Dr Paula Hamilton
Programme Leader, MA Education in Society
Paula is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Chester. She has experience of working in primary and secondary schools and Further Education. She has worked as a senior lecturer in higher education since 2007 on programmes related to early years, childhood, family, inclusion, and education studies. She took up her position at the University of Chester in January 2018. Paula delivers modules on undergraduate and post-graduate programmes, supervises dissertations, and publishes in journals and books on a range of topics relating to social justice, equality and diversity, health and well-being, and research methods. Her journal publications relate to gender equality; children in care; Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities; and migrant worker/EAL children and families. She is a keen advocate of creative participatory research approaches, as such methods help to capture the diverse voices of young children and marginalised groups. Paula is currently Programme Leader for MA Education in Society and an External Evaluator of National Qualifications for Malta Further and Higher Education Authority for Inclusion, Diversity and Equality programmes.
Paula has experience of delivering a wide range of modules including social justice (inclusion, equality, and diversity); health and well-being of children and young people and families; research methods; dissertation supervision (undergraduate and postgraduate).
Paula's PhD, completed in 2011, focused on the transitions made by Eastern European children as they settled into primary schools in Northeast Wales, and the pedagogical practices of practitioners who had little previous exposure of linguistic and ethnic diversity. Prior to the completion of the PhD, Paula had attained a Master of Philosophy which focused on the European Network of Health Promoting Schools in the 1990s and later, in 2007, a Master of Education (Primary and Inclusive Education). Paula’s research interests lie in the field of social justice, equality, diversity, and inclusion, particularly issues relating to gender equality, cultural diversity and the health and well-being of children and young people. She is keen to support undergraduate and postgraduate researchers in the attempt to publish practice-based research in peer reviewed that will be of interest to students and practitioners. She is also a keen advocate of creative participatory research methodology which enables children, young people, and marginalised groups, to better express their lived experiences.
Research Output:
Blacklock, E.; Devarakonda, C.; Hamilton, P. & Rochfort, J. (2022). Report: How did engaging with an online parenting programme delivered by “Empowering Parents Empowering Communities” parent volunteers during the Covid pandemic empower and benefit parents? Flintshire County Council and University of Chester.
Hamilton, P. (2022). Inclusion, Diversity, and Inequality in Childhood. Adopting a More Critical Lens. Seminar presented at the Children and Childhood Conference, The University of Suffolk. 12th July 2022.
Hamilton, P., Gossman, P. and Southern, K. (2013), Reflecting on research in practice: developing innovative support structures for students undertaking small-scale research projects in work settings. Conference poster presented at The Higher Education Academy ‘Social Sciences Strategic Project: Teaching Methods’ conference on 25th May 2013, Liverpool.
Hamilton, P., Gossman, P. and Southern, K. (2013), Reflecting on research in practice: developing innovative support structures for students undertaking small-scale research projects in work settings. Report presented to The Higher Education Academy ‘Social Sciences Strategic Project’.
Published work:
Hamilton, P. & Devarakonda, C. (eds) (forthcoming). Empowering teachers and children to become critical thinkers of social justice and inclusion. In Burke, J., Cacciattolo, M. & Toe, D. Inclusion and social justice in teacher education in global contexts. WFATE.
Hamilton, P. & Dynes, R. (2023). From ‘tiaras and twirls’ to ‘action and adventure’. Eliciting children’s gendered perceptions of Disney characters through participatory visual methodology, International Journal of Early Years Education.
DOI: 10.1080/09669760.2022.2164259: https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2022.2164259
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/GHCXJGKZVGIB9UYADF8H/full?target=10.1080/09669760.2022.2164259
Hamilton, P. (2021). Diversity and Marginalization in Childhood: A Guide to Inclusive Thinking 0-11. London, UK: SAGE
Hamilton, P. & Kevin Forgacs-Pritchard, K. (2021). The complex tapestry of relationships which surround adoptive families: a case study, Education 3-13 International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 49:5, 558 571, DOI:10.1080/03004279.2020.1742186
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/FTJ9ZCKJSSDIBPRJV7N5/full?target=10.1080/03004279.2020.1742186
Hamilton, P. (2017), ‘Engaging Gypsy and Traveller pupils in secondary education in Wales: tensions and dilemmas of addressing difference.’ International Studies in Sociology of Education. Vol. 27, No. 1, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2017.1377100
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3uID9dXU78qiIc3HhHji/full?target=10.1080/09620214.2017.1377100
Hamilton, P. and Roberts, B. (2017), ‘Man-up, go and get an ice-pack. Gendered stereotypes and binaries within the primary classroom: a thing of the past?’ Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 122-134.
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/zeQ9nqzIF9ruf6q8hqdy/full?target=10.1080/03004279.2015.1059871
Hamilton, P. (2016), ‘School books or wedding dresses? Examining the cultural dissonance experienced by young Gypsy/Traveller women in secondary education’, Gender and Education. Vol. 30, No 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1270423
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/w4Smj3aNWP7YHtav34UT/full?target=10.1080/09540253.2016.1270423
Davies, R. and Hamilton, P. (2016), ‘Assessing learning in the early years’ outdoor classroom:
Examining challenges in practice, ’ Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education. Vol 46, No 1.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2016.1194448
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/Jp6KyxptmRwXa6KWaDFT/full?target=10.1080/03004279.2016.1194448
Danby, G. and Hamilton, P. (2016), ‘Addressing the ‘elephant in the room’. The role of the primary school practitioner in supporting children’s mental well-being.’ Pastoral Care in Education, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 90-103.
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/qEq7jv8qN7r33yddDUNA/full?target=10.1080/02643944.2016.1167110
Hamilton, P. and Jones, L. (2016), ‘Illuminating the ‘boy problem’ from children’s and teachers’ perspectives: a pilot study’, Education 3–13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp.241-254.
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/FTqC6MiQ4vdj526c6gUb/full?target=10.1080/03004279.2014.903987
Hamilton, P. (2014), Review of Addressing Tensions and Dilemmas in Inclusive Education: Living with Uncertainty (Norwich, B.), Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis (USA) Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 89-91.
Hamilton, P. (2013), ‘Fostering effective and sustainable home–school relations with migrant worker parents: a new story to tell?’ International Studies in Sociology of Education, Vol. 24, No.4, pp.298-317.
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/GHYXeE3ZA5grkkKkiTx9/full?target=10.1080/09620214.2013.815439
Hamilton, P. (2013), ‘It’s not all about academic achievement: supporting the social and emotional needs of migrant worker children’, Pastoral Care in Education: An International Journal of Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Vol. 31, No.2, pp. 173-190.
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/sbiiG7iCDXZtnhzuf8Gm/full?target=10.1080/02643944.2012.747555
Hamilton, P. (2013), ‘Including migrant worker children in the learning and social context of the rural primary school’, Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 202-217.
Free e-print: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/RKqMwyJQdNurVJSj3ZFf/full?target=10.1080/03004279.2011.569737
Editorial roles:
2022 - British Journal of Special Education. Wiley-Blackwell.
2021 - Niolaki, G. et al. Using Psychology to Promote Educational Inclusion. Open University Press, McGraw Hill.
2018 - Adams, S., O’Reilly, M. & Karim, K. Mental Health, and Wellbeing in Primary Aged Children: A Practical Guide for Teachers (Sage)
2015 - Journal of International Migration and Integration. Managing co-editor: Lori Wilkinson. Springer.
2014 - Journal of Research in Childhood Education. Managing co-editors: April Bedford and Renee Casbergue. Routledge.
BEd; MPhil; MEd; PhD, Senior Fellow HEA.