Dr Andrea MacLeod

School of Education
Associate Professor in Autism

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0) 121 415 8442
Email: a.g.macleod@bham.ac.uk

Address: School of Education
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT, United Kingdom

Dr Andrea Macleod is an Associate Professor in the School of Education and a member of the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER). With a practitioner background in voluntary‑sector innovation, her career has focused on improving the lived experiences, inclusion, and long‑term outcomes of autistic and neurodivergent people.

Her research foregrounds the voices of individuals and families in social care and educational contexts, with a particular emphasis on autism, disability, and intersectional disadvantage. She is committed to ensuring that research evidence meaningfully supports practice, policy, and service development across a range of settings.

Her work advances professional guidance, organisational policy, and joined‑up practice to foster more equitable and inclusive ways of engaging with autistic, neurodivergent, and disabled people.

Qualifications

MEd
BA (Hons)
PhD

Biography

Prior to taking a position at the University of Birmingham, Andrea worked for many years within the voluntary sector. She specialized in the field of autism, neurodivergence and co-occurring disabilities and led a number of initiatives geared towards promoting inclusion and equity for autistic adults and young people, including employment support initiatives, self-advocacy initiatives and support in further/higher education.

Across her career, Andrea has championed inclusive research practices that respect the expertise of lived experience and promote ethical, relational approaches to care and support. She regularly contributes to training and knowledge‑exchange initiatives for social care and education professionals, focusing on strengths‑based approaches, reflective practice, and culturally responsive support.

Andrea is dedicated to bridging research and practice, ensuring that scholarship in the field of disability and inclusion directly strengthens the capacity of social care and education systems to deliver dignified, person‑centred support.

Teaching

Programme Director for the MA (Inclusion) part-time, online programme and Specialist Lead for the Autism in Adults pathway within the MA programme.

Postgraduate supervision

Andrea brings substantial experience in supervising doctoral researchers, with specific interests in collaborative approaches, critical disability theory, and culturally responsive research. She supports a large doctoral community and has a strong record of external examining across national and international institutions.

Doctoral research

PhD title: “Determined to succeed”: Perceptions of success from autistic adults

Publications

Recent publications

Article

MacLeod, A & Johnston, P 2025, 'A collaborative case study of autistic and non-autistic capital shared within a circle of support', Disability & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2025.2579835

Irvine, B & MacLeod, A 2025, 'Mobilising specialist autism mentoring in UK universities', Journal of Inclusive Practice in Further and Higher Education (JIPFHE), vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 103-118. <https://nadp-uk.org/https-nadp-uk-org-jipfhe-17-1-summer-2025/>

MacLeod, A 2024, 'Exploring 'lifeworlds' with the autistic community' The Psychologist, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 39-42. <https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/exploring-lifeworlds-autistic-community>

MacLeod, A, Sandland, B, Hall, N & chown, N 2023, 'Accommodation through personalisation: ensuring the autistic student has an equal opportunity for success in the PhD viva voce', Journal of Further and Higher Education, vol. 47, no. 10, pp. 1404-1419. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2023.2250740

Sandland, B, MacLeod, A & Hall, N 2023, 'Neurodiverse students within higher education: initial thoughts from a collaborative project', Good Autism Practice, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 13-22. <https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bild/gap/2023/00000024/00000002/art00004#>

Sandland, B, MacLeod, A & Hall, N 2023, 'Neurodiverse students within higher education - initial thoughts from a collaborative project', Education in Practice, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 26-37. <https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/hefi/documents/public/journal/v4-i1/neurodiverse-students-within-he.pdf>

Irvine, B & MacLeod, A 2022, 'What are the challenges and successes reported by autistic students at university? a literature review', Good Autism Practice, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 49-59. <https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/bild/gap/2022/00000023/00000001/art00008>

MacLeod, A 2020, 'The AuVision project: a collaboration between autistic students and non-autistic staff to understand the student experience within a higher education institution.', Good Autism Practice, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 5.

Searle, KA, Ellis, L, Kourti, M, MacLeod, A, Lear, C, Duckworth, C, Irvine, D, Jones, H, King, M, Ling, J & Simpson, J 2019, 'Participatory autism research with students at a UK university: evidence from a small-scale empirical project', Advances in Autism, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 84-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/AIA-05-2018-0018

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

MacLeod, A, Ellis, L, Searle, K, Kourti, M, Lear, C, duckworth, C, Irvine, D, King, M, Ling, J, Simpson, J & Jones, H 2024, Collaboration in Action – Lessons from a collaborative project with autistic students. in C Lindmeier, B Lindmeier, K Ehrenberg, T Taulien & R Böcker (eds), Autismus und weibliche Adoleszenz. Pädagogik im Autismus-Spektrum, vol. 5, Kohlhammer, Halle.

Poster

MacLeod, A & Sandland, B 2025, '“my voice has been heard” A partnership of learning with disabled students in Higher Education.', 14th Autism Europe International Congress 2025, Dublin, Ireland, 11/09/25 - 14/09/25.

Review article

MacLeod, A 2019, 'Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as a tool for participatory research within Critical Autism Studies: a systematic review', Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, vol. 64, pp. 49-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2019.04.005

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