Research Overview

My research interests are located within the Social Psychology of Education and more precisely within the development of motivational theory and its application to education. Leading research questions focus upon the development of motivation and the extent to which schools; schooling and the technologies they employ may influence student motivation. The transition across educational phases (primary to secondary, secondary to tertiary) and the impact of these upon motivation and self-concept have been an important theme.

Recently attention has focused upon the impact of “high stakes” assessment systems on student motivation and the subsequent difficulties students have as they transfer to a different assessment regime. On-going work on the development of independent learning in Higher Education illustrates this concern.