Sarah Jane Parsons

Research

Research groups

Member of:

Research projects

Active projects

Why are so many autistic girls absent from mainstream secondary school? Knowledge co-production with autistic girls and their families

Researchers:

Professor Hanna Kovshoff

Professor Sarah Parsons

Completed projects

Our Stories...': co-constructing Digital Storytelling methodologies for supporting the transitions of autistic children

Researchers:

Professor Sarah Parsons

Professor Hanna Kovshoff

Sponsor: ESRC

Innovative technologies for autism: critical reflections on digital bubbles

Researchers:

Professor Sarah Parsons

Sponsor: ESRC

Shaping the future of technology use in the classroom

Researchers:

Professor Sarah Parsons

Sponsor: ESRC

ESRC Festival of Social Science

Researchers:

Professor Sarah Parsons

Sponsor: ESRC

DRILL summer research internships

Researchers:

Professor Sarah Parsons

Sponsor: Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL)

Autism Hampshire Using symbol-based sheets

Researchers:

Professor Sarah Parsons

Sponsor: Autism Hampshire

John and Lorna Wing Foundation - A Scientific Critique of the BASE Research'

Researchers:

Professor Sarah Parsons

Sponsor: The John and Lorna Wing Foundation

Froebel Trust - The voices and experiences of children with autism, and their families, in their transitions from nursery to primary school.

Researchers:

Professor Sarah Parsons

Professor Hanna Kovshoff

Sponsor: The Froebel Trust

COSPATIAL - FP7

Researchers:

Professor Sarah Parsons

Sponsor: European Union

Kovshoff - ERUK Epilepsy Surgery Pathway: The Lived Experience of Children with Epilepsy, their Parents & Siblings

Researchers:

Professor Hanna Kovshoff

Professor Sarah Parsons

External roles and responsibilities

Name: Journal of Enabling Technologies (Journal)

Role: Editor

Year: 2017 - 2019

Name: European Journal of Special Needs Education (Journal)

Role: Member of editorial board

Year: 2012 -

Name: International Journal of Research and Method in Education (Journal)

Role: Member of editorial board

Year: 2008 -

Name: Journal of Assistive Technologies (Journal)

Role: Member of editorial board

Year: 2008 - 2015

Name: Autism and Develomental Language Impairment (Journal)

Role: Member of editorial board

Year: 2015 -

Name: DRILL Programme Ethics Committee (External organisation)

Role: Member

Year: 2017 - 2020

Name: University of Cambridge (External organisation)

Role: Member

Year: 2011 - 2014

Name: Autistica (External organisation)

Role: Chair

Year: 2022 -

Biography

I have longstanding research interests in the educational experiences of autistic children, young people and adults and their families. My work is participatory and inclusive with a particular focus on knowledge co-construction between research and practice. At the heart of my research is the development and application of creative methodologies for enabling the voices and participation of children and young people to be heard.

With Professor Hanna Kovshoff in Psychology, I co-direct the Autism Community Research Network @ Southampton [ACoRNS]. ACoRNS is a research-practice partnership that aims to improve the lives of autistic children and young people within education through addressing the marginalisation and underrepresentation of their views and experiences. ACoRNS was founded in 2016 with partners Aviary Nursery in Eastleigh and New Forest School in Hampshire. Since then, we have grown to include five more schools and colleges, and undertaken collaborative work with colleagues within the University of Southampton. Our model has been adopted by colleagues at the University of Sussex who launched a sister ACoRN - ACoRN@Sussex - in October 2020.

ACoRNS aligns with major University of Southampton strategic objectives through conducting interdisciplinary research and working with local schools and wider communities as part of the University’s commitment to being a Civic University.

The ACoRNS model of research is achieved through working in partnership with community settings, the projects, ideas, and funding bids we work on are jointly developed, evaluated and disseminated. As such, impact is baked into the model with demonstrable societal outcomes achieved through our work as seen in changes observed and maintained in practice (e.g., use of Digital Stories to support Education Health Care Plans in Hampshire and West Sussex Educational Psychology Services), via research dissemination (invited talks, publications, conference attendance) and through the award of successful funding bids (ESRC, Epilepsy Research UK, Froebel Trust, University of Southampton).

Prizes

Winner of Vice-Chancellor's Award (Triple Helix) 2024 (2024)
Winner of Vice-Chancellor's Award (Triple Helix) 2024 (2024)

Professor Sarah Parsons

Connect with Sarah

Research

Research groups

Research projects

Active projects

Completed projects

Publications

External roles and responsibilities

Biography

Prizes