Professor Aline-Wendy Dunlop is a Chair of Childhood and Primary Studies; responsibilities include providing leadership in applied educational research and teaching and learning. She is also Lead Director of the National Centre of Autism Studies which houses the Scottish Autism Service Network.
Professor Aline-Wendy Dunlop has taught in the university sector since 1993: first at Moray House Institute of Education in Edinburgh and from 1996 at the University of Strathclyde. Her work lies in two key areas: one of which is early education and the other which is autism. Until July 2005 she was Course Director of the Certificate, Diploma and Masters in Early Education, and the Certificate, Diploma and Masters in Autism. Her very varied teaching experience over 23 years in schools and the community included a headship, home visiting, training education staff in residential childcare, teaching SNNEB students, working with parents, special educational needs and mainstream early education. Aline-Wendy serves on the Scottish Government ASD Reference Group and its training sub-group, and the Scottish Government Education Autism Working Group. She is a member of the Faculty of Education Board of Study. She has been an international research conference chair, is an invited keynote speaker at a range of conferences, and has published both in early education and in autism. She has been an External Examiner for the Autism Programmes at the University of Birmingham, and External Examiner for the Masters in Early Education, and the Masters in Primary Education at the Institute of Education, University of London (2004-2007). She represents the University of Strathclyde on the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers CPD committee, and is a member of the project team for the Socrates Programme ERASMUS Project to develop an International Masters in Early Education in collaboration with the Universities of Malta, Dublin Institute of Technology, University of Oslo Hogskolen, University of Gothenburg and the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenburg. She is a Vice-President of the British Association of Early Childhood Education.
Aline-Wendy contributes to teaching on the BEd (Hons) in Primary Education, the Certificate, Diploma and Masters in Early Childhood Studies, and the Certificate, Diploma and Masters in Autism. She is co-supervisor for five PhD students, and supervises a number of Masters students.
Aline-Wendy's main areas of current research interest are positive behaviour in the early years, leadership in early education, social interaction and understanding in autism, the empowerment of families of very young children, continuity and progression for children in educational transitions and training for professionals in the field of autism. Aline-Wendy was Project Leader for the SEED funded Positive Behaviour in the Early Years Research Project, and for the Scottish Autism Service Network, funded by the Scottish Executive Health Department. In collaboration with colleagues in the National Centre for Autism Studies she is involved in the audit and evaluation of autism services in various parts of Scotland. She has been a Principal Investigator for a number of Literature Reviews.
Aline-Wendy provides leadership for the Early Years Lecture Series which runs in the Faculty of Education each year. Our first programme took a focus on research and practice in New Zealand. The 2007-2008 programme will consider the early stages of a Curriculum for Excellence 3-18 through a conference on June 4th 2008 "Making Connections in the Early Years". In 2008-2009 there will be a particular focus on positive behaviour in the early years, and on creativity in early education.
