THE LINKING NETWORK – RESEARCHER IN RESIDENCE Dr Lindsey Cameron
We are delighted that Dr Lindsey Cameron, Senior Lecturer, Psychology Department, Kent University is Researcher in Residence with us at The Linking Network and is providing us with research insights into our work.
Dr Cameron is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and is an expert in the development of prejudice and stereotyping in children. She has twenty years of experience in the design and evaluation of prejudice-reduction interventions for use in schools, with particular expertise in inter-group contact theory. She has attracted funding for her research from the Big Lottery, Oxfam, Economic and Social Research Council, DfID, NHS.
She is passionate about bringing psychology to the wider world and achieves this through organising public engagement events, collaborations with national charities such as One Globe Kids and People United, as well as through action research with local schools. She is currently running a project on bullying in schools with the British Orthodontic Society and leads the annual Identity and Belonging educational challenges conference in partnership with the Kent Educational Psychology Service. The theme for this year’s event is Young People and Social Media.
More information on Dr Cameron and her research can be found here: https://www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/people/cameronl/
In August 2020, Dr Cameron published the following report on the impact of our work: The Impact of the Linking Network: Gathering perspectives of schools and linking facilitators. and more recently evaluated our virtual linking programme, in this report: Virtual Linking in the Midst of a Pandemic: Insights from Linking Teachers.
Dr Cameron has produced a range of webinars and power-points to share research findings with teachers and facilitators of Schools Linking. Please follow this link to access webinars and powerpoints
Role of Researcher in Residence
As Researcher in Residence, Dr Cameron helps embed evidence-based practice and robust research methodology in the organisation and develop the research capabilities of members of staff.
In summary, Dr Cameron will work with The Linking Network identify critical points at which research can be used to evaluate the impact of key activities, develop and share methods of evaluation, and create research resources, deliver presentations or training and provide guidance and knowledge as and when required. The Residency could also lead to externally funded research projects or joint academic publications and other revenue generation activities such as training or consultancy.
As Researcher in Residence, Dr Cameron will also develop further the link between the University of Kent and the Linking Network, providing access to resources such as voluntary student researchers, hosting joint events on campus and accessing expert advice from University on external funding opportunities.
‘The positive effect of the Linking Network is clear to see; several overarching and important themes emerged, all of which underline the important impact School Linking has on schools and communities, but also provide further evidence to support the particular method for linking that TLN use; a lot of [children] haven’t got that opportunity to mix with children from different races, different backgrounds, so many different religions, so it just opened up for a wealth of different conversation… it’s invaluable really.’
‘The Linking Network facilitates the linking process by providing the necessary resources and much of it already being pre-planned, obviously, there’s enormous strength and ease of doing this as part of a network with pre created resources, it takes a lot of the work… it’s been very well thought through.’ July 2020, Dr Lindsey Cameron
Dr Cameron has produced a range of webinars and power-points, to share research findings with teachers and facilitators of Schools Linking. Please follow this link to access webinars and powerpoints