Our team
Reducing Inequalities Through Education (RITE) is a network of researchers, practitioners and policymakers, led by academics from across multiple disciplines.
Find information about our network leads and our collaborator network.
Network leads
Paula Clarke, Associate Professor in Psychological Approaches to Childhood and Inclusive Education, School of Education
Paula’s work centres on the design and evaluation of inclusive assessment and intervention approaches to support literacy, reading and language.
Her current projects focus on reviewing commercially available screening tools for dyslexia and co-designing a web-based dynamic assessment app with young children, teachers and teaching assistants.
Paula’s research also extends to game-based methods to support vocabulary and inferencing, and to understanding the role of school library services in ensuring all children have access to high-quality, contextually relevant reading material.
Cat Davies, Professor of Language Development, School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
Cat’s research focuses on children’s early language, literacy and education, especially how home and educational environments influence development.
Her recent projects have explored the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdowns and how screen use interacts with learning.
Cat works with psychologists, educationalists, teachers and government policymakers to use research findings to improve policy and practice and boost educational outcomes for children from diverse backgrounds.
Cecile De Cat, Professor of Linguistics at the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
Cécile specialises in bilingualism (mainly in children and adolescents), and on the environmental, experiential and cognitive factors affecting language outcomes.
With an international team, she co-created the Q-BEx questionnaire to quantify bilingualism experience in children and adolescents, and screen for risk of language impairment.
She also focuses on the development of screening and assessment tools for reading comprehension and pragmatic abilities in adolescents.
Hannah Nash, Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology, School of Psychology
Hannah's research examines the developmental and educational factors that shape literacy outcomes in childhood, with a particular focus on dyslexia and English as an Additional Language (EAL).
She is particularly interested in improving the early identification of reading difficulties and works collaboratively with teachers and other education professionals to develop innovative assessment tools that are accurate, inclusive and responsive to children's learning potential.
Her work aims to improve educational outcomes by ensuring children receive the right support as early as possible.
Louise Tracey, Professor of Early Years Education at the School of Education
Louise’s research focuses on early years education, particularly speech, language and communication, literacy and wellbeing.
She is particularly interested in working with early years professionals in school-based settings and private, voluntary and independent nurseries, as well as childminders.
She has conducted a number of large-scale evaluations of professional development programmes for the early years workforce.
She has also conducted research into parental engagement and the home learning environment.
Amanda Waterman, Professor of Cognitive Development at the School of Psychology
Amanda’s research focuses on cognitive development including executive function and working memory, and on how we can use our understanding of cognitive load to improve learning.
She is particularly interested in applying cognitive science to the classroom to support educational outcomes, especially for children with memory difficulties.
She regularly works alongside education practitioners in her research, including co-producing guidance for classroom teachers.
Our collaborator network
Our network leads have developed a network of professional and cross-sectoral connections through the course of their research. These connections span a number of regional and national organisations including:
- Leeds City Council
- Leeds Libraries
- Child Friendly Leeds
- N8 Child of the North
- Research Schools Network
- National Literacy Trust
- Nesta
- Education Endowment Foundation
- The 1001 Critical Days Foundation
RITE is also closely connected with a range of research groups at the University of Leeds, including: