FAsSS
Chair in Education
- About
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- Email Address
- p.abbott@abdn.ac.uk
- School/Department
- School of Education
Biography
I am a professor in the School of Education at the University of Aberdeen and Director of the Centre for Global Development. I am also a member of the Centre for Civil Society, the Rule of Law, and the New Europe Centre.
My main research interests are gender, wellbeing, quality of life and social quality, and social, economic and political transformations. I have researched the UK, the European Union, the former Soviet Union, East Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa. I am an author (with Claire Wallace and Melissa Taylor) of the best-selling text An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives (3rd edition 2005), Routledge. My most recent books are Democratisation Against Democracy: How the EU Fails the Middle East (with Andrea Teti, Valeria Talbot and Paolo Maggiolini). Palgrave Macmillian, published in January 2020 and (with Andrea Teti and Francesco Cavatorta) The Arab Uprisings in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia: Social, Economic and Political Transformations in the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillian, published in January 2018. I have published more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals. My work has been published in English, French, Italian, Swedish, Farsi, Polish, Korean and Chinese.
I am directing two funded research projects. The National Institute for Health and Care Global Health Research Group on Promoting Children's and Adolescents' Mental Wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa (£2.8m, 2022 -2026). The Fostering a Social Practice Approach to Adult Literacies for Improving People’s Quality of Life in Western Rwanda project funded under the Scottish Government's Scotland Rwanda Programme (£1.6m, 2017-24).
Qualifications
- PhD Sociology/Social Policy1982 - Council for National Awards
- BSc Sociology1970 - University of London (externnal)
- MSc Sociology with Politics1975 - Birkbeck College, University of London
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Director of the Centre for Global Development
- External Memberships
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UKRI International Strategic Advisory Board
British Sociological Association
Funding Board, National Institute for Health Research, Research for Innovation and Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) funding.
Latest Publications
A protocol for a critical realist systematic synthesis of ~interventions to~ promote pupils’ wellbeing by improving the school climate in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
PloS ONE, vol. 19, no. 5, e0286489Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA protocol for a critical realist synthesis of school mindfulness interventions designed to promote pupils' mental wellbeing
Frontiers in public health, vol. 11, 1309649Contributions to Journals: ArticlesWhat difference does a social practice approach to adult literacies education make to adult learners' quality of life in Western Rwanda?
Education Applications & Developments IX. Carmo, M. (ed.). InScience Press, pp. 271-283, 13 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersSugar-sweetened beverage intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries
Nature Communications, vol. 14, no. 1, 5957Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEarly Development Centres: What rural Rwandan mothers would find most useful
Rwanda: The Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR-Rwanda) (PDF). 6 pages.Other Contributions: Other Contributions
Prizes and Awards
Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Research
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Research Overview
I am the Director of the Centre for Global Development and a member of the Centre for Civil Society and the Rule of Law.
My main research interests are gender and social quality and quality of life, and social, economic and political transformations. I have expertise in both qualitative and quantitative social research methods. I have researched in the UK and Europe, the former Soviet Union, East Africa and the Middle East and North Africa.
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Applied Health Sciences, Politics and International Relations, Sociology.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Research Specialisms
- International Relations
- Gender Studies
- Political Sociology
- Health Policy
- Development in Africa
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
I am joint-lead on the National Institute for Health-funded project, NIHR Global Health Research Group on Promoting Children's and Adolescents' Mental Wellbeing in Sub-Saharan Africa (£2.9m, 2022-2026). I am directing the Fostering a Social Practice Approach to Adult Literacies for Improving People's Quality of Life in Western Rwanda project. The project is funded under the Scottish Government's Scotland Rwanda Programme (£1.5m, 2017-23). I am: a co-I on a project funded by the International Development Research Centre, Canada, Providing Timely Evidence to Facilitate the Socio-Economic Recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic in Rwanda (2020-2023); on a UK R&I funded project on federalism in the Horn of Africa (2020-2023); on an AHRC funded project Toward the Development of Post Covid-19 Gender Policy Measures to End Modern Slavery and Exploitation in the Bangladeshi Garment Sector; on a project funded by the International Development Research Centre (2021-24) to investigate ways of reducing women's unpaid care work in rural Rwanda; and on a project on democratisation in Tunisia.
Knowledge Exchange
I am a member of UK R & I Global Challenges Research Fund Strategic Advisory Group
I am a member of the National Institute for Health Research Community Engagement Advisory Group.
I publish articles in the Conversation and Open Democracy and regularly give presentations at the Festival of Social Sciences and May Fest.
Collaborations
University of Addis Ababa
University of Global Health Equity
Institute of Policy Analysis and Research-Rwanda
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Applied Health Sciences, Politics and International Relations, Sociology.
I am currently supervising five PhD students.
Nouf Rasheed Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture Amongst Doctors and Nurses in Saudi Arabia Hospitals
Kaeeba Bakali Ali. A Qualitative Study of the Development and Implementation of a Social Practice Approach to Adult literacies teaching in the Western Province of Rwanda
Nyirahabimana Astérie. The Contribution of Adult Literacies to Childhood Development: A Case Study of Karongi District, Western Province, Rwanda.
Elise Boyle. Education in the Islamic State.
David McCusker. Prison Education: Learning How to Start Your Business on Release from Prison in Scotland.
Funding and Grants
Director of the NIHR Global Health Research Group in Promoting children's and Adolescents' Mental Wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa. Funded by the National Institute for Health and Social Care 2021-2026
Principal Investigator: Fostering a Social Practice Approach to Adult Literacies for Improving People’s Quality of Life in Western Rwanda project. Funded by the Scottish Government 2017-2023.
Co-Investigator: Providing Timely Evidence to Facilitate the Socio-Economic Recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in Rwanda project. Funded by the International Development Research Centre (Canadian Government) 2020-2023.
Co-Investigator: Toward the Development of post-Covid-19 Gender Policy Measures to End Modern Slavery and Exploitation in the Bangladeshi Garment Sector. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council 2020-21.
Co-Investigator: Partnership Programme for Capacity Building Centre of Excellence in Good Governance. Funded by UK Research and Innovation 2020-23.
Principal Investigator: In Their Own Words: The Democracy Tunisians Want. Funded by the Scottish Funding Council 2021.
Co-Investigator: Assess the Impact and Scalability of Participatory Programs on Reducing and Redistributing Unpaid Care work among Women in Rwanda”: A Case Study of Reseaux des Femmes Unpaid Care work Project in Rwanda (GRoW Project). Funded by the International Development Research Centre (Canadian Government) 2021-2024.
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
I currently teach on the 6th Century Course: Africa: Sustainable Development for All. I also surpervise PhD students.
- Publications
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Election guide: what you need to know about the Rwandan presidential poll
The ConversationContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesPublic disgust over corruption threatens stability in Middle East and North Africa
The ConversationContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesArab Publics Continue to See Women as Second-Class Citizens
Non-textual Forms: Web Publications and WebsitesCorruption, Cohesion and the Rule of Law
Working Papers: Working PapersAgainst the tide: why women's equality remains a distant dream in Arab countries
The ConversationContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesBetween the Market and the State: Financing and Servicing Self–Sustaining Sanitation Chains in Informal Settlements in East African Cities: Financing and Servicing Self–Sustaining Sanitation Chains in Informal Settlements in East African Cities
Working Papers: Working PapersArab Transformations Survey Data
Non-textual Forms: Data Sets and DatabasesLearning from Success: How Rwanda Achieved the Millennium Development Goals for Health
World Development , vol. 92, pp. 103-116Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.11.013
A Generation in Waiting for Jobs and Justice: Young People Not in Education Employment or Training in North Africa
Working Papers: Working PapersBuilding Decent Societies? Economic Situation and Political Cohesion After the Arab Uprisings
Working Papers: Working Papers