Dr. Gill Waters

Biography

Research profile:I am a Chartered Psychologist and my main area of research is young children’s metacognition (how they think about what they know). I am also interested how young children develop an understanding of the emotional and social world around them; children and adolescent's mental imagery and how it impacts on their education and mental health; adolescent's emotional development; adoption and post-adoption support; parenting.I am always keen to expand my areas of expertise via collaboration with other disciplines and with industry. I always welcome applications from prospective PhD students in the field of developmental psychology, adoption, or parenting.Career:I studied a Psychology BSc (Hons) as a part-time mature student with The Open University before moving on to become a full time doctoral student at the University of Birmingham in 2005. I worked as a part-time lecturer at the University of Leeds and then joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Bradford in 2009. I became an Associate Professor in 2022 and Head of the Department of Psychology in 2024.Membership:I am a chartered member of the British Psychological Society, a member of the Experimental Psychology Society, and a member of the Centre for Applied Educational Research (CAER) at the Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research. Teaching and Administration:I have previously been the PG Director of Studies for the School of Social Sciences, led the MSc Psychology programme, and have been the Admissions tutor for Psychology. I have also led a variety of modules including research methods, cognitive psychology, child development, and education. I currently run the master's dissertation modules. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.External Organisations:I am keen to work with external parties who are interested in similar areas of child development or adoption or parenting. I am also available for consultancy work in areas of my expertise. Please contact me to discuss.