Dr Ruth Woods
| Biography | Ruth works part time (0.5FTE) as a Lecturer in Psychology at RGU. Previously, Ruth worked at Canterbury Christ Church University, the University of Aberdeen, and the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration, alongside bringing up a family. Ruth's current research examines how humans respond psychologically to living in diverse societies, focusing particularly on how we make sense of and respond to religious and ethnic differences. She has also published previously on human responses to climate change; children's morality and peer relations; the efficacy of online coaching; and the challenges faced by looked after children. |
|---|---|
| Research Interests | Earlier in my career, my research focused on children's peer relations, culminating in the publication in 2013 of a monograph, 'Children's Moral Lives' (Wiley). This book offers a rich ethnographic account of children's moral values in a multicultural London school. Praise for the book includes: 'Children's Moral Lives' deserves to become a classic... Start your readings on moral development with Jean Piaget but then be sure to read Ruth Woods' (Richard Shweder, Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago). Following a career break to start a family, and a spell as Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen and then Research Officer at SCRA, a Scottish child protection body, my research shifted to environmental psychology (particularly climate change scepticism) and the experiences of looked after children. More recently, I have become increasingly fascinated by the psychological processes implicated in life in contemporary diverse complex societies. I am currently focusing particularly on how people respond psychologically to religious and ethnic differences in the UK setting. Alongside this focus, I am also involved in research on the efficacy of online coaching techniques. Please note that this webpage only includes work that I published since starting at RGU. For earlier publications, please feel free to contact me. |
| Teaching and Learning | Ruth teaches on several modules on the BSc Applied Social Sciences, MSc Applied Psychology, and MSc Social Work degree programmes. Her main areas of teaching comprise developmental psychology, ethics, conceptual issues and critical psychology, and qualitative research methods. She convenes Developmental Psychology modules on the BSc Applied Social Sciences and the MSc Applied Psychology programmes. |
| Scopus Author ID | 23968382600 |