Staff profile

Sophie graduated from the University of Leeds with BA (Hons) Music in 2013. After graduating she undertook a PGCE in Secondary Music at Durham University achieving QTS status in 2015. Whilst gaining school-based experience, teaching in the North East of England, she also studied for an MA in Education (part-time) and graduated with Distinction in 2016. Sophie is currently a PhD student in the School of Education at Durham University and is funded by the Economic Social Research Council. Her ESRC scholarship was awarded by the Northern Ireland and North East Doctoral Training Partnership (NINE DTP) in 2017. Sophie’s research focuses on improving students’ everyday resilience in an academic setting and improving school attendance amongst secondary school students. Sophie’s research utilises a variety of research designs and methods, including systematic reviews, secondary data analysis and randomised controlled trials.

Following her RCUK policy internship in 2019, Sophie continues to work with the Department for Education’s Behavioural Insights Unit providing academic advice to policy teams within the department.

Alongside her academic responsibilities as a researcher, Sophie also works as an Impact Support Officer in the School of Education, where she works alongside academics in the department to help develop their Impact Case Studies for REF 2021 and collect impact evidence. 

Research Interests

• Behavioural science
• Evidence-based education
• Non-cognitive skills (academic buoyancy, academic resillience)
• School attendance
• Student health and wellbeing
• Health behaviours
• Policy making
• Social psychology

Teaching Areas

• Educational Research Methods (BA: 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21)
• Behavioural Science (MSc: 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22)

• Durham University Evidence Centre for Education (DECE)

• 0000: RCUK Policy Internship: Behavioural Insights Unit, Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, London (Academic year 2018/2019)

Chapter in book

• Anderson, S. (2022). Can improving the academic buoyancy of secondary school students improve their school attendance? In Making Your Doctoral Research Project Ambitious: Developing Large-Scale Studies with Real-World Impact. Siddiqui, N. & Gorard, S. Routledge. 138-149.

Conference Paper

• Anderson, Sophie (2019), Promoting academic buoyancy as a pro-active approach for improving student mental health and wellbeing, in Shao, Xin & Dobson, Emma eds, Imagining Better Education. Durham, England, Durham University, School of Education, Durham, 11-21.