About

I am a Professor of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion in the Institute of Education. My current research explores inclusive school improvement and related theories of leadership. I am also directing a commissioned investigation into a flagship inclusion policy for the Irish government and have also worked on research for the Department for Education in England.  More broadly, my research has explored policy and practice for SEND and inclusion in the areas of teacher education, service provision, assessment, and literacy.

I began my career as a primary teacher working for the Inner London Education Authority which was a pioneer in supporting the transition of pupils with SENDs into mainstream schools. 

I can offer PhD supervision in the following areas:

• Policy for SEND and inclusion in the education sector (national and international)
• Inclusive pedagogy, curricula, and assessment
• School improvement for SEND and Inclusion
• School leadership for inclusion
• Literacy and inclusion

Teaching responsibilities

 International work

• Qatar: working in collaboration with SENAD to deliver professional development to Additional Educational and Support Needs (AESN) advisors from the Supreme Educational Council, Doha (2015)
• India: Working in collaboration with Derby Diocese to provide CPD for government school teachers in Durgapur and Cathedral Relief School Teachers in Kolkata (2016 and continuing)
• The Netherlands: Presenting a masterclass on professional development for special and inclusive education at KPZ in Zwolle (2017 and continuing)

UK

• St Giles Special School, Derby: Teaching Assistants’ Development Programme (2014-15)
• Brackensdale Junior School, Derby: Increasing the impact of Teaching Assistants on Academic progress (2015)
• Leesbrook Community School: Improving behaviour (2015)
• Derby Moor Community Sports College: Humanist behaviour management (inset, web resources, coaching programme, 2013-2016)
• Derby Pride Academy: Heading of a crisis: constructive behaviour management (2015)
• Newcastle Academy: Specialist Leaders in School Improvement: Adopting a research orientation to school improvement (2016 and continuing)
• University of Greenwich, Faculty of Education and Health: Team development programme: preparing for Ofsted (2015)

Research interests

Special and Inclusive Education, national policy for educational inclusion, leadership, inclusive pedagogy and teacher education.

Membership of professional bodies

• National Association for Disability Professionals, NASEN and the Alliance for Inclusive Education.
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)

Reviewer roles and editorships

• Sept 2016 – present: Journal for Education and Training – Reviewer
• March 2017 - present: British Journal of Learning Disabilities – Member of Executive Editorial Board with responsibility for Education and Employment
• January 2017 – present: Educational Research (NFER) – Reviewer
• October 2017 - October 2020: Global Conference on Education and Research – Member of Scientific and Paper Review Committee
• November 2011- July 2020: Academic Reviewer for the Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress (ISEC), 2020
• September 2015 – present: BookTrust Panel member – Annual book selection for additional needs resources and library packs.
• October 2017 – present: Reviewer for the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI)
• July 2020 - present: Reviewer for American Educational Research Association, Qualitative Research SIG and Special and Inclusive Education SIG

Qualifications

• 2014: Doctorate in Education. Open University: ‘Developing initial teacher education for SEND and inclusive practices’. Open University
• 2003: MA Module ‘Educational Research in Action’ required as a bridge to EdD. Open University
• 2001: Foundation Certificate ‘Person-Centred Counselling, theory and practice’ Nottingham Trent University
• 1993: E243 Education for all, Open University (funded L3 module for Nottinghamshire SENCos)
• 1992: MA in Education: Language and Literacy, Psychology, SEN. Open University
• 1988: Bachelor of Education (Hons.) with QTS (English and Biology). University of Surrey

Recent conferences

Conferences and Symposia

• Robinson, D. The engagement profile and statutory assessment for SEND. Invited keynote, Optimus Education: Assessment and SEND. London, February 2020
• Robinson D. The importance of books to children with profound and multiple learning difficulties. BookTrust Early Years conference, Bridgend, Wales, November 2019
• Robinson, D. Designing and implementing effective curricula for SEND pupils: The Engagement approach to assessment. Invited keynote, Inside Government: The new context for SEND Assessment. Education, London, October 2019
• Robinson, D. Whole school SEND and inclusion: What have we learned from our evaluation for the programme’s first year and what are the implications for SEND Leaders across the City of Derby? Invited Keynote, Derby City Opportunity Area Conference for SEND: University of Derby, July 2019
• Robinson, D. The character of inclusive schools: evidence from the research. Invited Keynote. National SENCO provider partnership meeting. University of Reading, May 2019
• Dimitrellou, E. and Robinson, D. Empowering young people with learning disabilities to speak up: Experiences of Mainstream Education and Adulthood. American Educational Research Association annual meeting 2019, Toronto, April 2019
• Robinson, D. Inclusive schools and inclusive teachers: calls from the research. Invited Keynote. ResearchSEND midlands conference, Walsall, March 2019
• Robinson, D. Designing practicum tasks to resist the discourses of disparity. International seminar on teacher education for inclusion. Bolzano, September 2018 (EERA funded in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh)
• Robinson, D. The experience of Education Health Care Plans: Developing a future focus. Invited keynote. Moving forward, LDD Centre of Excellence, London, September 2017
• Robinson, D. Teacher preparation programmes for inclusive classrooms. European Conference of Educational Research, Copenhagen, August 2017
• Robinson, D. Developing effective professional development for special educational needs, disability and inclusive practice: Innovation is not enough: An argument for transformation. Innovations in teacher development research symposium, Kings College, London, June 2017
• Robinson, D. The transformational requirements of effective teacher education for Special Educational Needs and Inclusion in a global context. Global Conference for Education and Research (GLOCER), Sarasota, Fl., USA, May 2017
• Robinson, D. Teachers’ relationship with their work: why it matters for inclusive practice. Designated teacher conference, University of Derby, Derby, May 2017

Experience in industry

I have worked in the education sector for over thirty years, beginning my career as a primary school teacher working in London, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. In these roles I was a leader in the areas of Inclusion and SEND, being a Special Needs Co-ordinator in three of the schools and a Deputy Head and SENCo in one. I moved into Higher Education and Teacher Education for SEND and Inclusion, leading modules and partnership strategy. My experience in this area is broad and includes working for Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and the University of Derby. I have also worked as the regional Professional Studies lead for Teach First.

I have been an external examiner in five universities and am currently active at Liverpool John Moores and St Mary's University.

More recently I have worked as a Head of Research in the Institute of Education moving to a Professorship in SEND and Inclusion.

In the media

Appearance on East Midlands Today, discussing the Opportunities Funding given by the government to the City of Derby

Article in SecEd: The evidence is against selection

Recent publications

Research Monographs

• Robinson, D. (2022) Forthcoming. Effective Teacher Education for Inclusion: Critical perspectives and the role of Higher Education. London: Routledge
• Trussler, S. and Robinson, D. (2015) Inclusive practice in the primary school. London: Sage

Books

• Robinson, D. (2017). Thinking differently about difference: the problem with categories. In Marshall, J, (ed) Controversial issues in education studies. London: Routledge, 55-72
• Robinson, D. (2017). Inclusion and special educational needs: key messages for early years. In Nahmad-Williams, C. and Oates, R. (eds) Early childhood education. London: Routledge, 191-205

Academic Journals and Peer-Reviewed papers

• Robinson, D., Codina, G., Hanson, J., Dimitrellou, E. and Qureshi, S. (2020). ICeGS Occasional Paper Careers, special educational needs, and disability # 1: Careers coaching for social justice: the case of school leadership and inclusive education for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. University of Derby: International Centre for Guidance Studies
• Robinson, D., Moore, N. and Harris, C. (2019). The impact of books on social, emotional and cognitive development: recognising the unrecognised cohort. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, (1), 1-14
• Robinson, D., Moore, N. and Hooley, T. (2018). Ensuring an independent future for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The impact of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). British Journal of guidance and counselling
• Robinson, D. and Goodey, C. (2017). Agency in the darkness: ‘fear of the unknown’, learning disability and teacher education for inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive Education
• Robinson, D. (2015). The difficulty with inclusive pedagogy in teacher education: some more thoughts on the way forward. Teaching and Teacher Education, 61, 164-178

Commercial & Policy Research Projects and Publications

• IFF Research and Robinson, D.  (2019) Piloting the 7 aspects of engagement for summative assessment: qualitative evaluation: Research report: London: DfE
• Adams, L. Tindle, A. Basran, S. Dobie, S., Thomson, D., (IFF), Robinson, D. and Shepherd, C. (University of Derby). (2017). Education Health and Care Plans: A survey of user experiences: Research report. London: Department for Education
• Adams, L. Tindle, A. Basran, S. Dobie, S., Thomson, D., (IFF), Robinson, D. and Shepherd, C. (University of Derby). (2017). Education Health and Care Plans: A survey of user experiences: Technical report. London: Department for Education
• Robinson, D. Hanson, J. and Esmond, B. (2017). Improving teaching on apprenticeships: evaluation for the Education and Training Foundation. University of Derby: Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
• Adams, L. Tindle, A. Basran, S. Dobie, S., Thomson, D. (IFF) and Robinson D. and Codina, G. (University of Derby) (2017) Experiences of Education, Health and Care Plans: A qualitative review. Research report: London: Department for Education
• Robinson, D, Moore, N. and Parker, G. (2016) Evaluation of BookTrust’s additional needs support and resources. University of Derby: Institute of Education
• Moore, N., Sahar, A., Robinson, D. and Hoare, M. (2016). Evaluation of the impact of the Team Programme. University of Derby: ICeGS