Professor Ruth Swanwick

Profile

I am a Professor at Leeds University School of Education where I lead the deaf education research activities and contribute to the MA in Deaf Education/Teacher of the Deaf Programme.

I am also Director of Research and Innovation in the School of Education. My role is to lead the school research strategy and facilitate ambitious research activity and quality outputs within a dynamic research environment.

My background is in education; initially in modern foreign language teaching and then in deaf education where I worked with sign bilingual deaf children and young people in inclusive settings and developed approaches to teaching English as a second and/or foreign language for deaf learners.

I came to Leeds University to lead the MA in Deaf Education/Teacher of the Deaf programme which was the first deaf education programme in the UK to recognise and support the use of sign language in deaf children's education. Because of its unique inclusive and bilingual philosophy this programme drew applications from across the UK and so was developed, and continues to be offered, as a distance  and blended provision.

Responsibilities

• Director of Research and Innovation

Research interests

My research activities encompass childhood deafness, language and learning, inclusive and bilingual education and teacher development.  My particular area of specialism is deaf children’s multilingual communication and language learning and the development of pedagogies and practitioner understanding. I have published extensively on these topics and led funded research projects on deaf children’s literacy development (ESRC); the role of sign language for deaf children with cochlear implants (Nuffield); and approaches to critical thinking and reflective practice in deaf education (British Academy). In 2015 I was awarded a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship to develop a  plurilingual language framework for deaf education and other recent projects have focused on the linguistic and cultural experiences of deaf children of Roma families in the UK and the daily life interactions between deaf and hearing people Signs beyond Borders,

I am currently leading a new project that investigates the early education for young deaf children and their caregivers in Ghana with Co-Is Dr Yaw Nyadu Offei and Dr Alexander Mills Oppong from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.This research is funded by the British Academy’s Early Childhood Education Programme, supported under the Global Challenges Research Fund.

I am also the UK PI for an Innovative Training Network that examines communication for children with hearing impairment to optimise language development (EU Horizon 2020)  comm4child.ulb.be.

I am also working as Co-I with the University of York and the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on a systematic review of early interventions for parents of deaf babies (National Institute for Health Research: Research for Patient Benefit).

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

• Communication for Children with Hearing Impairment to optimise Language Development (Comm4CHILD)
• Early education for young deaf children and their caregivers in Ghana

Qualifications

• PhD
• Masters in Education
• PGCE (Modern Foreign Languages)
• BA Hons
• Teacher of the Deaf Diploma

Professional memberships

• British Association of Teachers of the Deaf
• National Sensory Impairment Partnerships
• British Education Research Association
• Sign Bilingual Consortium

Student education

I teach on the MA Deaf Education Programme. This online blended distance education programme is approved by the NCTL to offer the mandatory Teacher of the Deaf (ToD) award. The programme recruits nationally and prepares suitably qualified deaf and hearing practitioners to work with deaf students across a range of educational settings. I contribute to the teaching, assessment and evaluation of all aspects of this programme and work with stakeholders and regional tutors to train and support the professional development of teachers of the deaf across the national context.

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>The school welcomes enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>