Professor Graeme Douglas

Dr Graeme Douglas

School of Education
Professor of Disability and Special Educational Needs
Co-director VICTAR

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 6736
Email
g.g.a.douglas@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Education
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT, United Kingdom

Graeme is Professor of Disability and Special Educational Needs in the School of Education, University of Birmingham. He was the head of the Disability Inclusion and Special Needs (DISN) department (2015-2020). DISN is the largest department of its kind in the UK and comprises over 25 academics researching and studying in the field of inclusion, SEN and disability. He is also the co-director of the Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research (VICTAR).

Qualifications

  • PhD
  • BSc.(Hons)

Teaching

Graeme’s main teaching activities are in the area of research methods training for research students. He contributes to College of Social Science (CoSS) Postgraduate Research Training. His teaching particularly focuses upon methods of data collection and analysis and research design, as well as a particular interest in researching disability. He also supervises masters and doctoral research students working in the area of vision impairment in particular, and disability and SEN in general.

Postgraduate supervision

Graeme Douglas has broad research interests in the social and educational inclusion of people with vision impairment. This specifically includes: the views and circumstances of people with vision impairment; education and vision impairment; various aspects of reading/information access and vision impairment; and research methods. Central to his work is a commitment to representing disabled people’s views and opinions.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Frank, H, McLinden, M & Douglas, G 2020, 'Accessing the curriculum; university based learning experiences of visually impaired physiotherapy students', Nurse Education in Practice, vol. 42, 102620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2019.102620

Dobson, G & Douglas, G 2020, 'Factors influencing the career interest of SENCos in English schools', British Educational Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3631

McLinden, M, Ravenscroft, J, Douglas, G, Hewett, R, McCann, E & Roe, J 2020, 'Promoting a balanced early years curriculum for young children with vision impairment: developing and sustaining personal agency through a bioecological systems perspective', British Journal of Visual Impairment, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264619619901036

Hewett, R, Douglas, G, McLinden, M & Keil, S 2018, 'Balancing inclusive design, adjustments and personal agency: progressive mutual accommodations and the experiences of university students with vision impairment in the United Kingdom', International Journal of Inclusive Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1492637

Dobson, G & Douglas, G 2018, 'Who would do that role? Understanding why teachers become SENCos through an ecological systems theory', Educational Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2018.1556206

Lynch, P, Gladstone, M, McLinden, M, Douglas, G, Jolley, E, Schmidt, E & Chimoyo, J 2018, '‘I have learnt to love the child and give opportunities to play with peers’: a feasibility study of the training programme to support parents of young children with visual impairment in Malawi', Journal of Early Childhood Research, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 210-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718x18761219

Hewett, R, Douglas, G, McLinden, M & Keil, S 2017, 'Developing an inclusive learning environment for students with visual impairment in higher education: progressive mutual accommodation and learner experiences in the United Kingdom', European Journal of Special Needs Education, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 89-109. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2016.1254971

McLinden, M, Douglas, G, Hewett, R, Cobb, R & Lynch, P 2017, 'Facilitating participation in education: The distinctive role of the specialist teacher in supporting learners with vision impairment in combination with severe and profound learning difficulties', Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research, vol. 7, no. 2. <https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/jbir/jbir17/jbir070203.html>

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

McLinden, M, Douglas, G, Hewett, R, Thistlethwaite, J & Lynch, P 2019, Evidence-based practices for teaching learners with vision impairment. in Oxford Encyclopedia of Inclusive and Special Education. Oxford Research Encyclopedias: Education, Oxford University Press.

Chapter

Douglas, G, Hewett, R & McLinden, M 2018, Transition from school to Higher Education: Research evidence and best practice. in J Ravenscroft (ed.), Handbook of Visual Impairment: Social and Cultural Research. Routledge.

Commissioned report

Terlektsi, E, Wootten, A, Douglas, G, Ellis, L, Hewett, R, Hodges, E, McLinden, M, Ware, J & Williams, L 2019, A Rapid Evidence Assessment of the effectiveness of educational interventions to support children and young people with hearing impairment. Welsh Assembly Government. <https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2019-09/effectiveness-educational-interventions-support-children-young-people-hearing-impairment_1.pdf>

Hodges, E, Ellis, L, Douglas, G, Hewett, R, McLinden, M, Terlektsi, E, Wootten, A, Ware, J & Williams, L 2019, A Rapid Evidence Assessment of the effectiveness of educational interventions to support children and young people with multi-sensory impairment. Welsh Assembly Government. <https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2019-11/effectiveness-educational-interventions-support-children-young-people-multi-sensory-impairment.pdf>

Douglas, G, McLinden, M, Ellis, L, Hewett, R, Hodges, E, Terlektsi, E, Wootten, A, Ware, J & Williams, L 2019, A Rapid Evidence Assessment of the effectiveness of educational interventions to support children and young people with vision impairment. Welsh Assembly Government. <https://gov.wales/effectiveness-educational-interventions-support-children-and-young-people-visual-impairment?_ga=2.38901859.1959838397.1574254763-739426866.1515487846>

Other report

Hewett, R, Douglas, G & Keil, S 2017, Reflections of Transition Experiences by Young People with Visual Impairments aged 19-22: Technical report of findings. VICTAR.

Web publication/site

Hewett, R, Douglas, G & McLinden, M, Disabled Students' Allowance: Barriers experienced by students with Vision Impairment, 2019, Web publication/site, University of Birmingham. <https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/thebirminghambrief/items/2019/02/disabled-students'-allowance-barriers-experienced-by-students-with-vision-impairment.aspx>

View all publications in research portal