Clare Cunningham

Dr Clare Cunningham is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, Language and Psychology at York St John University, where she has been lecturing in Linguistics since the 2009-2010 academic year. She completed her MA in English Language Teaching at York St John University in 2009 and earned her PhD in Language Education from the University of York in 2017, focusing on teachers' discourses about multilingualism in English schools. As module director for the core first-year module Introduction to Linguistics and Multilingualism, she teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programs with a focus on multilingualism, language varieties, and language attitudes.

Her research interests coalesce around two key strands: Attitudes, Beliefs and Knowledge about Multilingualism in schools, and Ecolinguistics. Her doctoral research examined the experiences of children who speak languages beyond English in UK schools, leading to an ongoing international collaborative project investigating teachers' attitudes to linguistic diversity. In ecolinguistics, she explores how primary-aged children use written narratives to express their views on nature and the environment, and has published on student discourses about ecological justice.

The trends across her publications reveal a consistent focus on language attitudes, power dynamics in educational settings, and the intersection of language with broader social justice issues. Her work spans linguistic analysis of educational practices, climate change discourse, and the social dimensions of language use in multilingual contexts, demonstrating how language functions as both a reflection and shaper of social realities in educational environments.

Selected Scientific Awards and Honors:

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Dr Cunningham actively supervises students across multiple research programs including MRes, MA by Research, PhD, and ELP EdD. She serves as academic lead for the student-led civic engagement project YEAL (York English as an Additional Language), which supports local schools in working with children who speak languages beyond English. Her professional activities include being a founder member of NALDIC's Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Group and maintaining a longstanding relationship with the British Council.

She is involved in the cross-school Ecological Justice in the Curriculum project and the Living Lab Project through the Institute for Social Justice, demonstrating her commitment to linking academic research with community engagement and practical applications in educational settings.