Dr Cameron Downing
Senior Lecturer

Profile

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education at the University of York. My research examines how children and young people learn to read and write, why some experience difficulties, and how evidence from this research can be translated into effective assessment, teaching and intervention in schools. My particular interests include reading,  spelling, and handwriting development, dyslexia and related literacy difficulties, and literacy development in bilingual contexts.

Much of my current work is undertaken through CAL:ON Cymru, the Welsh Government-funded national centre for bilingual literacy, which I co-direct. I help shape the centre’s strategic direction and lead major strands of its work on professional learning and the development and evaluation of evidence-informed literacy programmes, resources, and assessments. I also work with government, schools and practitioners to translate research into national guidance and scalable approaches to improving literacy across Wales.

A closely related strand of my research focuses on the rigorous evaluation and implementation of school-based programmes. I use randomised controlled trials, alongside mixed-methods process and implementation evaluations, to establish whether programmes improve outcomes and to understand how they are adopted, delivered and sustained in everyday school settings.

Research

Overview

My research examines how children and young people learn to read and write, why some experience difficulties, and how evidence can be translated into effective educational practice and policy. My work has two closely connected strands.

The first focuses on literacy development, instruction and intervention. Specifically, I investigate:

1. The development and interrelationships of reading, spelling and handwriting.
2. Dyslexia and other difficulties affecting literacy development, including co-occurring difficulties.
3. Literacy development, instruction and intervention in bilingual contexts.
4. The development and evaluation of evidence-informed literacy assessments, teaching approaches, interventions and professional learning.

The second strand focuses on the rigorous evaluation and implementation of school-based programmes. I am interested both in whether programmes improve outcomes and in how they are adopted, delivered, adapted and sustained in everyday school settings.

I use longitudinal, correlational and experimental methods. My school-based evaluation research includes large-scale randomised controlled trials, often using cluster designs, alongside mixed-methods process and implementation evaluations.

These strands come together through my role as Co-director of CAL:ON Cymru. I work with government, schools and practitioners to develop and evaluate approaches to improving bilingual literacy at scale and to translate research into professional learning and national guidance.

For an up-to-date list of my publications and research activities, please visit my University of York PURE profile.

Research group(s)

• Psychology in Education Research Centre (PERC)

Grants

My research has been supported by funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Welsh Government, the Nuffield Foundation, and the Waterloo Foundation.

Supervision

I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students interested in developing projects in the following areas:

• The development and interrelationships of reading, spelling, and handwriting.
• Dyslexia and other difficulties affecting literacy development, including co-occurring difficulties.
• Bilingual literacy development, instruction and intervention.
• The development and evaluation of literacy assessments, teaching approaches, interventions and professional learning.
• The evaluation and implementation of school-based programmes, including randomised controlled trials and mixed-methods implementation approaches.