Dr Dely Elliot
- Senior Lecturer (People, Place & Social Change)
telephone:
01413302467
email:
Dely.Elliot@glasgow.ac.uk
R628 Level 6, St Andrews Building, Glasgow, G3 6NH
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0711-5719Biography
With Dely's international and interdisciplinary background in Education (the Philippines), Counselling Psychology (Thailand) and Psychology of Education (UK), her research interests lie at the intersection of educational & cultural psychology and higher education. Currently a Senior Lecturer and a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS), she is part of the BPS-accredited MSc Psychological Studies programme, where she convenes Educational Psychology and its online distance learning (ODL) counterpart.
Using a psychological lens, Dely is passionate about international doctoral scholars' journey with a focus on their intercultural experience, and how this can potentially affect doctoral research, personal growth and professional development while sustaining their well-being. Her publications involve examining a range of interlinked topics, including doctoral compass, the hidden curriculum, academic cultures, metacognitive scaffolding, third spaces, doctoral well-being and research culture. Her extensive years of research, first-hand, personal and work experience in academia evolved into a passion to pursue a thriving intercultural doctoral learning experience - harnessing doctoral pedagogies more strategically to maximise what the doctoral journey can offer. Dely's commitment to holistic doctoral development and advocacy for fostering supportive doctoral communites and positive research cultures led to a tract record of publications, keynote addresses and guest talks (e.g. EARLI SIG 24, University of Edinburgh, University of Hong Kong, University of Manchester, Norwegian Research Education Conference, University of Stavanger, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, UKCGE).
Over the years, Dely has produced high quality scholarly outputs amounting to over 100 publications. Her nearly ten years of research has been consolidated into a sole-authored Routledge book published in 2023 entitled 'Navigating Your International Doctoral Experience (and Beyond)' In early 2020, her amalgamation of research interests culminated in the publication of the book 'The Hidden Curriculum in Doctoral Education' with a team of multidisciplinary academics. (See also this book's designated website offering a wealth of resources.) In November 2023, a sequel to the Hidden Curriculum book entitled 'Developing Researcher Independence Through the Hidden Curriculum' was published where Dely served as the lead editor for this edited collection.
On other academic fronts, Dely serves as the Deputy Editor for the journal Innovations in Education and Teaching International. Addtionally, she sits on the Editorial Boards of Higher Education Research & Development and Teaching in Higher Education. In 2023, Dely joined a team of Coordinators for EARLI SIG 24 - Researcher Education and Careers. Starting January 2024, Dely was appointed as the Associate Director for Student Engagement and EDI for the Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences, ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership.
In the School of Education, she previously led the Doctoral Community Building Team (2018 to 2023), organising a calendar of scholarly and social events designed to cater for doctoral scholars' academic and psychological needs. The team's central aim is to build a thriving & positive research culture as well as to foster growth and development, with a view to assisting timely doctoral completion. As a core member of the Centre for Research & Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (CR&DALL), Dely’s strong interest is in promoting a meaningful learning experience among international doctoral scholars in increasingly internationalised HE Institutions. Arguably, lessons from these scholars have wider implications for other post-compulsory learning contexts, too. At the University of Glasgow level, she continues to serve as a Co-Lead for UofG's Supervisor Community of Practice.
Her advocacy for a positive PhD research culture was institutionally recognised in 2020 and her work was 'Highly Commended'. Research culture enhancement, via proactive scaffolding and enriching doctoral scholars' academic and non-academic experience, is something Dely genuinely believes can make a qualitative difference when converting the challenges embedded in the doctoral learning experience into opportunities and providing a platform for a thriving doctoral research experience.
To date, Dely has served as Principal Investigator (PI) for several externally- and internally-funded projects, while contributing to numerous research projects in education & educational psychology. Currently, she is the PI for the UKCISA-funded 'Amplifying Voices of International Doctoral (AVID) Scholars Project'. She was also a Co-I for a project on international doctoral students' psychological wellbeing from the supervisors' perspectives - a project, which won the prestigious Paul Webley Award for Innovation in International Education in 2020. Other projects she led included 'Academic acculturation through international education: The British Higher Education (HE) experience', which subsequently led to several grants, including the ESRC IAA 'Towards maximising international PhD students' experience in the UK'.
Finally, she also enjoys writing blog posts, finding it a creative outlet for her scholarly ideas. To date, she has contributed to several blogs, e.g. Researcher Development for the PgR Community, UK Council for Graduate Education, Supervising PhDs, UKCISA and The Hidden Curriculum in Doctoral Education, Pathfinder Career Narratives, among others.
Here is a list of blog posts that Dely has written on various areas of interests:
• An Invisible Storm: Reflections on my Intercultural Academic Transitions
• What, how, and how much should I read?
• Dynamic complementary voices in support of international PhD students
• Kindness and tough love: interacting with international students
• An Ongoing Reflection on International Doctoral Researchers’ Experience
• What does supporting international doctoral learners mean?
• Advancing an Authentic Writing Experience Among International PGRs
• Decoding the PhD for International Researchers
• Can doctoral and academic writers learn from gardeners?
• Why am I sharing my experience of writing a short paper?
• The many benefits of co-writing with doctoral researchers
• Anticipating beautiful butterflies
• From the other side of the fence: An international scholar's reflection
• A sign of beauty or death? Some autumnal musings on doctoral experience
• Showcasing the hidden curriculum via PhD-led research sharing activities
• Doctoral communities: Before, during and after the pandemic
• Could 'thinking out loud' be an inherent pedagogical strategy for scholarly writing?
Research interests
My research interests are largely situated in higher education contexts focusing on the complexity of international students' sojourn, particularly in postgraduate research setting. Drawing upon educational and cultural psychological perspectives, as well as creative and visual research methods enables me to consolidate my intertwined interests in these areas.
• Psychology of learning
• Cross-cultural transition via international education
• International doctoral scholars' wellbeing
• Intercultural academic engagement
• The hidden curriculum
• Creative, critical thinking and metacognition
• Creative and visual methods in education and psychology
Research awards
To date, the following projects that I managed have led to the following awards at the Scottish level, UK-wide level and internationally.
• 2020. The UKCISA-funded projected called 'Are you Okay? Mental health and wellbeing of international doctoral students in the UK: An investigation of supervisors' understanding and existing support provision' won the Paul Webley Award for Innovation in International Education 2019.
• 2015. An interactive poster presentation at the European Educational Research Association (EERA-ECER) Conference 2015 was selected for one of the three 'Best Poster Awards 2015'.
• 2013. Synchronised Voices of Primary Teachers on Their Professional Development. Poster presented at the afPE National Conference, 10 July 2013, Burton upon Trent, UK - Winner of the poster presentation, afPE Conference.
• 2008. Literature Review of Current Approaches to the Provision of Education for Children with Dyslexia - GTC England Research of the Month for December, 2008.
• 2008. Photovoice Project - Winner in the Scotland's Colleges Annual Awards for Promoting Equality and Diversity.
Publications
Selected publications
Elliot, D. L. , Reid, K. and Baumfield, V. (2016) Beyond the amusement, puzzlement and challenges: an enquiry into international students’ academic acculturation. Studies in Higher Education, 41(12), pp. 2198-2217. (doi: 10.1080/03075079.2015.1029903)
Elliot, D. L. , Baumfield, V., Reid, K. and Makara, K. A. (2016) Hidden treasure: successful international doctoral students who found and harnessed the hidden curriculum. Oxford Review of Education, 42(6), pp. 733-748. (doi: 10.1080/03054985.2016.1229664)
Elliot, D. , Baumfield, V. and Reid, K. (2016) Searching for 'a third space’: a creative pathway towards international PhD students’ academic acculturation. Higher Education Research and Development, 35(6), pp. 1180-1195. (doi: 10.1080/07294360.2016.1144575)
Elliot, D. L. , Reid, K. and Baumfield, V. (2017) Capturing visual metaphors and tales: innovative or elusive? International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 40(5), pp. 480-496. (doi: 10.1080/1743727X.2016.1181164)
All publications
Grants
- 2023. AVID* Scholars project.
(*Amplifying Voices of Internaitonal Doctoral Scholars)
Funded by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA).
Principal Investigator. With Dr Dr Maria Gardani, Karen Gordon, Dr Dayana Balgabekova. - 2021. Advancing positive institutional research culture for doctoral scholars and supervisors in the UK (Preparatory phase).
College Research Fund (CRF).
Principal Investigator. With Dr Emily-Marie Pacheco, Dr Maria Gardani, Dr Maxine Swingler, Dr Jennifer Boyle and Dr Maxinne Connolly-Panagopoulos.
- 2018. Mental health and wellbeing of international doctoral students in the UK: An investigation of supervisors' understanding and existing support provision. (Are you ok?)
Funded by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA).
Co-Investigator. With Dr Chris Blackmore (PI), Dr Kay Guccione and Dr Rob Daley. - 2018. Partnership development between the University of Glasgow's School of Education and two universities in Hong Kong. International Partnership Development Funding (IPDF).
- 2016. Towards maximising international PhD students' experience in the UK.
Economic and Social Research Council IAA.
Principal Investigator. With Dr Muir Houston, Dr Kara Makara and Dr Kate Reid. - 2014-2015. Research consultancy for the Evaluation of the Roots of Empathy (Scotland) - a programme designed to increase empathy and decrease aggression among Scottish children.
- 2014. Intercultural Understanding of Postgraduate Studies. International Partnership Development Funding (IPDF).
With Professor Vivienne Baumfield and Dr Kate Reid.
- 2013. Academic acculturation through international education: The British Higher Education experience.
Adam Smith Research Foundation (ASRF) Seedcorn Fund.
Principal Investigator. With Dr Kate Reid and Professor Vivienne Baumfield.
- 2012. Evaluation of the Bookbug Antenatal Pilot Programme.
Funded by The Scottish Book Trust.
Co-Investigator. With Dr Irene Pollock (PI) and Dr Beth Dickson.
- 2011. The Scottish Primary Physical Education Project Phase 3.
Funded by The Scottish Government.
Principal Investigator. Directed by Theresa Campbell.
- 2010. GlowScience Evaluation
Funded by Learning and Teaching Scotland.
Principal Investigator.
- 2010. Proposal to support teachers in developing expertise and confidence in assessment at the point of transition between primary and secondary within the context of Curriculum for Excellence.
Co-Investigator. Directed by Professor Louise Hayward.
- 2010. Literature Review on Teacher Education in the Twenty First Century
Funded by the Scottish Government.
Co-Investigator. With Professor Ian Menter (PI) and Dr Moira Hulme. - 2009. Employers' Perceptions of the Employability Skills of New Graduates
Funded by the Edge Foundation.
Co-Investigator. Directed by Kevin Lowden. - 2009. Highland FLaT Research
Funded by The Highland Council.
Co-Investigator. - 2008. Professional Culture Amongst New Entrants to the Teaching Profession
Funded by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).
Co-Investigator. Directed by Dr Moira Hulme. - 2008. The Primary Physical Education Project (Educational development, research and services (Scotland) grant regulations 1999)
Funded by the Scottish Executive - Teachers Division.
Co-Investigator. Directed by Theresa Campbell. - 2008. Collection, analysis and reporting of data on Curriculum for Excellence draft experiences and outcomes
Funded by Learning and Teaching Scotland.
Co-Investigator. Directed by Professor Ian Menter and Professor Vivienne Baumfield - 2007. Literature Review of Current Approaches to the Provision of Education for Children with Dyslexia
Funded by HM Inspectorate of Education.
Principal Investigator. - 2007. A Study of Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training in Fife (2006-2007)
Funded by the Fife NEET Strategy Group.
Principal Investigator. - 2007. Evaluation of the Understanding Standards Website
Funded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
Principal Investigator.
- 2006. Photovoice Project: Empowering Learners through Images and Stories (undertaken with three Scottish colleges)
Funded by the School of Education Research Office, University of Glasgow Pump Priming Grant.
Co-Investigator.
- 2006. A Feasibility Study for College Collaboration on Increasing Participation in Degree level Study.
Funded by Lauder, Elmwood and Adam Smith Colleges with support from the Scottish Funding Council.
Principal Investigator. - 2006. Research to support Schools of Ambition (2006-2010)
Funded by the Scottish Executive Education Department.
Co-Investigator. Directed by Professor Menter (Glasgow), Professor Christie (Strathclyde), and Professor Livingston (Aberdeen)
Supervision
PhD Supervision
I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD scholars with respect to the following areas:
• Psychology of learning
• Cross-cultural transition via international education
• International PhD scholars' wellbeing
• Intercultural academic engagement
• The hidden curriculum
• Creative, critical thinking and metacognition
• Creative and visual methods in education and psychology
Current PhD supervision:
I am supervising/have supervised PhD scholars from Canada, China, Germany, Libya, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand and UK. My current PGRs and their areas:
- Gordon, Karen
Cross-Cultural Differences in Stress, Stigma and Religion - Meng, Fanzhu
Which factors influence successful academic transitions in relation to doctoral study of Chinese students - Wu, Zhihan
A Phenomenological Exploration of Chinese PGRs' Research Self-Efficacy Throughout Three Different Stages of Their Research Journeys in the UK. - Yu, Jin
Dr. Dely Elliot is a renowed educational psychologist in the field of doctorate training especially inernational student experience
Successful Doctoral Completions:
• Dr Mary Beth Kneafsey (August 2024)
Understanding the contributions of UKRI funded cohort-based doctoral training models to the doctoral journey from the perspective of the individual student experience
• Dr Wafa Khalaf Alshammari (July 2024)
Test Anxiety: A Comparative Study of Post-Graduate Taught Students in the UK and Saudi Arabia
• Dr Natthaphon Tripornchaisak (November 2023)
Navigating between systems and opening doors of opportunities: Thai-English interpreters' experiences
• Dr Idris Al Adawi (August 2023)
Developing intercultural competence in EFL: A qualitative enquiry into the beliefs and classroom practices of a group of Omani EFL teachers in a higher education institution in Oman
• Dr Wenhao Wang (August 2023)
An Inestigation of Chinese International Postgraduate Taught Students' 'Third Spaces' and their Psychological Well-Being in Scotland
• Dr Liexu Cai (October 2022)
The Impact of Intercultural Engagement on Cultural Understanding through Activities offered in Confucius Institutes in Britain
• Dr Hsin-Yi Shih (June 2022)
A cross-cultural study of academic help-seeking among postgraduate-taught students at a Scottish university
• Dr Dangeni (April 2022)
On Becoming an English Teacher: An Investigation into Student Engagement Among Chinese International Students on UK TESOL Master's Programme
• Dr Ahmed Olayan Alharbi (March 2022)
Recontextualising Communicative Language Teaching in Saudi Arabia
• Dr Rui He (May 2021)
A 'Mirror-image' Investigation: Foreign Language Learners' Acculturation Experiences in Chinese and British Study Abroad Programmes
• Dr Emily-Marie Pacheco (December 2020)
Exploring the Psychological Wellbeing and Experiences of UK-Based MENA International Students During Conflict in Home-Countries
• Dr Jie Zhang (July 2020)
Chinese Postgraduate Taught Students' Transitional Experience in the UK: The Role of Social Connections
• Dr Nasatorn Witayarat (March 2020)
A segue in Thai cultural identity: Impressions of international students' doctoral experience in the UK and their re-adaptation upon return to their home country
• Dr Tarig Omar (January 2020)
Topic: From Currriculum Reform to Classroom Practice; Intentions, Perceptions and Actual Implementation in English Secondary Schools in Libya
• Dr Elizabeth Start (December 2019)
Investigating Creative, Arts-Inspired Tasks for Critical Intercultural Communication Pedagogy at a German University
• Dr Wenting Wang (May 2019)
Topic: 'I really like teaching, but...': A mixed methods study exploring pre-service teachers' motivations for choosing teaching as a career
• Dr Shaista Irshad Khan (February 2017)
Topic: An Investigation of the Concept of Critical Thinking in the Context of a Functional English Course in a BEd Degree in Pakistan
• Dr Jutima Methaneethorn (June 2009)
Topic: Towards Motivation Modelling within A Computer Game Based Learning Environment: An Empirical Study
Recent Doctoral Examinations:
• Zhu, H. (2023) An Exploration of the Decision Making of Mainland Chinese Undergraduates who have chosen to study in the United Kingdom (PhD, University of Birmingham, UK)
• Al-Sinani, S. K. (2022) An Investigation of Professional Communities amongst those responsible for English Teacher Development in Oman (PhD, University of Glasgow, UK)
• Coulby, C. (2022) An exploration of online EdD students' experiences of personal transformation during their studies (EdD, University of Liverpool, UK)
• Waghorne, J. (2021) A phenomenological study exploring the experiences of PhD students researching their field of professional practice (PhD, University of Brighton, UK)
• Farfan, R. (2020) Resident-as-teacher workshop impact on Intensive Care Medicine Residents' Perception of their Teaching Skills' (EdD, University of Glasgow, UK)
• Huang, X. (2020) Studying overseas and employability: Perceptions of Chinese International Students at an English University (PhD, University of Exeter, UK)
• Tran, T. M. (2020) Learning to thrive: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Exploration of the Intercultural Doctoral Experience. (PhD, University of Bristol, UK)
• Wang, S. (2019) International Students' Participation in Intercultural Classrooms at a UK university (PhD, University of Glasgow, UK)
• Ghodbane, A. (2019) The experience of student sojourners and their hybrid identity development while studying abroad (PhD, University of West of Scotland, UK)
• Sondlo, M. N. (2019) A multiple case study of stakeholder experiences of the Quality Enhancement Project in selected South African Universities (PhD, University of Pretoria, South Africa)
• Fazal, S. (2015) Effects of Communicative Grammar Translation Model along with Information and Communication Technologies on learning of English language (PhD, Hazara University, Pakistan)
• Parveen, S. (2013) An Analysis of Principal's Interventions for School Effectiveness (PhD, Sarhad University of Science & IT, Pakistan)
Teaching
Dely Elliot is a Senior Lecturer, a student adviser and a member or the People, Place and Social Change RTG. Courses that Dely has taught or is currently teaching are mainly in postgraduate programmes: a) Educational Psychology (face-to-face and ODL, MSc Psychological Studies programmes); b) Applied Qualitative Methods (MSc Psychological Studies); c) Professional Enquiry (Postgraduate Diploma in Education); d) Educational Enquiry (MEduc); and e) Introduction to Educational and Social Research.
Dely was the Acting Programme Director for the MSc Psychological Studies programme from July 2012 to February 2013.
For six academic years (2013 to 2019), Dely served as the School's Quality Assurance Officer and her QA work significantly contributed to the School of Education's comprehensive Periodic Subject Review in 2018.
Since 2020, Dely has been serving on the University of Glasgow Senate.
In 2022, Dely was appointed as the College of Social Sciences Quality Enhancement and Assurance Officer.
Additional information
Academic and professional body memberships
• Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences (SGSSS), Associate Director, Student Engagement & EDI
(2023 - ongoing)
• British Psychological Society, CPsychol (BPS)
(2019 - ongoing)
• World Conference on Qualitative Research (WCQR)
Scientific Committee Member - 4th WCQR Conference
• World Conference on Qualitative Research (WCQR2022)
Scientific Committee Member - 6th WCQR Conference
• Scottish Graduate School of Social Science 'Student Culture & Support' (SGSSS)
• European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI)
(2012 - ongoing)
- SIG Higher Education
- SIG Researcher Education and Careers
• American Educational Research Association (AERA)
(2016 - 2017)
- SIG Doctoral Education Across the Disciplines
• European Education Research Association (EERA)
(2008 - 2011; 2015-2016)
• Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)
(2014 - 2015; 2018 - ongoing)
• International Doctoral Education Research Network (IDERN)
(2017 - ongoing)
• British Educational Research Association (BERA)
(2005 - 2008)
• Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA)
(2007 - 2010)
Editorial role in academic journals
• Deputy Editor, Innovations in Education and Teaching International (IETI)
• Associate Editor, Higher Education Research & Development (HERD)
• Editorial Board, Teaching in Higher Education (TiHE)
Dely is a regular reviewer for a number of higher education and educational psychology academic journals.
Consulting and advice
• Dr Kara Makara and I served as research consultants in the Evaluation of the Roots of Empathy (Scotland) - August 2014 to October 2015. This programme was designed to increase empathy and decrease aggression among Scottish children.
• Higher Education Research Development Society of Australasia Inc (HERDSA) Conference 2017 - full paper reviewer for publication in the HERDSA 2017 Conference Proceedings, Research and Development in Higher Education: Curriculum Transformation, Volume 40.
