Dr Chris Counihan

Assistant Professor

Department: Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing

Biography

Dr Chris Counihan is an Assistant Professor in Education at 51�� and a Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). Dr Counihan completed his PhD in education which studied the effects of a peer-mediated literacy intervention with children from rural India. Chris has over ten years experience of working and leading on international development and education projects. His primary research interests lie in the field of child development and policy initiatives in education. He is currently developing ideas under the ‘Education for All’ agenda that targets poverty alleviation and educational empowerment. Dr Counihan’s research has positively impacted children’s learning opportunities in some of the poorest areas of the world that include: India, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.

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Key Publications

Back to basics: Pre-service teachers' experiences of ‘SimulatEd’, a suite of low-technology simulated-scenarios to promote preparedness for professional practice, Nichol, D., Mulholland, K., Counihan, C., Meller, S., Anderson, A., Luke, C., Gray, W. 1 Oct 2025, In: Teaching and Teacher Education
Evidence for Language Policy in Government Pre-Primary Schools in Nigeria: Cross-Language Transfer and Interdependence, Dixon, P., Humble, S., Gittins, L., Seery , F., Counihan, C. 11 Sep 2025, In: Education Sciences
Stepping Stones: Adopting a fading programme design to promote teachers’ use of metacognitive strategies for mathematical problem-solving, Mulholland, K., Gray, W., Counihan, C., Nichol, D. 12 Jul 2025, In: Education Sciences
The use of simulation-based learning approaches in initial teacher education and teachers’ professional development – exploring the potential for learning and practice., Davies, J., Meller, S., Luke, C., Anderson, A., Nichol, D., Mulholland, K., Gray, W., Counihan, C. 26 Jun 2025, BERA Global Perspectives in Teacher Education
What does transformation in Higher Education research culture look like? Evidence from action research within a diverse post-1992 department, Mulholland, K., Robson, I., Nichol, D., Counihan, C., Gray, W., Luke, C., Meller, S., Anderson, A., Heslop, K., Davies, J., Graham, P., Johnson, S., Hwang, S., Chan, W., Johnson, E., Hudson, K., Haighton, C., Littlefair, D., Defeyter, M., Kellehear, A., Atkinson, J., Johnson, M. 19 Sep 2025, In: Routledge Open Research
An Investigation of the Cross-Language Transfer of Reading Skills: Evidence from a Study in Nigerian Government Primary Schools, Humble, S., Dixon, P., Gittins, L., Counihan, C. 6 Mar 2024, In: Education Sciences
Using Simulation as an innovative pedagogy to reduce Impostor Phenomenon amongst early career academics, Cole, S., Cole, M., Counihan, C., Gibson, M., Mulholland, K., Nichol, D. 2 Dec 2024, International Federation of National Teaching Fellows (IFNTF) Conference and Symposium
Virtual reality check: A realist evaluation protocol for exploring the use of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) to support pre-service teachers’ understanding of approaches to behaviour management, Woodley, H., Mulholland, K., Nichol, D., Counihan, C., Luke, C., Gray, W., Meller, S., Herridge, D., Anderson, A., Ross, J. 1 Feb 2024, In: Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching
"The Bits of the Job Beyond Teaching": Can simulation-based learning in Initial Teacher Education better prepare students for real-life as a teacher?  , Mulholland, K., Nichol, D., Herridge, D., Anderson, A., Luke, C., Gray, W., Meller, S., Counihan, C. 13 Sep 2023
Welcome Matviy: Working in staff–student partnerships to develop simulation-based learning to support teachers’ understanding of EAL, Luke, C., Counihan, C., Nichol, D., Meller, S., Mulholland, K., Gray, W., Anderson, A., Herridge, D., Karikis, D., Sanderson, R., Collard, E., Hill, R. Sep 2023

Professional Activity

Examination: Viva Voce 2024
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: The use of simulation-based approaches for teacher education 2024
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference 2023 2023

PGR Supervision

Itunu Hotonu Exploring parental engagement support for high-functioning autistic children: Towards praxis of evidence-based strategies among mainstream primary school teachers in Lagos, Nigeria Start Date: 01/10/2024