Dr Pamela Graham

Associate Professor

School: Communities and Education

Pamela is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing. Her teaching and research expertise is in child and adolescent developmment, social and emotional wellbeing and inclusive practice. Her professional background is in interprofessional and interdisciplinary provision for children, young people, parents and families. The underlying aims of Pamela's work relate to improving the life chances and wellbeing of children and young people, particularly those who are in situations where disadvantage and discrimination are common experiences and where they have little power over their circumstances. Pamela has been in a number of leadership roles at Northumbria, including Deputy Head of Department, Director of Education and Head of Subject for Children and Young People. She is currently joint lead for the Inclusive Education Research/Expert Group.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Pamela's research and teaching are supported by the core conditions of person-centred and relational practice. Her mixed methods doctoral research developed an argument for the place of horses as authentic and therapeutic partners in relational work with excluded young people, whose everyday lives have not previously provided them with experiences of relationships characterised by respect, trust and acceptance. The outcomes piqued her interest in examining other creative experiences and interventions that aim to improve children and young people's wellbeing and self efficacy. She is currently focusing on building research capacity in this area - and under the wider umbrella of Northumbria's cultural partnership activitiy - is involved in consultancy and evaluation work with the children and young people's team at Live Theatre. Early findings from this research activity are indicating that engaging in a creative community can enhance children and young peoples confidence and self-worth and sense of belonging.

Pamela is keen to continue to collaborate with colleagues within and outside of Higher Education both to advance excellence in teaching and to support research with children and young people.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Exploratory analysis of inter-connected factors related to secondary school absenteeism: Caregivers’ perspectives, Carrick, A., Chen, R., Littlefair, D., Friedman, S., Mulholland, K., Hudson, K., Graham, P., Graham, P., Davies, C., Barker, L., Cordier, R. 1 Jan 2026, In: International Journal of Educational Research
The construct components of self-regulation from a systematic review of self-regulation measures in children and adolescents, Janicaud, N., Chen, Y., McAuliffe, T., So, J., Wilkes-Gillan, S., Littlefair, D., Graham, P., Cordier, R. 1 Mar 2026, In: Current Psychology
Interventions to Improve Connectedness, Belonging, and Engagement in Secondary Schools: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Davies, C., Cordier, R., Graham, P., Littlefair, D., Speyer, R., Melo, D. 7 May 2025, In: Education Sciences
What does transformation in Higher Education research culture look like? Evidence from action research within a diverse post-1992 department, Mulholland, K., Robson, I., Nichol, D., Counihan, C., Gray, W., Luke, C., Meller, S., Anderson, A., Heslop, K., Davies, J., Graham, P., Johnson, S., Hwang, S., Chan, W., Johnson, E., Hudson, K., Haighton, C., Littlefair, D., Defeyter, M., Kellehear, A., Atkinson, J., Johnson, M. 30 Oct 2025, In: Routledge Open Research
A systematic review of self-regulation measures in children: Exploring characteristics and psychometric properties, Chen, Y., Janicaud, N., Littlefair, D., Graham, P., Soler, N., Wilkes-Gillan, S., McAuliffe, T., Cordier, R. 19 Sep 2024, In: PLoS One
Multi-Agency Practice with Young Children, Robson, I., Graham, P. 22 Jan 2024, Early Childhood Studies, London, United Kingdom, SAGE
Promoting social-inclusion: Adapting and refining a school participation and connectedness intervention for neurodiverse children in UK primary schools, Littlefair, D., McCloskey-Martinez, M., Graham, P., Nicholls, F., Hodges, A., Cordier, R. 1 Nov 2024, In: Research in Developmental Disabilities
Friendship interventions for children with neurodevelopmental needs: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Cordier, R., Parsons, L., Wilkes-Gillan, S., Cook, M., McCloskey-Martinez, M., Graham, P., Littlefair, D., Kent, C., Speyer, R. 14 Dec 2023, In: PLoS One
Bearing Witness to the Beauty of Enactive Kinesthetic Empathy across Species in Canine-Human and Equine-Human Interactions: Participant-Observation Ethnographies, Carlyle, D., Graham, P. 2020, In: People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice
Bodies of knowledge, kinetic melodies, rhythms of relating and affect attunement in vital spaces for multi-species well-being: Finding common ground in intimate human-canine and human-equine encounters, Carlyle, D., Graham, P. 7 Nov 2019, In: Animals

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Half Day CPD event, McGovern, W. (Principal Investigator), Graham, P. (Co Investigator), Newcastle City Council, 27/11/23 - 27/11/23, £2,744.00
Adapting And Refining a School Participation and Connectedness Intervention for Autistic Children in UK Schools, Littlefair, D. (Principal Investigator), Graham, P. (Co Investigator), RIS Internal Funding, 03/01/23 - 31/07/23, £28,395.00
HEIF Impact Evaluation of Attachment Strategy in North Tyneside: a case study, Graham, P. (Principal Investigator), North Tyneside Council, 01/05/14 - 30/04/15, £3,000.00