Gale Macleod

Professor Gale Macleod is a leading academic in education at the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education and Sport. Her work focuses on social and emotional challenges in education, parental engagement, and postgraduate education dynamics. She holds a PhD from Edinburgh and has extensive experience in education, including roles as a care worker and teacher for students with SEBD. Currently, she coordinates the Higher Education Research Group and leads projects like the ‘Beyond Behaviour’ initiative exploring neurodevelopmental disorder diagnoses’ societal impacts.

Education:

• BA (Hons) Philosophy/Theology, Oxford University
• MEd, University of Edinburgh
• PGDE (Primary), Moray House
• PGDSpLD, University of Edinburgh
• PhD, University of Edinburgh

Research Interests:

• Social relationships in education (symbolic interactionist perspective)
• Young people labeled as 'disruptive'
• Family learning and parental engagement
• Postgraduate taught (PGT) student experiences
• Policy-practice intersections

Grants & Collaborations:

• Spencer Foundation: 'Disrupting Understandings of Disruptive Behaviour'
• QAA-funded 'Building resilience in PGT communities'
• Scottish Government: Parental engagement projects
• Co-leads 'Moray House Read, Write, Count' initiative addressing attainment gaps

Advising:

• Supervised over 20 PhD students on topics ranging from ADHD diagnosis impacts to school exclusion policies
• Open to interdisciplinary projects, particularly from non-traditional scholars

Labs/Teams:

• Higher Education Research Group (HERG)
• CREID (Centre for Research in Education and Inclusion)
• Scottish Book Trust collaborations