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Anna Tsakalaki

Unknown

Director of the PG Cert SENCo Programme

Areas of interest

  • Reading and writing development and difficulties
  • Morphology and orthography
  • Vocabulary learning
  • Reading and writing in children who speak English as an Additional Language (EAL)
  • Learning of first, second and additional language
  • Multilingualism
  • Interaction between literacy, language skills and STEM
  • Developmental disorders (dyslexia, dysgraphia, reading comprehension difficulties, SLI, ASD)
  • Modern technology and literacy acquisition
  • Inclusion, diversity and equality in education
  • Partnerships between schools and between school and home environment
  • Research-informed practice in education

Teaching

  • PG Cert SENCo Programme
  • Learners with special educational needs (MA in Education – Inclusive Education)
  • Supporting students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (MA in Education – Inclusive Education)
  • English and communication in the primary curriculum 1 & 2 (BA Primary Education)
  • MA and PhD dissertation supervision

Research projects

  • Arts and Humanities Research Council, Creative Multilingualism FlexiFund Award (October 2018-December 2019), Principal Investigator: “Transferable vocabulary: exploring linguistic diversity at the interface between arts, literacy and mathematics with EAL and non-EAL students in mainstream education” (Co-Investigator: Mrs Jo Skelton, Oxford Brookes University).

Member of research teams (2016-2018):

  • EU H2020 (2017-2020): “iRead - Personalised Reading apps for primary school children”. A collaborative project between 17 partners from across industry and education in 9 European countries. UK based partners include the University College of London (UCL) and the British Council.
  • Froebel Trust Grant (November 2016 - January 2018): “4Ps- Project: Practitioners & Parents Play Partnership: Strengthening practitioner-parent collaboration through the use of CPD and play built on Froebelian principles and pedagogy”. (Co-Investigators: Dr Myria Pieridou (Open University), Dr Suzanne Quinn-Flannery (Roehampton University), Mrs Teresa Wilson (University of Reading), Dr Geoff Taggart (University of Reading), Ms Jo Elsey (University of Reading), Dr Anna Tsakalaki (University of Reading).
  • The Tony Little Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning at Eton College (March 2017): “Independent-State School Partnerships. An initial review of evidence and current practices”. (Co-Investigators: Professor Bill Lucas (University of Winchester), Dr Louise Stoll (UCL), Dr Toby Greany (UCL), Dr Anna Tsakalaki (CIRL) and Mrs Rebecca Nelson (UCL).

Research assistant for the following projects:

  • Institute of Education, University of Reading (2016), “The contribution of general language ability, reading comprehension and working memory to mathematics achievement among children with English as additional language (EAL)” with Dr Vincent Trakulphadetkrai, Professor Jeanine Treffers-Daller and Dr Louise Courtney.
  • Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics (2016), University of Reading, “Creative versus performative competence –the role of other-orientation in developing second language Academic Interactional Competence” with Dr Clare Wright.
  • Institute of Education, University of Reading (2014), “The role of vocabulary and reading skills in academic achievement in higher education” with Professor Jeanine Treffers-Daller.
  • Institute of Education, University of Reading (2012), “Longitudinal study in reading with teenagers of different ability levels in RAN” with Dr Daisy Powell and Professor Rhona Stainthorp.
  • Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism
  • Language and Literacy in Education research group
  • Improving Equity and Inclusion through Education
  • Trakulphadetkrai, N. V., Courtney, L., Clenton, J., Treffers-Daller, J. and Tsakalaki, A. (2017)The contribution of general language ability, reading comprehension and working memory to mathematics achievement among children with English as additional language (EAL): an exploratory study. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. ISSN 1367-0050 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1373742
  • Tsakalaki, A. (2016) Investigating spelling in English and Greek native speaking children with and without dyslexia PhD thesis, University of Reading.
  • Lucas, B., Stoll, L., Greany, T., Tsakalaki, A., Nelson, R. (2017). Independent-State School Partnerships. An initial review of evidence and current practices. Independent report by the Centre for Real World Learning, University of Winchester and the London Centre for Leadership in Learning, University College London.
  • Tsakalaki, A. (2017). Cross-language behavioural assessment: Spelling skills of children with dyslexia in the United Kingdom and Greece. SAGE Research Methods Cases. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526401465

Academic qualifications

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
  • PhD in Education (University of Reading, UK)
  • MA in SEND (UCL, Institute of Education, UK)
  • MSc in Curricula and Applied Pedagogical Scinece (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)
  • BA in History and Archaeology (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)

Selected publications

Conference Presentations:

  • Tsakalaki, A. (2014, September) What Do Misspellings of Primary School Pupils with and without Dyslexia Tell Us? Evidence from English and Greek Native Speakers. Paper accepted at the European Educational Research Association Conference, Porto, Portugal.
  • Tsakalaki, A. (2014, September) Investigating misspelling patterns: evidence from pupils of primary education with and without dyslexia in England and in Greece. Paper accepted at the British Educational Research Association Conference, London, UK.
  • Tsakalaki, A. (2013, September) Identifying misspelling patterns: Evidence from UK elementary school pupils with and without dyslexia. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society: Developmental and Cognitive Sections Joint Conference, Reading, UK
  • Powell, D., Chesson, L., Stainthorp, R., Tsakalaki, A. (2013, September) Long-term educational outcomes for children with Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) difficulties: follow-up at the end of compulsory schooling in the UK. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Hong Kong, July 2013.
  • Tsakalaki, A. (2013, July) Analysis of the patterns of misspellings in written English language. Evidence from native speaking dyslexic and non-dyslexic spellers of 8-11 years old in the UK. Interactive paper presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading Conference, Hong Kong.
  • Powell, D., Stainthorp, R., Chesson, L., & Tsakalaki, A. (2012, November) Educational outcomes for children with Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) difficulties at primary: a long-term follow-up at GCSE level. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Conference, Raising Standards in Education: The role of psychology, Milton Keynes, UK.
  • Treffers-Daller, J.C., Hyder, E., Powell, D., & Tsakalaki, A. (2012, November) How do vocabulary size and reading ability affect academic ability? A pilot study among undergraduate Education students. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Conference, Raising Standards in Education: The role of psychology, Milton Keynes, UK.
  • Tsakalaki, A., (2008, March) Creating social identities using the historical texts of the new school History textbooks of A’ and B’ High School Grade. Paper presented at the International Conference: Evaluation and Management of Primary and High School Education, Pedagogical Department of Primary Education, University of Patras, Greece

Publications