School of Education

Dr Rebecca Georgis

Dr Rebecca Georgis

Lecturer in Educational Psychology

 R.Georgis@exeter.ac.uk

 North Cloisters NC117

 

North Cloisters, University of Exeter, St Luke's Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK

Overview

Rebecca is a lecturer in Psychology in Education within the Graduate School of Education 

Rebecca’s research is interdisciplinary and draws on a range of methods and methodologies to address issues of cultural diversity and inclusion in education, health, and early childhood settings. 

Qualifications

  • PhD Psychological Studies in Education, University of Alberta  

  • MSc Psychology, Illinois State University (Fulbright Fellowship) 

  • BSc Psychology, University of Cyprus 

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, Bath Spa University 

  • Graduate Certificate in Community-based Research and Evaluation, University of Alberta  

Career

Current: Lecturer in Education, Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter

2018-2022: Lecturer (2018-20) and Senior Lecturer (2020-22), School of Education, Bath Spa University 

2017: Postdoctoral fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH), University of Edinburgh

2016-2017: Programme Developer and Evaluator, Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative

2014-2017: Postdoctoral Fellow, Community-University Partnership (CUP) for the Study of Children, Youth and Families, University of Alberta

2014  & 2017: Sessional Instructor, University of Alberta 

2012-2014: Project Manager, Early Childhood Measurement and Evaluation, CUP, University of Alberta 

2008-2011: Research Assistant, University of Alberta (Departments of Educational Psychology, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, and CUP) 

Research group links

Back to top

Research

Research interests

Rebecca's research interests are related to the development and education of minority children and youth; immigrant and refugee integration/acculturation; and community-based research and evaluation. Prior to coming to the UK, Rebecca worked on a range of community-based participaroty research projects in Canada, as a research assistant, project manager and principal investigator. These projects involved working in partnership with Indigenous, immigrant and refugee communities, charities and other stakeholders to address issues of social (in)justice and social integration brought forth by communities themselves.

As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, Rebecca led the Multicultural Early Childhood Assessment and Learning (MECAL) project, funded by various bodies including a knowledge mobilization grant by Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The project was conducted in partnership with diverse communities, an immigrant serving agency, a school board, government stakeholders, and academics of diverse disciplines (education, psychology, linguistics). The goals of the project were to (a) synthesize knowledge on the developmental outcomes of immigrant and refugee young children who are English Language Learners and (b) co-create professional development resources for intercultural practice in early childhood settings. An output of this collaboration was the RAISED between cultures video and guidebook to facilitate intercultural practice with early childhood practitioners working with diverse children and families.    

Research projects

Psychosocial Adaptation and Integration of Syrian Refugee Communities Using Community Learning for Empowerment Groups 

Principal Investigator: S. Yohani, Co-Investigators: A. Kirova; R. Gokiert, R., Georgis University of Alberta 

Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada: Insight Grant ($239,817), 2018 - 2022

____________________________________________________________________________________

Cultural brokering with Syrian Refugee families with young children: An exploration of challenges and best practices in psychosocial adaptation. 

Principal Investigator: Dr. R. Gokiert, Co-Investigators: Drs. S. Yohani, A. Kirova, and R. Georgis, University of Alberta  

Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC): Targeted Research Grant ($24,991), 2016 -2018

____________________________________________________________________________________

Meaningful Knowledge Mobilization for Bridging the Research-Practice Gap in Immigrant and Refugee Early Childhood Assessment and Learning.

Funded by SSHRC Connection Grant ($49,992), 2016 - 2017

Role: Postdoctoral Fellow 

____________________________________________________________________________________

Cultural Validity in Early Childhood Measurement.

Principal Investigator: R.Gokiert, Co-Investigators: A. Kirova and R. Georgis  

Funded by Killam Cornerstone Grants, University of Alberta, (CA$30,214.31), 2015 -2016

____________________________________________________________________________________

Multicultural Early Childhood Assessment and Learning.

Principal Investigator: R.Gokiert, Co-Investigators: A. Kirova and R. Georgis

Funded by  Faculty of Extension Research Grant, University of Alberta, (CA$9,963.77), 2015 -2016

Back to top

Publications

Journal articles

Georgis R, Ford DM (In Press). An intercultural early learning program: What wrap around support looks like for newcomer families. Early Childhood Education
Georgis R, Gokiert R, Ford DM, Ali M (In Press). Creating inclusive parent engagement practices: Lessons learned from a school-community collaborative supporting newcomer refugee families. Multicultural Education
Yohani S, Kirova A, Georgis R, Gokiert R, Taylor M, Tahir S (2023). Creating community learning for empowerment groups: an innovative model for participatory research partnerships with refugee communities. Frontiers in Education, 8 Abstract.
Yohani S, Kirova A, Georgis R, Gokiert R, Mejia T, Chiu Y (2019). Cultural Brokering with Syrian Refugee Families with Young Children: an Exploration of Challenges and Best Practices in Psychosocial Adaptation. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 20(4), 1181-1202. Abstract.
Brosinsky L, Georgis R, Gokiert R, Mejia T, Kirova A (2018). RAISED between cultures: New resources for working with children of immigrant or refugee background. Childhood Education, 94(2), 18-25. Abstract.
Gokiert RJ, Willows ND, Georgis R, Stringer H (2017). Wâhkôhtowin: the governance of good community-academic research relationships to improve the health and well-being of children in Alexander First Nation. International Indigenous Policy Journal, 8(2). Abstract.
Gokiert RJ, Georgis R, Tremblay M, Krishnan V, Vandenberghe C, Lee C (2014). Evaluating the Adequacy of Social-Emotional Measures in Early Childhood. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT, 32(5), 441-454.  Author URL.
Tremblay M, Gokiert R, Georgis R, Edwards K, Skrypnek B (2013). Aboriginal perspectives on social-emotional competence in early childhood. International Indigenous Policy Journal, 4(4). Abstract.
Ross S, Poth C-A, Donoff MG, Papile C, Humphries P, Stasiuk S, Georgis R (2012). Involving users in the refinement of the competency-based achievement system: an innovative approach to competency-based assessment. MEDICAL TEACHER, 34(2), E143-E147.  Author URL.

Chapters

Georgis R, Gokiert R, Kirova A (2017). Researcher reflections on early childhood partnerships with immigrant and refugee communities. In  (Ed) Collaborative Cross-Cultural Research Methodologies in Early Care and Education Contexts, 115-129.

Conferences

Georgis R, Yohani S, Kirova A, Gokiert R (2021). The Value and Challenges of Empowerment Learning Groups in Qualitative Community-Based Participatory Research with Syrian Refugee Communities.  Author URL.

Back to top

Teaching

Rebecca enjoys teaching a range of psychology and education subjects as well as research methods. Prior to joining the University of Exeter, she taught on program evaluation, qualitative research, and participatory research modules.

Rebecca currently teaches on the MSc Psychology (Conversion) Programme, shared by the Schools of Education and Psychology.

Rebecca also supervises PhD students. Please contact her if you have similar interets.

Modules

2023/24


Back to top

Office Hours:

My office hours vary at the moment - please contact me to find out when upcoming times are. 

Back to top

Edit Profile