Dr Dominic Griffiths

Academic collaborations

• ‘The Dyslexia / Specific Learning Difficulties Support Project’ Department for Education-funded  training and evaluation project in collaboration with the British Dyslexia Association. March 2016- March 2018.
• March 2017 Evaluation Report on the BDA-led ‘Teaching for Neurodiversity Training https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323758230_Manchester_Metropoli…
• February 2018: Case Studies of Four Dyslexia Friendly Secondary Schools and Colleges https://www.patoss-dyslexia.org/write/MediaUploads/4765_BDA_Case_Study_…
• March 2018: Scoping Review of the Literature on Processes for Change for Inclusive Practice and the Evidence for Success in Enabling Achievement https://cdn.bdadyslexia.org.uk/uploads/documents/Advice/Webinar-Trainin…

Grants

In March 2016, along with a group of  Specific Learning Difficulties charities, led by the British Dyslexia Association, I and colleagues at Manchester Met were successful in winning a Department for Education research contract, worth £750,000, for developing mainstream school and post 16 institution staff expertise in supporting students with dyslexia through a series of ‘Train the Trainer’ events throughout England with the aim of  trainees cascading this training to their school and college colleagues.

The project aimed to help tens of thousands of school and college staff to access dyslexia and specific learning difficulties support training across the country.

I led the team from Manchester Met in the evaluation of the ‘Dyslexia Support Project’ project, whose duration was March 2016-March 2017.(See ‘Academic Collaborations’ above)

The project was  awarded a second year of funding from March 2017- March 2018  involved the production of two scoping literature reviews as well as research to develop four Case Studies of dyslexia-friendly practice in secondary schools and further education colleges. (Overall award to Manchester Met. £67,000. See also ‘Academic Collaborations’, above)

Other Research Projects

Between February and November 2019 I was involved as part of a research team at Manchester Met’s Education and Social Research Institute (ESRI) evaluating the Welsh Government’s support model for newly qualified teachers in Southeast Wales. The project report was released in November 2019. 

• EAS NQT Evaluation Final Report Draft for EAS approval.  Moira Hulme, Steph Ainsworth, Dominic Griffiths and Kate Wicker

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359281517_EAS_NQT_Evaluation_F…

I have also been involved in a second research project with ESRI for the Welsh Government-funded Education Achievement Service Wellbeing Project. Running from September 2019 to July 2020, the project researched wellbeing strategies for vulnerable groups developed in schools and other settings in South East Wales. The project team  produced  a series of 17 Case Studies of good practice to be disseminated to the education workforce in Wales.

• Wellbeing Strategies & Vulnerable Group Support EAS Approved 210520. Moira Hulme, Corinne Woodfine, Kate Kardas and Dominic Griffiths.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359281537_Wellbeing_Strategies…

Most recently (January -October 2021) I was involved in an evaluation of the Continuum of Provision project in the North West of England to examine how a collaborative continuum of provision within and between schools and alternative settings could help prevent school exclusions. 

• Creating a Continuum of Provision to support high needs pupils EVALUATION REPORT DECEMBER 2021.  Moira Hulme, Carrie Adamson and  Dominic Griffiths

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359281340_Creating_a_Continuum…

Why study Inclusive Education and Special Educational Needs?

Developing schools’ capacities to welcome the diversity of the  children in their communities must be one of the central priorities of any society that wants to consider itself as equitable and inclusive.

This presents schools, local authorities and governments with challenges (and opportunities), to move forward their cultures, policies and practices in education to build their capacities to ‘do’ inclusion.

My teaching has aimed to challenge the notion that some children need a ‘separate pedagogy’  and aims, instead, to see that inclusive pedagogy is about teaching with the diversity of learners in mind and seeing the commonalities of approaches that are suitable for the range of  so-called ‘special educational needs’ (SEN). 

In particular, I am keen to demystify the notion of ‘special educational needs’ , to develop students’ understanding of different ‘syndromes’ in SEN, but also to problematise the notion of these as separate, water-tight ‘categories’

I want to develop pre-service and in-service teachers’ confidence in meeting this diversity in learning and to develop their orientation as teachers who are members of collaborative problem-solving ‘communities of practice’. To this end I have been drawing upon the principles of Universal Design for Learning  for trainee teachers to use in their practice and have published case studies of their use.

I also aim to develop students;’ understanding that inclusive education is not just about about addressing diversity in learning, but of engaging with the wider diversity of  a school’s community and that inclusion is about challenging  the barriers that ‘disable’ certain individuals and groups in society.

External examiner roles

• University of Hull: External Examiner for the BA (Hons) Social Inclusion and Special Needs  2013-2018

Current Supervision

I am currently supervising a number of PhD and Ed Doc research students

My research interests are in the field of developing schools’ and colleges’ capacities for inclusive educational practice and what the ‘enabling’ and ‘blocking’ factors might be in this process .

In particular, I am interested in how teachers and other staff  might develop their  confidence in engaging with inclusion. Part of this issue is the way that staff perceive what many consider a rather ‘other’ world of ‘Special Educational Needs’ (SEN). I am keen to investigate what lies at the heart of these views and to explore ways of ‘demystifying’ and deconstructing the discourses of  ‘SEN expertise’.

Instead, I am keen to explore whether it is better for teachers, parents and students look beyond SEN labels and their assumed ‘categories’ and ‘syndromes’ and to consider the more fluid concept of the ‘neurodiversity’ of every individual and to see if using this as a guiding concept will transform how teachers approach assessment and support in the mainstream classroom.

Most recently I have developed an interest in analysing the discourses around SEN and neurodiversity, how these terms are perceived in the public sphere, and  in particular, how these discourses might influence policy and practice in Education. I have been using the theoretical framework of Bakhtinian linguistics (dialogism) in these analyses.