparing for and managing critical incidents in School: A role for the
EP
The assessment of language minority gifted children
The role of the Educational Psychologist in supporting teachers meet
the learning and emotional needs of gifted children
The social and emotional needs of gifted children

18. Positive classrooms: Classroom interactions, a psychological paradigm
and the search for effective interventions for behaviour
Evaluating effective individual reading interventions
Providing psychological intervention following traumatic events:
Understanding and managing psychologists' own stress reactions
Humour and Laughter

19. Cognitive attention in ADHD: Educational psychology and the
implication of neuropsychological assessments
Specific memory deficits and their educational implications: Approaches
to paediatric rehabilitation
Educational Neuropsychology - Contributing to the evidence-base for
interventions
Interpersonal effectiveness: the author as professional supervisor

20. Using coaching to promote the teaching of behaviour
The role of EPs in work with children and young people with Acquired
Brain Injury (ABI)
Assessment and intervention with students who are irregular attenders
at school
The practice of the 'locum' educational psychologist

21. Do children with specific language impairment have 'theory of mind'?
Dynamic Assessment: Its role in EP practice and its application in the
assessment of language difficulties
The Interface between Educational Psychologists and Speech and
Language Therapists
Working in special schools: are there missed opportunities for
Educational Psychologists?

22. Consultation: Theory, practice and future directions
Implementing multi-agency working: One Authority's response
Implementing Restorative Practice in Secondary Schools
Psychological Coaching?

23. Reducing bullying in primary schools: Some key issues and approaches
Family influences on school readiness and how family supports can be
strengthened
The efficiency of consultation as an approach to service delivering in
schools
Exploring Interpersonal Effectiveness and Influence within consultation

24. A critique of working memory
Working with Parents - A role for the Educational Psychologist?
Understanding Youth Violence - Can psychological research contribute
to our understanding of this phenomenon and can we do anything about
it?
What do educational psychologists do? Can educational psychologists
make a distinctive contribution to the process of supervision in multi-
disciplinary teams?

25. Writing a policy to meet the needs of individuals with dyslexia: What
the research tells us
Is there a rationale for promoting independence in the education of
individuals with severe learning difficulties?
The Evidence Base for Conductive Education
Time for Change: Is Time Allocation Compatible with increased Multi-
Disciplinary Working?

26. A local authority's response to race and ethnicity in (foster care)
placement
Psychological debriefing following critical incidents: An appropriate
response?
Systemic approaches to working across cultures in educational
psychology practice
Understanding and responding to the needs of unaccompanied asylum
seekers?

27. Attachment theory as a framework for identifying, understanding
and working effectively with vexatious parents
Group Interventions to support pupils with social emotional and
behavioural difficulties (SEBD): Spotlight on the pyramid approach
The Development of Provision in a Primary SEBD Special School:
Options and Issues
The Future of Specialist EP Posts

28. Reading with colour: Research and practice
Precision monitoring: Alive and well? EP studies with Teaching
Assistants:
PM, Action Research and EP practice
Evaluation of EP impact and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS)
Educational Psychologists, Continuing Professional Development and
Multi-agency work

29. How can technology support the inclusion of children and young people
with visual impairment?
Emotional well-being: How can schools support and develop it
effectively?
The Visual Impairment and Emotional Well-being (VIEWS) in Wales:
The development of an inclusive psychological approach to meeting
specific emotional needs
Group Consultation: Establishing Peer Networks for Practitioners
working with VIC who have emotional needs

30. Evaluation research in EP practice in non-educational settings
Career-long Supervision for Educational Psychologist
Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN): Mapping
the evidence base to EP Practice
Circle of friends: who benefits, does anyone lose?

31. Response-to-Intervention and Its Relevance to Singapore
A Review of Factors Associated with Mathematics Attainment
Evaluating Mathematics Interventions
Working Memory Assessment and Intervention

32. The social construction of Special Educational Needs and its impact
on inclusion: What EPs can contribute
Including children with Specific Learning Difficulties: The role of
educational psychologists
Multi-agency working to facilitate the inclusion of children/young people
with disabilities and challenging behaviour: The role of EPs
Supporting children/young people with anxiety difficulties: the role of
Educational Psychologists

33. A critical appraisal of cognitive behavioural approaches
A Review of the Evidence of Outcomes for Children Following Multi-
Agency
Involvement and Implications for Educational Psychologists
School Non-Attendance that is Persistent and Problematic and the role
of the EP
The Commissioning Agenda Is Calling For Educational Psychologists
to be More Proactive and Innovative In Selling Their Stall: What are
the implications for Educational Psychology Services?

34. Supporting Refugees: A multilevel Approach
A critical analysis of approaches to support teachers' problem solving in
schools
The Use and Application of Motivational Interviewing in a Children's
Service
The Use of Coaching as a Method of Supporting Teachers' Continuing
Professional Development

35. Language Needs or Special Needs - a False Dichotomy
The use of coaching as a model for the supervision of practising EPs
Educational Psychologists and J ob Satisfaction
Reflecting on the experience of undertaking a part time doctorate

36. Multi-agency working: what can psychology offer to inform effective
practice in children's services?
Inappropriate sexual behaviour: what can a psychologist contribute?
(Working with children with sexually inappropriate behaviour)
Are you attached?
Understanding and Using the concept of Self-Efficacy

37. Early identification of pre-school ASD children: Implications for early
years specialist EPs in working successfully in a multi-professional team
Early interventions for Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Are EPs providing
informed advice?
Understanding parental stress
Community Psychology? Changing roles and Practice for EPs

38. An Evaluation of Residential Placement for Children and Young People
with SEN
Understanding attachment and how it can influence education,
particularly for children who are adopted or are children in care
Opportunities for Educational Psychologists to facilitate school
improvement through systems approaches: Soft Systems Methodology
(SSM) and Appreciative Inquiry (AI)
Working memory and behaviour in school: Exploring the evidence and
implications for Educational Psychologists

39. How can professionals from childrens' services support children who
have been exposed to domestic violence?
How effective are Nurture Groups as an Intervention to Support Pupils
with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties?
How can Educational Psychologists use supervision as a tool to
maximise interpersonal effectiveness and practitioner knowledge?
What can Community Psychology contribute to Educational Psychology
Services?

40. Effective Educational Psychology Practice in the Inclusion of Secondary
School Pupils with Asperger Syndrome
Emotionally based school refusal - what is the role of the EP?
Human Givens and Educational Psychology
Because we're worth it: the Evaluation of Educational Psychology
services in the light of recent developments.

41. Working in partnership with parents in non-maintained early years
settings: Issues and implications for early years practitioners and
educational psychologists.
What constitutes effective provision and support for visually impaired
children in the early years, and what is the role of the educational
psychologist?
Sexual orientation and schools: Uneasy bedfellows?
Educational psychology practice and roel identity: The impact of
complementary, competing and conflicting roles on personal
effectiveness.

42. Neuropsychological assessment in educational contexts: Rationale,
benefits and future directions
An individual case study with an unusual and unexpected outcome: the
challenges for the role of the psychologist in a multidisciplinary medical
team
Developing specialist skills and knowledge in psychology: the process of
becoming a "developmental neuropsychologist"
Educational provision for children with focal epilepsy: Mind the gap?

43. Transforming EP Services - Using Organisational Psychology to
Understand the Change Process
Working with children and young people who display school refusal
behaviour (SRB) - the role of the EP
Bridging the gap between mental health, schools and communities for the
refugee populationIs this a potential role for Educational Psychologist?
The use of Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) as a tool for developing
personal effectiveness

44. Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Children with
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)
Auditory Vs. Visual Dyslexia: Current views and Implications for
assessment and intervention
Meeting the functions of Supervision in Educational Psychology: The
development model or the coaching and critical dialogue approach to
supervision
The role of the Psychologist in a Feeding, Eating, Drinking and
Swallowing (FEDS) clinic in a service for children with physical and/or
sensory disabilities

45. An overview of research in well being/happiness and the role of the EP in
implementing the long-term change programme in school (Every Child
Matters: Change for Children Act 2004)
An improved model of positive psychology therapy
The role of the educational and child psychologist over the next decade
or will our new title limit us?
Assessing dyslexia in adults concerns, complications and
considerations to improve EP assessments

46. Is there a role for EPs in supporting Pupils with Tourette Syndrome in
Schools?
How Can Educational Psychologists Use PCP Most Effectively in their
Professional Practice
Silence in the Classroom
How can educational psychologists promote the secure attachment of
vulnerable children?

47. The role of EPs in supporting mainstream schools to reduce permanent
exclusions through multi-agency work
Preventative work at secondary school transfer
Personal effectiveness in promoting partnerships with parents
Interventions to support school refusers: a role for educational
psychologists

48. The efficacy of high intensity sport/exercise as an intervention for pupils
with ASHD
A local perspective on the role of support groups for parents of children
with autistic spectrum disorders
The Challenges of Developing English as a second language in Dubai
schools
Factors affecting the use of corporal punishment in the UAE

49. What are the important factors that need to be considered while
administering the Digit Span Subtest?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Motivation
The Effects of the Curriculum on Children's Cognitive and Social
Development: An Example from the Egyptian National Curriculum
Bilingualism and Specific Language Impairment: Egypt as a Case Study