Dr Stephanie Hardley
Lecturer
Strathclyde Institute of Education
Personal statement
I joined the University of Strathclyde in August 2024 as a Lecturer in Health and Wellbeing. My research focuses on health and wellbeing (HWB) of children and young people, health inequities, and the poverty-related attainment gap, and takes an interdisciplinary approach - drawing on theories from psychology, sociology, public health, and education to understand health promotion in schools. My prior research examined discursive constructions of HWB in curriculum and policy and how this influences school practice, and my doctoral study explored how a Scottish secondary school conceptualised and supported HWB for pupils from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. I am also part of the UK PE Collaborative, a team of researchers across the four nations of the UK exploring HWB and PE enactment in schools. Before joining Strathclyde, I worked at the University of Edinburgh teaching modules on health and wellbeing, health promotion, and qualitative research methods for public health. Previously, I completed a BA in Psychology and Social Behaviour at the University of California, Irvine (USA) as well as a MSc in Public Health with Distinction and a PhD in Education both at the University of Edinburgh. Prior to academia, I practiced as an oral healthcare clinician within the state of California, with experience in direct patient care, health promotion, and health education.
Prize And Awards
- Fellowship of the Higher Education Association (FHEA)
- Recipient
- 2026
Publications
- Leadership for wellbeing : how a Scottish secondary school embeds whole school health and wellbeing promotion
- Hardley Stephanie, Gray Shirley, McQuillan Ruth
- Health Education (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-06-2025-0093
- Physical education (PE) in Northern Ireland : Conceptualising and structuring PE in a complex landscape
- Gray Shirley, Stirrup Julie, McFlynn Paul, Sandford Rachel, Hooper Oliver, Hardley Stephanie
- European Physical Education Review (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X261422966
- Mapping physical education in Northern Ireland : exploring the structure and discourses of the PE curriculum in a segregated school system
- Stirrup J, Gray S, McFlynn P, Hardley S, Bryant A, Sandford R, Hooper O
- Sport, Education and Society (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2025.2594730
- A critical endeavour? Supporting teachers’ journeys towards critical engagement with curriculum in physical education through cross-border dialogue
- Gray S, Stirrup J, Hooper O, Bryant A S, Sandford R, Carse N, Hardley S
- Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education Vol 16, pp. 205-221 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/25742981.2024.2369113
- Wellbeing for All : How a Scottish Secondary School Conceptualises Health and Wellbeing Support for Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students
- Hardley Stephanie
- (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.7488/era/4348
- Exploring the re-legitimisation of messages for health and physical education within contemporary English and Welsh curricula reform
- Stirrup J, Aldous D, Gray S, Sandford R, Hooper O, Hardley S, Bryant A S, Carse N R
- Sport, Education and Society Vol 29, pp. 939-951 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2023.2240822
Research Interests
My research interests focus on health and wellbeing (HWB) of children and young people and health/education inequities. My work takes an interdisciplinary approach - drawing on theories from psychology, sociology, public health, and education to understand health promotion in schools.
Professional Activities
- UKPE seminar workshop (funded by the European Educational Research Association-EERA)
- Organiser
- 8/2026
- Leadership for wellbeing: How a Scottish secondary school embeds whole school health and wellbeing
- Speaker
- 8/2026
- AIESEP Connects webinar - Exploring Curriculum Possibilities in PE through cross-border conversations
- Speaker
- 25/3/2026
- School Attendance Engagement Event
- Organiser
- 23/3/2026
- PhD viva internal examiner
- Examiner
- 12/2025
- UKPE seminar series (funded by the European Educational Research Association -EERA)
- Organiser
- 11/2025
Projects
- Feminist Research Methods: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Inequality, Community and Creative Practice
- Taylor, Yvette (Principal Investigator) Charlton, Kayleigh (Co-investigator) Hardley, Stephanie (Co-investigator) House, Melody (Co-investigator) Marta, Samara (Co-investigator) Mevawalla, Zinnia (Co-investigator) Zhang, Siqi (Co-investigator)
- This SHSSS-SGSAH funded two-day workshop - Feminist Research Methods: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Inequality, Community and Creative Practice - returns the Spring Into Methods offering to the University of Strathclyde, where the original Feminist Research Methods initiative was first developed in 2016 (funded from 2017). We retain our commitment to widening participation, supporting students and staff across the career course, and from institutions that have historically been under-represented.
Building on this legacy, the workshop extends Strathclyde’s commitment to inclusive, interdisciplinary and publicly-engaged scholarship, while drawing on a rich ecosystem of collaboration with external partners such as Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL). The 2026 iteration will focus on methodological approaches that speak directly to key SGSS themes (social inequalities, inclusive culture, heritage and creative practice) centring interdisciplinary as an aim, objective and learning outcome. - 13-Jan-2026 - 14-Jan-2026
- Health and Wellbeing curriculum development and teachers’ professional learning
- Hardley, Stephanie (Principal Investigator) Gray, Shirley (Co-investigator) Holt, Deborah (Co-investigator) O'Reilly, Stephanie (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2026
Contact
Dr
Stephanie
Hardley
Lecturer
Strathclyde Institute of Education
Email: stephanie.hardley@strath.ac.uk
Tel: Unlisted