Colin Crawford

Speaker
Colin Crawford has over 30 years' experience working in education, initially in Strathclyde Region and latterly in Glasgow City Council. He holds GTCS registration in Secondary (Biology and Science), Primary(ALN) and in Early Years and has a post graduate qualification in Autism.

Colin has taught in a variety of schools in Glasgow including being in Westwood Secondary School in Easterhouse, Uddingston Grammar and VI unit in Uddingston, and in Ashcraig School. He has held HT posts in Middlefield School and in Cloan Nursery as well as undertaking a variety of central roles including Quality Improvement Officer, Education Officer and Head of Service.

From August 2018, Colin will be Head of Children's Services for Education in Glasgow.

Dr Laura Ann Currie HMI

Speaker
Dr Laura-Ann Currie is one of Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) with Education Scotland and is Lead Officer for Educational Psychology Services. During her time as an HMI she carried out the roles of national specialist for autism and dyslexia, Lead Inspector for Education Authorities, and Area Lead Officer for Education authorities.

Prior to joining HMI she was Depute Principal Educational Psychologist in North Lanarkshire and Principal Educational Psychologist in West Lothian. She has published widely since 1986 in a range of peer reviewed journals on topics such as early intervention (e.g., A head start to learning: involving parents of children just about to start school); parental involvement (e.g., Talking Together: A Practical Guide for Parents), community engagement, (e.g., Developing a Community perspective in a Primary School); inclusion (e.g., Developing an inclusive approach in Samara Russia), and literacy.

Dr Edward Sosu

Speaker
Dr Edward Sosu is a lecturer in the School of Education. He has a strong interest in quantitative methods and in addressing educational issues from a psychological perspective. His current research is predominantly focused on exploring how socioeconomic disadvantage influences educational and psychological trajectories from childhood.

Edward received his PhD from the University of Strathclyde in 2008, and studied for an MSc degree at Lund University, Sweden. Between 2008 and 2013, he worked for the University of Aberdeen, first as a research fellow on the Scottish Teachers for a New Era (STNE) project and subsequently as a lecturer in Education. During this period, he examined the impact of initial teacher education experiences on students’ cognitive dispositions and the extent to which these dispositions influence their classroom competence.

Edward is the lead author of the influential Joseph Rowntree Foundation report Closing The Attainment Gap In Scottish Education, Widening Access to Higher Education for Students from Economically Disadvantaged

Dr Sosu is a Centre for Health Policy Fellow in the Centre for Health Policy at Strathclyde University.

http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/education-attainment-scotland-full.pdf