My main areas of research address inclusive education, special educational needs and disability (SEND) and embodied pedagogy. I recently directed the DfE-funded Opportunity Area (OA) SEND Peer Challenge Project and Chaired the OA SEND Project Management group; I am currently a member of the OA Inclusion sub-group. I am also the Deputy Director for the End of Three-Year Review of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) funded by the Irish government.
As part of my work, I lead the ISEND Research Cluster for the Institute of Education (University of Derby). The Cluster engages in high-quality scholarly research in the field of inclusion, special educational needs and disability. The Cluster is particularly focused on supporting leaders of ISEND (schools, SENCOs, Local Authorities, local and national governments, and academics) and also welcomes participation from students, parents/carers of children with additional needs, advocates, and people with a disability. A key aim of the Cluster is widening access to research, as such the Cluster hosts a range of free online symposiums. To hear more about the work of the ISEND Research Cluster please feel free to message me.
I am also the co-convenor of the ISEND Research Co-operative. Comprising of a range of members (SENCOs, Local Authority and Research School staff, and academics from the University of Derby) this co-operative is currently researching quality first teaching in our local schools.
I have Programme Leadership for two programmes:
the National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (NASENCo)
the MA Inclusion and SEND (including the MA ISEND degree running at Mediterranean College, Greece)
As part of my Higher Educational (HE) role, I regularly work with the Department for Education, Nasen and a number of Local Authorities, providing training, writing for publication and leading research projects. 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 the following modules:
MA Education - Independent Study (60 Level 7 credits)
National Award for SENCOs: Leading effective, inclusive practice in special educational needs (60 Level 7 credits)
Negotiated Module (20 Level 7 credits)
Research interests
Focussed on inclusive education, social inclusion, SENCO Leadership, teacher resilience and methods of qualitative data analysis, 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 Wykeham Bosworth-Nightingale (PhD scholarship student, University of Derby), title: An ethnographic study of a supported internship programme
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 John Brown (PhD, University of Derby), title: Uncovering teachers' lived experience accounts of hidden disability and being professional
External Supervisor for Julie Wharton (PhD student, University of Winchester), title: Welcoming schools and the language of inclusion in Schools of Sanctuary
Doctoral Supervisions: 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 (SFHEA) in 2015
PhD Title: Reading Movement: Towards an embodied understanding of pedagogy
Postgraduate Certificate in Research Skills
Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Studies in Education
BA (Hons) QTS with Dance, Science and Mathematics
Recent conferences
Selected Presentations
Codina, G. (19 Oct 2022) Managing and Thriving in the SENCO Role [invited presenter] East Ridings SENCO Conference 2022.
Codina, G. (20 May 2022) SENCO Workload: A focus on thriving in the role [invited presenter] B Squared Virtual SEND Conference 2022, The Importance of Wellbeing for All
Codina, G. (2 – 6 September 2019) Reading Movement: Towards an embodied inclusive pedagogy [Workshop session]. European Conference Educational Research (ECER), Hamburg, Germany
Codina, G. (2018) Invited Panel Member, 1st Annual Education Studies Conference: The Battle for Children’s Minds, University of Derby
Codina, G., Walker. M., Wharton. J. (2016) Welcoming Schools: Enabling inclusion, British Educational Research Association (BERA) Leeds, Leeds University
Codina, G. (2015) Talking SEND in the 21st Century, [Keynote presenter] Hampshire County Council SENCO Conference, Hampshire
Codina, G., Egan, B., Fox., A., Lawrence, P. (2013), Embodied communication in pedagogical relationships: dancing interactions, [Workshop Paper] REID: Revisiting Identity - Embodied Communication across Time and Space, 2013-10-22 Örebro (Sweden)
Recent publications
Hanson, J., Robinson, D., & Codina, G. (2022). What makes supported internships an effective approach to VET?. Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE), 6(3). https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.4861
Beaton, M.C., Codina, G.N., and Wharton, J.C. (2021 Eds.) Leading on Inclusion: The role of the SENCO. Abingdon: Nasen Spotlight, Routledge
Codina, G.N., and Wharton, J.C. (2021) ‘The language of SEND: Implications for the SENCO’. In M.C. Beaton, G.N. Codina, and J.C. Wharton, (Eds) Leading on Inclusion: The role of the SENCO. Abingdon: Nasen Routledge, pp. 15-25 (Chapter 3)
Codina, G., Fordham, J. (2021) ‘Resilience, Reflection and Reflexivity’. In S. Soan (Ed) Why Do Teachers Need to Know about Diverse Learning Needs? London: Bloomsbury, pp. 119-135 (Chapter 8)
