PERC Research Labs

The Well Minds lab uses innovative multi-method approaches to investigate developmental neurocognitive and neuroaffective processes underpinning mental health and wellbeing in children and adolescents. We apply this new understanding in improving school mental health and wellbeing curricula and education policy. To find out more, visit our webpage.

The GOALS (GenOmics And Life Stories) Lab uses creative and inclusive research methods to explore a range of different life stories. These are linked to the implications of genomic research for education; lived experiences of special educational needs, disabilities and neurodivergence; inclusive communication strategies in schools; and broader inclusive qualitative research methods. To find out more, visit our webpage.

The Thoughts and Feelings about Bullying lab aims to examine the nature and impact of bullying in school. Our current work focuses on examining bullying as a traumatic experience, the impact of bullying on parents, and the mechanisms that underpin the relationship between bullying and poor mental health. To find out more, visit our webpage.

In the Future Youth Wellbeing Research (FYRE) Group, our mission is to understand and improve youth wellbeing in the digital age. We adopt a mixed-methods interdisciplinary approach to understanding the risks and opportunities that digital media and technologies present for youth wellbeing. We also design, deliver and evaluate educational and technological interventions to support positive technology use and youth wellbeing. To find out more, visit our webpage.

The Hungry Mind Lab explores the causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive and social-emotional development across the life course. We integrate methods and approaches from psychology, education science, and behavioural genetics. Our studies focus on the role that parenting, early life experiences, and schooling play for life-course development. To find out more, visit our webpage.

Develop-Play-Learn is a research group which studies the integral role of play across the lifespan with an emphasis on early years, middle childhood and adolescence. Recognising individual differences in neurotypical and neurodivergent play, we explore how play contributes to development and learning across diverse contexts and cultures. To find out more, email gill.francis@york.ac.uk

At the UNLEaRN Lab we believe that human development and learning are shaped by social ecologies and culture. We draw on interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks and a diverse array of research methods to investigate the factors that support or impede learners’ and educators’ ability to flourish throughout developmental stages from adolescence to adulthood. To find out more visit our webpage.

The Reading A.R.C (Application, Research and Community) is a research/lab space that carries out research on cognitive and socioemotional aspects of reading (and literacy) as well as reading/literacy difficulties. We aim to understand how reading/literacy processes operate across ages and how challenges with such processes impact individuals themselves as well as their families; with the hope to design/ co-design interventions that optimise or alleviate the challenges of such processes.