My main areas of research address inclusive education, Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), embodied pedagogy, qualitative research skills, and student engagement.
As part of my Higher Educational (HE) role I work with the DfE, NASEN and a number of Local Authorities, providing training, writing for publication and working on research projects. I have also reviewed papers for a number of international peer-reviewed journals (for example, JORSEN and the International Journal of Inclusive Education).
Previously I taught Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students (PGCE and BA) and worked as the Head of Quality in the Faculty of Education, Health and Social Care (University of Winchester).
Prior to working in Higher Education, I worked as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and school teacher in both special and mainstream settings.
Teaching responsibilities
I teach on the following modules:
Independent Study (60 Level 7 credits)
ISEND: Contemporary Issues and Dilemmas (20 Level 7 credits)
Leading effective, inclusive practice in special educational needs (60 Level 7 credits)
Negotiated module (60 Level 7 credits)
Philosophical Interpretations of Disability, Impairment and Inclusion (20 Level 7 credits)
Research interests
Focussed on inclusion, SEND, teacher resilience, SENCOs’ professional development, methods of qualitative data analysis, and inclusive student engagement my research often draws on the work of Heidegger, Gadamer, Ricoeur and Merleau-Ponty. Methodologically my research tends to employ hermeneutic phenomenology.
Doctoral Supervisions: Current students
Director of Studies for Dana Abu Omar (PhD student, University of Derby), title: Can we end the dyslexia debate?
Director of Studies for Konstantina Anastasiou (PhD student, University of Derby), title: Teachers’ lived experience of including children with Autism
Second Supervisor for Chris Bristow (EdD student, University of Derby), title: “I want my child to attend a special school”: A case study into the views of parents who choose a special school for their child with a moderate learning difficulties (MLD)
Director of Studies for Wendy Conrad (EdD student, University of Derby), title: Supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of learning-disabled learners in the mainstream secondary classroom
Director of Studies for Kim Smith (EdD student, University of Derby), title: Using research circles to investigate a multi-sensory physical intervention aimed to develop the manual signing of children who use Makaton
Second Supervisor for Julie Wharton (PhD student, University of Winchester), title: Welcoming schools and the language of inclusion in Schools of Sanctuary
Doctoral Supervisons: Completed students
Dr Rosemary Shepherd(EdD, University of Derby), title: A phenomenological study of students with hidden disabilities in Higher Education: A cross sectional study of learning support needs in a university in the UK
Membership of professional bodies
Awarded Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2015.
PhD - University of Winchester. Title - Reading Movement: Towards an embodied understanding of pedagogy
Postgraduate Certificate in Research Skills (Distinction) - University of Winchester
Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Studies in Education (Pass, no grade distinctions given) - Kingston University, South West London
BA (Hons) QTS with Dance, Science and Mathematics (First Class Honours) - University of Surrey, (Froebel College, Roehampton Institute)
Recent conferences
Workshop presenter (2019), European Conference Educational Research (ECER), workshop title: Reading Movement: Towards an embodied inclusive pedagogy
Workshop presenter (2019), OA SEND Conference, presenting with Alex Grady (NASEN), workshop title: How to prevent exclusion through inclusion
Workshop presenter (2019), 6th Annual ISEND Conference: Looking beyond labels, the pragmatics of uncertainty, workshop title: Reading Movement: Including the Body
Workshop presenter (2018), 5th Annual ISEND Conference: SEND Everyone’s Business, workshop title: The Role of the SENCO
Panel Member (2018), 1st Annual Education Studies Conference: The Battel for Children’s Minds
Workshop presenter (2016), British Educational Research Association Conference, presenting with Miriam Walker and Julie Wharton, workshop title: Welcoming Schools: Enabling inclusion
Workshop presenter (2016), Values and Education International Conference, The Comenius Association and the University of Winchester, presenting with Miriam Walker and Julie Wharton workshop title: Shaping attitudes towards inclusion
Keynote presenter (2015), Hampshire County Council SENCO Conference, keynote title: Talking SEND in the 21st Century
Paper presentation (2013), REID conference (Revisiting Identity Embodied communication across time and space, Örebro (Sweden), with Dr Bridget Egan, Ann Fox and Penny Lawrence, paper title: Embodied communication in pedagogical relationships: dancing interactions
Workshop presenter (2013), 12th International Students' Research Conference, Latvia, workshop title: Ways of Being ‘teacherly’ with an embodied understanding
Workshop presenter (2013), University of Winchester Research and Engagement Week, workshop title: Co-producing Understanding and Interpretation with Students
2020 (under review), Codina, G. ‘Co-operative hermeneutic phenomenology as a methodology for authentic student engagement: The role of the 'teacher’', Teaching in Higher Education
2019 (under review), Wharton, J., Codina, G., Esposito, R., & Middleton, T. Inclusion Mini Guide, Tamworth: NASEN
2020 (under review), Codina, G., & Fordham, J. ‘Resilience, Reflection and Reflexive’, S. Soan (Ed) Special and Able and Talented Educational Needs, London: Bloomsbury
2020 Book Editor, Beaton, M., Codina, G., & Wharton, J. Leading on Inclusion: The SENCo role, Abingdon: Routledge
2020 Book chapter for publication, Codina, G., & Wharton, J. ‘Talking SEND in the 21st Century’, in M. Beaton, G. Codina, & J. Wharton, (Eds) Leading on Inclusion, Abingdon: Routledge
