Dr Yvonne Skipper

Senior Lecturer in Psychology (People, Place & Social Change)

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow. I am passionate about applied, co-created research that makes a real difference—working closely with young people, teachers, and partner organisations to develop practical, evidence-based interventions.

I lead Project Real, which empowers young people to develop the skills they need to spot misinformation and stay safe online. Through creative, co-designed resources like comics, lesson plans, and workshops, Project Real helps young people better understand digital footprints, online misinformation, and scams. We have worked closely with Education Scotland and Police Scotland to develop our materials which can be found here www.projectreal.co.uk

I also run White Water Writers, a collaborative writing initiative that enables groups of people—including school pupils, looked-after children, and young offenders—to write and publish a full-length novel in just one week. The project builds confidence, literacy, and teamwork, and has now supported over 2,000 authors. You can read more at www.whitewaterwriters.com.

I joined the University of Glasgow in 2019 and am a member of the People, Place and Social Change research and teaching group. Prior to this, I was a Lecturer at Keele University and a Postdoctoral Researcher at Royal Holloway, University of London. I completed my ESRC-funded PhD at the University of Kent in 2011.

I care deeply about public engagement and regularly deliver interactive talks and workshops for audiences of all ages—ranging from digital safety sessions in schools to pub talks on the Psychology of Superheroes.

Research interests

My research explores the social, psychological, and contextual factors that influence how people learn, develop, and make sense of the world around them. A central strand of my research involves co-creating interventions with young people, educators, and community partners to address real-world educational and psychological challenges. I am passionate about research that is not only rigorous but also usable, accessible, and engaging—especially for those most at risk of disengagement or disadvantage.

My recent work includes Project Real, which focuses on supporting young people to spot misinformation and navigate online spaces safely and critically. This project involves designing and evaluating creative, co-created resources—such as comics and interactive workshops—to build digital literacy and resilience against misinformation, scams, and unsafe online behaviours. This work sits at the intersection of developmental psychology, education, and digital citizenship.

I also have a long-standing interest in collaborative storytelling and creative writing as a vehicle for learning and self-expression. Through White Water Writers, I explore the educational, psychological, and social benefits of enabling groups to collaboratively write and publish novels in just one week. This project provides insight into motivation, group dynamics, literacy, and identity development in diverse and often marginalised populations.

Overall, my research is underpinned by a commitment to collaboration, inclusion, and impact—working across disciplines and sectors to co-create knowledge that is meaningful and transformative.

Publications

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Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2012

Number of items: 39.

2025

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2025) ‘I'd probably scroll by’: an exploration of young people's views on spotting and stopping misinformation. Children and Society, 39(5), pp. 940-949. (doi: 10.1111/chso.12962)

Hattersley, Michael, Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439, Douglas, Karen M. and Jolley, Daniel (2025) The interplay between economic hardship, anomie, and conspiracy beliefs in shaping anti-immigrant sentiment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 55(8), pp. 600-623. (doi: 10.1111/jasp.70002)

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Corriveau, Kathleen (2025) Between truth and trust: how young people make sense of information. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, (doi: 10.1111/bjdp.70005) (PMID:40665562) (Early Online Publication)

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2025) Fighting fake news: the role of education. Assessment and Development Matters, 17(2), pp. 30-35. (doi: 10.53841/bpsadm.2025.17.2.30)

Bagnall, Charlotte L., James, Lucy A. and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2025) "I shouldn’t really be here": university students’ perceptions and experiences of transitioning to university with a contextual offer admission. Higher Education Quarterly, 79(2), e70003. (doi: 10.1111/hequ.70003)

2024

Butorova, Hana, Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Hand, Christopher ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1536-4005 (2024) A Systematic Review of Digital Risk and Mitigations in Children Aged 8 to 12. Documentation. School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow UK. (doi: 10.36399/gla.pubs.349767).

Wen, Zhipeng, Hand, Christopher ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1536-4005 and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2024) Enhancing Reading Comprehension, Reading Motivation and Reducing Learning Anxiety Using “Hungry Rabbit”. Developmental Psychology Section Annual Conference 2024, Glasgow, UK, 11-13 Sep 2024.

2023

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439, Jolley, Daniel and Reddington, Joseph (2023) ‘But wait, that isn't real’: a proof-of-concept study evaluating ‘Project Real’, a co-created intervention that helps young people to spot fake news online. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 41(4), pp. 371-384. (doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12456) (PMID:37386791)

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Fay, Michael (2023) The relationship between the sense of belonging, mental wellbeing and stress in students of law and psychology in an English University. European Journal of Legal Education, 4(1), pp. 5-26.

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2023) My child the hero: how a collaborative writing project changes prisoners' self-concept and family connection. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 62(4), pp. 233-254. (doi: 10.1080/10509674.2023.2193435)

2022

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Fox, Claire (2022) Boys will be boys: young people’s perceptions and experiences of gender within education. Pastoral Care in Education, 40(4), pp. 391-409. (doi: 10.1080/02643944.2021.1977986)

Bagnall, Charlotte Louise, Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Fox, Claire Louise (2022) Primary-secondary school transition under Covid-19: exploring the perceptions and experiences of children, parents/guardians, and teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(3), pp. 1011-1033. (doi: 10.1111/bjep.12485) (PMID:35132610) (PMCID:PMC9111429)

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2022) Open dialogue peer review: A response to Professor Lucas. Psychology of Education Review, 4(1), pp. 29-32.

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2022) Motivation. In: Lord, Janet (ed.) Psychology of Education: Theory, Research and Evidence-Based Practice. SAGE Publications: London. ISBN 9781529762983

de Carvalho, Eloise and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2022) Interpreting young people’s self-expression through characters and relationships in collaborative creative writing. Support for Learning, 37(1), pp. 144-160. (doi: 10.1111/1467-9604.12399)

Fay, Michael and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2022) “I was able to ask for help when I became stressed rather than sitting alone and struggling”: psychology and law students’ views of the impact of identity and community on mental wellbeing. Law Teacher, 56(1), pp. 20-36. (doi: 10.1080/03069400.2021.2020507)

2021

Rowley, Martin and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2021) Student and staff expectations and experiences of a UK–China Transnational Education collaboration. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 13(5), pp. 1374-1387. (doi: 10.1108/JARHE-01-2020-0021)

Jolley, Daniel, Douglas, Karen M., Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439, Thomas, Eleanor and Cookson, Darel (2021) Measuring adolescents’ beliefs in conspiracy theories: development and validation of the Adolescent Conspiracy Beliefs Questionnaire (ACBQ). British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 39(3), pp. 499-520. (doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12368) (PMID:33556990)

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Pepler, Debra J. (2021) Knowledge mobilization: stepping into interdependent and relational space using co-creation. Action Research, 19(3), pp. 588-605. (doi: 10.1177/1476750320960810)

Yuka, Masda and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2021) ‘Book in a Week’ - Can Creative Writing Enhance Language Learning and Learner Confidence in Students? In: Third JAAL in JACET Conference (JAAL in JACET 2020), 5-6 Dec 2020, pp. 50-56.

Bagnall, Charlotte Louise, Fox, Claire Louise, Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Oldfield, Jeremy (2021) Evaluating a universal emotional-centred intervention to improve children's emotional well-being over primary-secondary school transition. Advances in Educational Research and Evaluation, 2(1), pp. 113-126. (doi: 10.25082/AERE.2021.01.003)

Bagnall, Charlotte Louise, Fox, Claire Louise and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2021) When is the ‘optimal’ time for school transition? An insight into provision in the US. Pastoral Care in Education, 39(4), pp. 348-376. (doi: 10.1080/02643944.2020.1855669)

2020

de Carvalho, Eloise and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2020) A two-component growth mindset intervention for young people with SEND. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 20(3), pp. 195-205. (doi: 10.1111/1471-3802.12472)

Bagnall, Charlotte Louise, Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Fox, Claire Louise (2020) ‘You're in this world now’: students’, teachers’, and parents’ experiences of school transition and how they feel it can be improved. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(1), pp. 206-226. (doi: 10.1111/bjep.12273)

2019

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Douglas, Karen M. (2019) Examining teachers’ ratings of feedback following success and failure: a study of Chinese English teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(4), pp. 804-817. (doi: 10.1111/bjep.12261) (PMID:30734921)

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2019) Higher education psychology teacher of the year: Finalist case study 2019. Psychology Teaching Review, 25(2), pp. 114-117.

de Carvalho, Eloise and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2019) “We’re not just sat at home in our pyjamas!”: a thematic analysis of the social lives of home educated adolescents in the UK. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 34(3), pp. 501-516. (doi: 10.1007/s10212-018-0398-5)

Hulme, J.A., Stanyard, R., Kent, A. and Skipper, Y. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2019) Making a difference with psychology: case study. In: Kahn, Peter and Anderson, Lorraine (eds.) Developing Your Teaching: Towards Excellence. Series: Key guides for effective teaching in higher education. Routledge: New York, pp. 39-40. ISBN 9781138591189

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and de Carvalho, Eloise (2019) “I have seen the opportunities that science brings”: encouraging girls to persist in science. Educational Forum, 83(2), pp. 199-214. (doi: 10.1080/00131725.2019.1576820)

2017

Cruwys, Tegan, Gaffney, Amber M. and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2017) Uncertainty in transition: The influence of group cohesion on learning. In: Mavor, Kenneth I., Platow, Michael J. and Bizumic, Boris (eds.) Self and Social Identity in Educational Contexts. Routledge: London. ISBN 9781315746913

Kent, Alexandra, Berry, Donna M., Budds, Kirsty, Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Williams, Helen L. (2017) Promoting writing amongst peers: establishing a community of writing practice for early career academics. Higher Education Research and Development, 36(6), pp. 1194-1207. (doi: 10.1080/07294360.2017.1300141)

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Leman, Patrick J. (2017) The role of feedback in young people’s academic choices. International Journal of Science Education, 39(4), pp. 453-467. (doi: 10.1080/09500693.2017.1294783)

2016

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Douglas, Karen M. (2016) The impact of a selective entry examination on children's feelings as they approach the transition to secondary school. British Educational Research Journal, 42(6), pp. 945-961. (doi: 10.1002/berj.3242)

Leman, Patrick J., Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439, Watling, Dawn and Rutland, Adam (2016) Conceptual change in science is facilitated through peer collaboration for boys but not for girls. Child Development, 87(1), pp. 176-183. (doi: 10.1111/cdev.12481)

2015

Kent, A. and Skipper, Y. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2015) Making a difference with psychology: reporting on a module to develop psychological literacy in final year undergraduates. Psychology Teaching Review, 21(2), pp. 35-47.

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Douglas, Karen (2015) The influence of teacher feedback on children's perceptions of student-teacher relationships. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 85(3), pp. 276-288. (doi: 10.1111/bjep.12070)

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2015) An evaluation of an intervention to change first-year psychology students’ theory of intelligence. Psychology Teaching Review, 21(2), pp. 69-80.

2012

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 and Douglas, Karen (2012) Is no praise good praise? Effects of positive feedback on children's and university students’ responses to subsequent failures. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(2), pp. 327-339. (doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8279.2011.02028.x)

Douglas, Karen M. and Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2012) Subtle linguistic variation in feedback. In: Sutton, M.R., Hornsey, M. and Douglas, K.M. (eds.) Feedback The Communication of Praise, Criticism, and Advice. Peter Lang. ISBN 9781433105128

This list was generated on Sun Oct 19 06:20:14 2025 BST.

Jump to: Articles | Book Sections | Research Reports or Papers | Conference or Workshop Item | Conference Proceedings

Number of items: 39.

Articles

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2022) Open dialogue peer review: A response to Professor Lucas. Psychology of Education Review, 4(1), pp. 29-32.

Skipper, Yvonne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3439 (2019) Higher education psychology teacher of the year: Finalist case study 2019. Psychology Teaching Review, 25(2), pp. 114-117.

Book Sections

Research Reports or Papers

Conference or Workshop Item

Conference Proceedings

This list was generated on Sun Oct 19 06:20:14 2025 BST.

Grants

Year

Total amount

Funder and Title

2025

£61,953

UKRI SHAPE Catalyst: ARC Accelerate. Project Real: co-creating resources to help people improve their skills in spotting misinformation

2024

£14,900

ESRC Impact Acceleration Account: Project Real: co-creating online safety resources in collaboration with Police Scotland.

2023

£10,000

Education Scotland: A systematic review of digital risk and mitigations in children aged 8 to 12: Challenges and Opportunities.

2023

£20,000

Education Scotland: Co-creating comic books to promote digital literacy in young people

2022

£18,730

Scottish Library Improvement Fund: Using creative writing to increase empathy and reduce racism

2021

£40,000

Not Equal: Tackling Fake News via Fake People: Co-creating a toolkit to help young people recognise fake news

2020

£2,500

Higher Horizons: How do contextual admissions impact student experience of university?

2020

£1,700

University of Glasgow Chancellor’s Fund: White Water Writers with University of Glasgow students

2020

£1,400

ESRC Impact Acceleration Covid 19: Creative Writing in Prisons.

2019

£1,000

ESRC Festival of Social Science: Psychology in Action. Funding to run outreach activity giving young people the chance to use psychology to solve real problems in their community.

2018

£9,500

British Academy: Development and validation of a conspiracy theory belief questionnaire for adolescents

2017

£66, 547

Higher Horizons and NCOP: White Water Writers. Funding to run the project in 35 local schools and evaluate its’ impact.

2017

£4,869

Society for Research in Higher Education: “Why not me?” – The Extent to which Students’ Academic Identity impacts their sense of community and mental health.

2017

£7,715

Higher Horizons and NCOP: Are you App4it?: Funding to develop and run a project giving school students the chance to develop their own apps.

2015

£49,000

SHINE: White Water Writers for Disadvantaged Young People. Funding to run the project in a number of local schools and evaluate the longer term impact on literacy.

2015

£6,600

Earnest Cook: White Water Writers

2015

£22,000

HEFCE and UnLTD: White Water Writers

2014

£32,000

Higher Education Innovation Fund: White Water Writers

Supervision

I’m especially keen to hear from prospective PhD students who are interested in exploring how young people understand and respond to misinformation and disinformation.

Current students

Yingkai Yan: Unpacking Policy Enactment: ICT in China’s Foreign Language Curriculum — A Case Study of Yantai

Hana Butrova: Exploring character-focused mentoring as a means of facilitating character growth and Positive Youth Development (PYD) in middle and late childhood

Zhipeng Wen: Examining the impacts of “Hungry Rabbit” on reading motivation, reading comprehension, and learning anxiety of Beginning Mandarin Learners with Basic Knowledge of Pinyin in the UK

Renhao Du: Experiences of transition from primary to secondary school

Erin Bartley: Once upon a teenage time - Exploring the role of story in career guidance - implications for executive function, identity formation and wellbeing in developing adolescents

Previous students

Dr Nicola Ralph: Risk and protective factors for bullying and peer victimisation of children with and without Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

Nicholas Garnett: Enabling teachers to promote incremental theories of intelligence in young children: an intervention and an instrument

Charlotte Bagnall: How can we improve children’s emotional wellbeing over the secondary school transition period?

Bartley, Erin Elisa
Once upon a teenage time; How do storytelling techniques within career guidance impact developing adolescents in terms of executive functions, identity formation and wellbeing?
Butorova, Hana
Exploring mentoring as a means of facilitating PYD
WEN, Zhipeng
Examining the impact of “Hungry Rabbit” on reading motivation, reading comprehension, and learning anxiety of beginning Mandarin learners with basic knowledge of pinyin in the UK

Teaching

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and was a finalist in the UK Higher Education Psychology Teacher of the Year Award in 2019. My teaching is driven by a commitment to inclusive, research-informed education that helps students connect psychological theory to real-world contexts.

I lead the delivery of our core course in Developmental Psychology, as well as the optional course Psychology of Adult Learning. My teaching spans a range of topics including learning, motivation, social development, digital literacy, and the application of psychology in educational and community settings. Across all my teaching, I aim to equip students with both academic knowledge and practical skills that they can carry into their future careers.

Additional information

Invited Talks, Special Issues and Awards

2025: Invited Keynote for USA practitioner conference ‘The Social Media Challenge’

2025: Edited a Special Issue of the British Journal of Developmental Psychology on Misinformation.

2024: Presentation at the New Zealand Ministry of Education in Wellington.

2024: Invited Presentation at the Five Nations Educational Conference

2024: Invited Presentation at the Ofcom Making Sense of Media Winter Conference

2022: Research Impact Award. Runner up in the Emerald International Award for Mobilising Research into Action

2019: Finalist ‘UK Higher Education Psychology Teacher of the Year’. This national level award recognises excellence in teaching and learning in psychology.

2017: Keele University. Teaching Excellence Award.

2016: Keele University. Innovative Session of the Year

2015: Keele University. Outstanding Outreach Session Deliverer

2014: Keele University. New outreach academic of the year

Photograph of Dr Skipper

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Clarity

Dr Yvonne Skipper

Biography

Research interests

Publications

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2017

2016

2015

2012

Articles

Book Sections

Research Reports or Papers

Conference or Workshop Item

Conference Proceedings

Grants

Supervision

Teaching

Additional information