Professor Margaret Harris

Head of Department

Department of Psychology / Department of Psychology - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Research activities

Details of my research

  • The development of written and spoken language
  • The dynamics of deaf and hearing mothers' communication with their deaf children, and how health visitors assess these
  • The language development of deaf children
  • Literacy attainment of deaf school children
  • The inclusion of deaf children in mainstream schools
  • Children with cochlear implants

Professor Margaret Harris began her career as a lecturer at Birkbeck College, moving to Royal Holloway University of London in 1989 as a Senior Lecturer and then Reader and Professor. She joined Oxford Brookes in 2006, where as well as being Head of Psychology, she is also the Director of the Institute for Research in Child Development. This dedicated institute opened in January 2007 and brings together child development experts from across the University.

Professor Harris is the author of four books, and is currently completing a book on research methods in developmental psychology.

Find out more

Recent publications

  • Harris, M . ( 2011 ). Acquisition of sign language. . Cambridge University Press () View more details »
  • Harris, M . ( 2011 ). Acquisition of writing and reading. . Cambridge University Press () View more details »
  • Harris, M and Terlektsi, E . ( 2011 ). Reading and spelling abilities of deaf adolescents with cochlear implants and hearing aids. Journal of deaf studies and deaf education. (1) View more details »
  • Kyle, F E and Harris, M . ( 2011 ). Longitudinal patterns of emerging literacy in beginning deaf and hearing readers . Journal of deaf studies and deaf education. (3) View more details »
  • Harris, M . ( 2010 ). Early communication in sign and speech. . Oxford University Press () View more details »
  • Kyle, F E and Harris, M . ( 2010 ). Predictors of reading development in deaf children: A 3-year longitudinal study. Journal of experimental child psychology. (3) View more details »
  • Harris, M . ( 2008 ). Exploring developmental psychology: Understanding theory and methods . . Sage () View more details »
  • Chasin, J and Harris, M . ( 2008 ). The development of visual attention in deaf children in relation to mother's hearing status. Polish psychological bulletin. (1) View more details »
  • Oates, J M , Bard, K and Harris, M . ( 2008 ). Social and communicative functioning. Down syndrome research and practice. (3) View more details »
  • Bunce, L and Harris, M . ( 2008 ). I saw the real father christmas! Children's everyday uses of the words real, really, and pretend. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. (3) View more details »

Media enquiries

Contact the Public Relations Office on +44 (0)1865 484452.