Jayne Hamilton, MEd
Jayne Hamilton graduated from Stranmillis University College as a primary school teacher in 2015. Much of her work has involved teaching children and young people from areas of disadvantage in Belfast but more recently, she has been involved in a research capacity within the Blurred Lives project. As research assistant, she is responsible for organising and liaising with schools, collecting data and contributing to the intellectual outputs of this project.
During her initial teacher education, Jayne selected modules in pastoral care and sensory difficulties; these module choices have provided a good foundation of knowledge and understanding in the area of bullying. Jayne has extended this knowledge and research experience by recently completing a Masters of Education at the College. Her research project for this course focused on male teachers within the primary school sector in Northern Ireland and why there are so few. She hopes to extend this research by using seed funding provided by the College to collect qualitative data from pupils.
Jayne also has an additional role of Widening Participation Officer at the College. In this role, she aims to raise the aspirations of communities and groups of young people who are usually underrepresented within Higher Education. She runs aspiration projects on campus as well as travelling to many schools throughout the province, promoting Higher Education. In this role, she collaborates with stakeholders in the Department of Education, Health Services, Education Authority, Barnardos, SureStart and governing bodies to ensure that barriers to education are removed for those who are disadvantaged and underrepresented.