Dr Deborah Husbands
I am a Chartered Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology. I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS). In addition, I am the Outreach Coordinator for the School of Social Sciences and created Psych4Schools, an initiative that encourages secondary school students to engage with psychology as an applied subject through mini-lectures and workshops.
I am a founding member and Co-Chair of the university's BME Network and am the Lead for the Black History Year Steering Group. I am a member of The Psychologist and Digest Editorial Advisory Committee and the BPS Child Q Working Group.
I completed a BSc (Hons) Psychology degree at the University of Westminster in 2009, graduating with a First-Class Honours. In 2012, I was awarded the Elizabeth de Lowernthal Prize for Excellence for the best portfolio submission on the PGCHE course. I completed a PhD in October 2019 in the area of Black and Minority Ethnic psychology student experiences in higher education with a focus on Black women and their constructions of identity and sense of belonging.
My research focus is on the experiences of minoritised people. I use qualitative research methods (qualitative content analysis, thematic analysis, IPA) to understand constructions of identity in higher education, ethnicity, race and the meaning we attach to experiences. Using a pluralistic framework, I gain richer insight into retention, progression and awarding for marginalised students.
I am a Co-Principal Investigator on a Diversity and Inclusion Research Community-funded research project exploring the effect and experience of the impostor phenomenon on academic performance, academic satisfaction and sense of belonging in under-represented student groups.
I work collaboratively with students and several universities on diverse projects to advance equality in higher education.
