Graduate School of Education Lecture Series 2021/22

6 July 2022  13:00 – 14:30

Baring Court 114, St Luke’s Campus and ONLINE

Professor Liz Pellicano

University College London

Reimagining Autistic education: Lessons learnt from remote learning during lockdown

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, students around the world were taken out of schools during associated lockdown restrictions and thrust into learning-from-home contexts. Many students faced intense educational challenges during this time, when schools and teachers rapidly sought to move curricula online. The disruption is likely to have had a disproportionate impact on those who might already be vulnerable in some way – including Autistic children and young people. In this talk, Liz Pellicano will draw on data from one of the largest qualitative studies with young Autistic people and families to understand how the experience impacted upon them during the initial (March-June 2020) and the most recent (July – November 2021) lockdowns. She will discuss the implications of these findings for understanding how and when autistic children might thrive in institutional educational settings in more normal times, focusing on the relationships between teachers and students, the nature of the physical learning environment and the need for greater flexibility in planning the school day.

About the Speaker

Professor Liz Pellicano is a leading developmental and educational psychologist committed to transforming autism science so that it more accurately reflects everyday autistic life. She has just commenced a position as Professor in Autism Research at University College London (UCL), and prior to that was Professor at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Previously, she was Professor of Autism Education and Director of the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE) at UCL Institute of Education. Her current research, funded by a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, seeks to identify ways to bridge the gap between lab and life and open up research to greater involvement of autistic people themselves, with the aim of generating scientific discoveries that bring real benefits to autistic people and their families.

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Upcoming GSE Lecture Series Events

The programme of speakers for 2022/23 will be announced in September, full details will be announced on the Graduate School of Education website.

Exeter IT account holders will be able to view the recordings and presentations on ELE following the lectures.