About
James Hall is Associate Professor of Psychology of Education and Director of Undergraduate Programmes in the Southampton Education School.
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 different effects of preschool education for different groups of children and for developmental outcomes within the cognitive, social, and health domains. This work is facilitated by methodological expertise in advanced statistical techniques that are used within longitudinal, experimental, and mixed methods investigations.
To facilitate this programme of research, James is a member of the Leadership, Effective Education & Policy (LEEP) Research Group in the Southampton Education School and a member of 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, serves as a reviewer for national research councils and high impact journals in the fields of education, educational psychology, and child development, and has been a keynote speaker at national and international conferences and forums concerned with effective and equitable early education.
He is 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 Director of Undergraduate Programmes in the Southampton Education School.
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.
In addition to his role as Director of Undergraduate Programmes in the School, James teaches research methods, 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; Associate Editorship of the open access academic journal Frontiers in Education; and serving as External Examiner for the University of Manchester's BSc Educational Psychology.