About

I am a Professor of Inclusion, Special Educational Needs and Disability (ISEND), as part of this role I lead the University of Derby’s ISEND Research Cluster.

Focussed on inclusion as a human rights issue related to social justice, my work connects research and practice as the basis for improving the lives of children with a label of special educational needs and disability. My research often involves working with school/college leaders of inclusion as close-to-practice researchers. Drawing on hermeneutic phenomenology, an overarching theme of my work concerns the centralising of people’s lived experience accounts and the voices of children/young people and their families. 

As part of my role, I work with a range of organisations and people; for example, international and national government departments, Local Authorities, nasen Whole School SEND, SDSA, multi-academy trusts, schools, Headteachers, SENCOs and school teachers. This work involves me in leading research projects, providing conference keynotes, knowledge exchange activities, and writing for publication. Previously I taught Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students (PGCE and BA) and worked as the Head of Quality for a university Faculty of Education, Health and Social Care.

Prior to working in Higher Education, I worked as a Senior Leader, Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), and school teacher in both special and mainstream settings.

Past Projects (Recent)

• Investigating the impact of National Council for Special Educational Needs (NCSE) frontline services. Funder: NCSE (2022 – 2023)
• Join Me Two (Principal Investigator). Funder: ERASMUS+ (2021 – 2023)
• End-of-year Three Evaluation of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM). Funder: Irish Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) (2020 – 2022)
• Educational Provision for Unaccompanied Sanctuary Seekers (Principal Investigator). Funder: Derby Local Authority (2020 – 2021)
• Derby Opportunity Area (OA) SEND Peer Challenge (Principal Investigator). Funder: Department for Education (England) (2018 – 2020)

Current Projects

• Change Programme - Regional Young People’s Assembly (Principal Investigator). Funder Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland (LLR) Change Programme, Department for Education (2024-2025)
• Action Research and Lesson Study for ISEND (Principal Investigator). Funder: Department of Education (via Whole School SEND) (2022 – 2025)
• Young service users at the heart of policy and practice evaluation: A co-researcher training programme for young people with disabilities. Funder: SEND East Midlands (2022 - 2025)

Teaching responsibilities

• Doctoral students
• MRes Hermeneutic Phenomenology

Research interests

My research interests focus on inclusive education, social inclusion, SENCO Leadership, Supported Internships and employment, communities of practice, teachers as researchers, universal provision, and quality-first practice.

Doctoral Supervisions: Current students

• Director of Studies for John Brown (PhD, University of Derby), title - Uncovering Teachers' lived experience accounts of hidden disability and being professional
• Second Supervisor for Sarah Roeschlaub (PhD, University of Derby), title - An investigation into same-sex families and the construction and evolution of personal and family identity.
• Director of Studies for Maria Szreder (PhD scholarship student, University of Derby), title - Investigating Supported Internships in England and the United States: The discursive construction of Supported Internships and Implications for the social inclusion of People with disabilities
• Director of Studies for Alex Tomkins (EdD, University of Derby), title - Investigating the implementation and consequences of assessment practices informed by hermeneutic phenomenology in special education 

Doctoral Supervisions: Completed students

• Dr Wykeham Bosworth-Nightingale (PhD scholarship student, University of Derby), title - An ethnographic study of a Project SEARCH Supported Internship programme: a focus on social inclusion for learning disabled people (Director of Studies)
• Dr Wendy Conrad (EdD, University of Derby), title - Supporting the emotional health and well-being of learning-disabled learners in the mainstream secondary classroom (Director of Studies)
• 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 (Second Supervisor)
• Dr Julie Wharton (PhD, University of Winchester), title -  Welcoming Schools and the Language of inclusion in Schools of Sanctuary (External Supervisor)

Membership of professional bodies

• Awarded Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) in 2015
• Member of the editorial board for the European Journal of Education (2023 - current)
• Co-founder of the SENCO Policy Advisory Group (2024 - current)

Qualifications

• 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

Invited Conferences 

• Codina, G. (28^th June 2024) Inspiring Inclusive Practice [keynote presenter] TES SEND North Conference (Times Education), Manchester
• Codina, G. (6^th November 2023) Inclusive mainstream practice for children with SEND [keynote presenter] Cluster of Derbyshire Schools SEND Conference
• Codina G. (26^th April 2023) The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Conference 2023 [Chair], Government Events
• Codina, G., Brown, E., Scott, K. (9^th Feb 2023) Action Research for ISEND [invited Presenter]. Solihull, Local Authority, Headteachers’ conference
• 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

Refereed Conference Proceedings 

• Codina, G. and Robinson, D. (August 2023) Action Research for ISEND: Analysis of a practitioner researcher. European Conference of Educational Research (ECER), Glasgow, UK
• Codina, G., Robinson, D., Delgado-Fuentes, M., Shepherd, R., Qureshi, S. (April 2023) Funding a Model of Inclusive Pre-School Education: A focus on stakeholder perspectives. American Education Research Association (AERA), Chicago, USA
• Robinson D., and Codina, G. Delgado-Fuentes, M., Shepherd, R. (2023) Implementing Counterhegemonic Research Approaches to Evaluation High Profile, National Policies in Early Childhood Education and Care. American Education Research Association (AERA), Chicago, USA

Experience in industry

• Chair of the Derby Local Area Inclusion Partnership Board 
• Member of the Derby City Inclusion Strategy Committee

Recent publications

Impact Case Study REF 2021

• Robinson, D., Codina, G., Dimitrellou, E. Hanson., Moore., N. Shepherd, C. (2021) Ecologies for the enhancement of social and educational inclusion in England; policy and practice for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), Education (UoA 23). Featuring the OA SEND Peer Challenge work

Peer Reviewed Journals Articles

• Upsher, R., Dommett, E., Carlisle, A., Conner, S., Codina, G., Nobili, A., Byrom, N., (2025) Improving Reporting Standards in Quantitative Educational Intervention Research: Introducing the CLOSER and CIDER Checklists. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, https://doi.org/10.1007/s44322-024-00022-9
• Akbar, A., and Codina, G. (2024) Representations of disability in Qur’anic narratives. Journal of Disability and Religion. 1-19 https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2024.2353603
• Robinson, D., and Codina, G. (2024) Children and Practitioners as Truth Seekers and Truth Tellers: Innovative, Counter-Hegemonic Approaches to Evaluating National Inclusion Policies. Educational Sciences Journal Special Issue: Innovative Approaches to Enhance Inclusive Education. 14(4): 414, pp.1-26.https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14040414
• Codina, G., and Robinson, D. (2024) Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development: Action research for Inclusion and Special Educational Needs and Disability (ISEND). Education Sciences (Special Issue: Innovative Approaches to Enhance Inclusive Education). 14(2), 140. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14020140
• Sheridan, D., Robinson, D., Codina, G., Gowers, S.J. O’Sullivan, L., and Ring, E. (Dec. 2022). Frontiers in Education, https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.1035177
• Hanson, J., Robinson, D., and Codina, G. (Nov. 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
• Codina, G., and Szenasi, J. (Mar. 2022) Educational provision for newly arrived unaccompanied sanctuary seekers aged 15–16. International Journal of Inclusive Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2022.2048101            
• Hanson, J., Robinson, D., & Codina, G. (Oct. 2021). Supported internships as a vehicle for social inclusion. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 49, 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12428
• Beaton, M. C., Codina, G. N., & Wharton, J. C. (Jun. 2021) Decommissioning normal: COVID-19 as a disruptor of school norms for young people with learning disabilities. British Journal of Learning Disabilities. 2021;49:393– 402. https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12399
• Robinson, D., Codina, G., Hanson, J., Dimitrellou, E and Qureshi, S. (2020) 'Careers coaching for social justice: the case of school leadership and inclusive education for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities'. Derby: University of Derby

Publications in Peer Reviewed Journals

• Robinson, D., Codina, G., Strogilos, V., and Dimitrellou. E. (Dec. 2021) Editorial: Education as a catalyst for the social inclusion of people with learning disabilities. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 49(4): 385-39. https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12432
• Beaton, M. C., Codina, G. N., & Wharton, J. C. (2021). In Response—Reply to John Paul Donnelly. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 49, 406–408. https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12427

Books and Chapters

• Codina, G., Ali, Ali, and Shepherd, R. (2023) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education in the UK. In N. Oruc Ertürk, and A. Yürekli (Eds) Inclusive Education: Definition and Conceptual Framework, Münster (Germany): Waxman, pp. 149-148
• Beaton, M.C., Codina, G.N., and Wharton, J.C. (2021 Eds.) Leading on Inclusion: The role of the SENCO. Abingdon: nasen Spotlight, Routledge. (Book)
• 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., and 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)

Funded Research Reports

• Robinson, D., Gowers, S., Codina, G., Artess, J., Delgago, M., Mycock, K., Qureshi, S., Shepherd, R., and IFF: Luanaigh, A. (2024) End of Year Three Evaluation of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM): Executive Summary. Inclusion and SEND Research Cluster: University of Derby, Institute of Education. pp.1-28
• Robinson, D., Gowers, S., Codina, G., Artess, J., Delgago, M., Mycock, K., Qureshi, S., Shepherd, R., and IFF: Luanaigh, A. (2024) End-of-year Three Evaluation of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM): Research and Technical Report. Inclusion and SEND Research Cluster: University of Derby, Institute of Education. pp.1-591
• Robinson, D., Codina, G., and Shepherd, R. (2024) End of Year Three Evaluation of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM): Easy Read Research Summary. Inclusion and SEND Research Cluster: University of Derby, Institute of Education. pp.1-11
• Codina, G., and Szenasi, J. (2021) Educational Provision for Unaccompanied Sanctuary Seekers in Derby: A focus on Year 11 students in the Spring and Summer Terms. Research Report, Derby: Derby City Council
• Adams, L., Tindle, A., Basran, S., Dobie, S., Thomson, D., Robinson, D., Codina, G. (2018) Education, Health and Care Plans: A qualitative investigation into services user experiences of the planning process, London: Department for Education
• Hanson, J., Codina, G., Neary, S. (2017) Transition programmes for young adults with SEND: What works? London: The Careers & Enterprise Company

Funded Publications for Practising SENCOs and Teachers

• Codina, G., and Robinson, D. (2022) Action Research for Inclusion and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (ISEND): Guidance Resource and Templates Resource, University of Derby: Derby. DOI:10.48773/9vqvx
• Wharton, J., Codina, G., Middleton, T., & Esposito, R., (2019) SENCO Induction Pack: Supporting you at the start of your journey, Tamworth: NASEN [available at] SENCO Induction Pack: revised edition | SendGateway
• Wharton, J., Codina, G., Middleton, T., & Esposito, R., (2019) Inclusion Mini Guide, Tamworth: NASEN. https://nasen.org.uk/resources/understanding-inclusion

Unfunded Publications for Practising SENCOs and Teachers

• Codina, G., Freeston, J., and Smith, N. (Jul. 2023) Quality First Practice Padlet, Derby: Derby Direction (Quality First Practice (QFP): Padlet)

 Blog/Magazine publication

• Codina, G. (May 2024) Teachers as Researchers: Action Research and Lesson Study for ISEND. nasen Connect. https://nasen.org.uk/resources/nasen-connect-magazine-summer-2024
• Codina, G. (2024) Action Research and Lesson Study for ISEND, nasen and Whole School SEND blog
• Codina, G. (2024) Action Research and Lesson Study for ISEND Project: Halfway point review! Action Research for ISEND project website (ISEND Research Cluster)
• Codina, G., and Shepheard, R. (2022) The reasonableness of reasonable adjustments. JoinMe2 Blog