About
James Hall is Associate Professor of Psychology of Education and Deputy Director of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM)
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Early Childhood Education and Care
- Developmental Psychopathology
- Educational Effectiveness
- Structural Equation Modelling
Current research
James’ programme of research aims to improve the life chances of children and young people by informing the provision of high quality early education and effective early intervention. To achieve these aims he carries out investigations into Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and Developmental Psychopathology. These include, for example, projects that show how preschool achieves long-term effects upon child development, and projects that reveal different effects of preschool education for different groups of children. This work is facilitated by methodological expertise in advanced statistical techniques that are used within longitudinal, experimental, and mixed methods investigations.
To aid in the delivery of this programme of research, James leads the Quantitative Methods in Education group in the Southampton Education School, and is a member of two Southampton Research Groups: The Leadership, Effective Education & Policy (LEEP) Research Group in the Southampton Education School and the Centre for Innovation in Mental Health (CiMH) in the School of Psychology.
James has authored over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and research reports, undertakes reviews and editorial duties for national research councils and high impact journals in the fields of education, educational psychology, and child development, and serves as a speaker at national international conferences and fora concerned with effective and equitable early education.
He is Chartered Psychologist, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Publications
Supervision
Current PhD Students
Teaching
- BSc Education, BSc Education and Psychology
- MSc Education
- PhD Researcher Training
- Doctoral Supervision (PhD Education; PhD Psychology)
- Doctoral Examination: (PhD Education; PhD Psychology; DEdPsych)
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
James Hall is Associate Professor of Psychology of Education and Deputy Director of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM).
James obtained a BSc in Psychology with Communications Engineering from the University of Bath before undertaking an MSc and DPhil in Education at the University of Oxford. Following completion of his doctorate (‘The Contribution of Early Education to Vulnerable and Resilient Developmental Pathways’), he undertook Postdoctoral Research Fellowships at the Universities of Oxford (Education) and Warwick (Psychology) followed by a Lectureship (then Honorary Associate Professorship) in Special Educational Needs at the University of Exeter. James joined the University of Southampton in 2017.
James teaches research methods to undergradautes and postgraduates in psychology and education, supervises BSc and MSc research projects, and has doctoral students undertaking PhDs in Education and in Psychology.
External to the University of Southampton, James’ current roles include: Membership of Ofsted's Early Education Curriculum Forum; serving on the Editorial Board of the academic journal School Effectiveness and School Improvement; and undertaking External Examiner duties for the University of Manchester's BSc Educational Psychology.