I have recently been appointed as Deputy Director of ITE and Undergraduate Studies in the School of Education. I am the Programme Leader for the BA Community Development (BACD). I am a member of the People, Place and Social Change Research and Teaching Group and the School of Education Ethics Committee. I teach across a range of courses including: Working with Young People - Education and Learning for Social Change; Community Development Practice and Placement; Power and Empowerment; Space, Place and Community and Approaches and Applied Research. I also supervise the majority of fourth-year dissertation projects for the BACD Honours' students. As a former youth and community worker, I worked with young carers, young people who are care-experiences and young people involved in community development and youth participation. My doctoral study looked at the experiences of young people and youth workers involved in youth participation practice in North Ayrshire. The study celebrates the commitment and passion of young people and youth workers and highlights the positive transformation that happens through involvement in a range of experiences and opportunities. 

I am passionate about ensuring a very positive experience for students on all of the courses on which I teach. I am heavily influenced by the work of Paulo Freire, both in what I teach and the way in which I teach. I am keen to explore and capture my practice as a lecturer and contribute to the body of literature and research on the scholarship of learning and teaching.  

Research interests

• My doctoral research looked at the lived experiences of young people and youth workers involved in Youth Participation Practice in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Paulo Freire's theories and principles were used as the theorectical framework for the piece. 
• I am currently working with Dr Adele Pavlidis from Griffith University, Australia, and Dr Anna Planas from the University of Girona to develop a research project that will examine the roles that youth workers take and the self-care strategies that youth workers adopt in undertaking these roles. The project will work with youth workers as co-research in the three locations and will use Appreciative Inquiry and Action Research as the theoretical and methodological framework. 
• I am interested in examining the impact of taking a value-led approach to community development practice for graduates from the BA (Hons) Community Development at the University of Glasgow.

Voluntary Work:

I am currently the Chair Person for Friends of Gartcosh, a voluntary organisation that I helped to establish, which aims to build community spirit and to develop a community garden.

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School of Education, IPDF Funding, 2018, £444.16 for Research Development Mobility to University of Girona

College of Social Sciences Seedcorn Funding, 2017, £767.95 for Research Development Workshop

Erasmus+ staff mobility for teaching and training,(Key Action 1 – HIGHER EDUCATION), 2016, £1000 to participate in training and develop a European Training Network (EUTAG) of providers of Youth and Community Work Education in Higher Education Institutions across Europe

Louise is currently supervising:

John D.W. MacDonald: Factors in the Recovery of Adults with Experience of Deep Exclusion, Street Life and Addiction

Anne O'Reilly: Children's Autonomy in Museum Education

Robyn Gibson: An exploration of how the Scottish Art and Design curriculum influences Scottish school pupils' mental health and well-being (from September, 2020)

Teaching

I am Course Leader for a number of courses on the BA (Hons) Community Development and I teach on the following courses: 

• Community Development Placement
• Power and Empowerment
• Space, Place and Community
• Research Project

I have previously led and taught on Working with Youth: Education and Learning for Social Change (Masters-Level Course) and taught on Curriculum Development in Adult Education - both level 5 courses.

Consulting and advice

I have been involved at various points with Partnership 4 Change, a group of Service Users and Carers from North Lanarkshire, on a consultancy basis.  This has involved using a Community Development approach to help them to develop and build their capacity to take action and influence the Joint Planning Process for Social Work Services and NHS Lanarkshire. 

I am interested in further opportunities to undertake consultancy and advice in the field of community development and youth participation.

I am currently working with representatives from Glasgow City Council to develop a partnership that will enable third-year students from the BA Community Development to work with communities to explore the potential use of Queen Mary Street School in Bridgeton.