Dr Liz Washbrook
B.A.(Cantab.), M.Sc.(Bristol)
Current positions
Associate Professor in Quantitative Methods
School of Education
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
My research draws on the statistical analysis of large and complex datasets to explore a variety of topics relating to family decision-making and trajectories of children’s educational and socio-emotional development over the life course. My work is explicitly inter-disciplinary and I regularly work with colleagues with backgrounds in population health, demography, economics and psychology. One recent strand of work focuses on cross-national comparisons of socioeconomic inequalities in child development. Another strand is methodological, focusing on the development and application of cutting-edge statistical methods for longitudinal data. I am passionate about making the fundamental principles and findings from complex quantitative analyses accessible to non-experts, from policymakers to undergraduate social science students.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
The Development of Inequalities in Child Educational Achievement: A Six Country Study
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of EducationDates
01/01/2019 to 30/06/2022
The link between adolescent mental health and educational outcomes: Exploring the potential of machine learning methods in two national contexts
Principal Investigator
Description
This project aims to improve our understanding of the risk factors that link mental health problems in early adolescence to poor outcomes such as failure to pass exams, become engaged…Managing organisational unit
School of EducationDates
01/08/2018 to 31/07/2019
Mental health and educational achievement in UK adolescents
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Educational achievement at the end of compulsory education has strong links with important aspects of adult life such as employment, health, and social functioning worldwide. In the UK, a recent…Managing organisational unit
School of EducationDates
01/10/2017 to 01/03/2019
The changing landscape: diverse friendships and the effects of contextual diversity on youth outcomes
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Within many Western countries and especially in the UK, the social landscape is becoming increasingly ethnically and racially diverse. In 2015, approximately 19% of the resident population in the United…Managing organisational unit
School of EducationDates
01/10/2017 to 31/03/2020
Using Statistical E-books to teach undergraduate students quantitative methods and statistical software
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Background and objectives
With the increased accessibility and volume of electronically available data, the ability to interpret, summarise and even analyse data has become a desired core skill for graduates in…Managing organisational unit
School of EducationDates
01/04/2016 to 01/04/2018
Thesis supervisions
Test-takers’ Cognitive Processes While Synthesizing Multiple Texts and Graphs
Supervisors
Exploring the impact of giving and receiving peer feedback on associate degree students’ Chinese academic writing
Supervisors
A longitudinal examination of occupational aspirations in middle childhood and adolescence
Supervisors
‘Here is a long way’. Language learning, integration, and identity
Supervisors
Amidst reforms
Supervisors
The Role of the School Inspection System in Demonstrating and Improving the Quality of Compulsory Education
Supervisors
Internationalisation and intercultural learning
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
17/04/2023International differences in gradients in early childhood overweight and obesity
European Journal of Public Health
Depressive symptoms and academic achievement in UK adolescents
Journal of Affective Disorders
Income-Related Gaps in Early Child Cognitive Development
Demography
‘Learning to play the game’
British Educational Research Journal
Trajectories of depressive symptoms and adult educational and employment outcomes
BJPsych Open
Related people
Professor Simon Burgess
Professor of Economics
School of Economics
Dr Rebecca Pearson
Senior Lecturer in Psychiatric Epidemiology
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Mr Alex Kwong
Senior Research Associate
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Dr Jo Rose
Associate Professor in Social Psychology of Education
School of Education
Professor Kate Tilling
Professor of Medical Statistics and MRC Investigator
Bristol Medical School (PHS)