Professor Margaret Harris BSc PhD FBPsS

Head of Department of Psychology

Profile

Margaret Harris began her career as a lecturer at Birkbeck College, moving to Royal Holloway University of London in 1989 as a Senior Lecturer and then Reader and Professor. In 2006 she moved to Oxford Brookes University to become Head of the Psychology Department and Director of the new Institute for Research in Child Development. Margaret's main interests are in the development of written and spoken language and she has published widely in this area. Much of her research in the past two decadea has focused on the language development of deaf children, especially the dynamics of deaf and hearing mothers' communication with their deaf children and literacy attainment in deaf school children. She is the author of five books, and has recently published a book on research methods in developmental psychology. Some of her most recent research has moved into the area of drivers' expectatations and experiences of electric vehicles and she has been working closely with BMW in an evaluation of the MINI E.

Selected Publications

Books

Harris M. (2008). Exploring child development: Understanding theory and methods. London: Sage Publications. http://www.sagepub.co.uk/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book227086

Harris, M. & Butterworth, G. (2002). Developmental Psychology: A Student's Handbook. Hove: Psychology Press. http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/shopping_cart/products/product_detail.asp?sku=&isbn=9781841691107

Harris, M & Hatano, G (eds.) (1999), Learning to read and write: a cross-linguistic perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Butterworth, G. & Harris, M. (1994). Principles of Developmental Psychology. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Harris, M. (1992). Language Experience and Early Language Development: From Input to Uptake. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Harris, M. & Coltheart, M. (1986). Language Processing in Children and Adults: An introduction. London: Routledge.

Book Chapters (selected)

Harris, M. (2010). Early communication in sign and speech. In M. Marschark and P. E. Spencer (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies, Language, and Education Volume 2. New York: Oxford University Press.

Harris, M. (2010). Acquisition of writing and reading. In P. C. Hogan (ed.) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences. Cambridge University Press.

Harris, M. (2010). Acquisition of sign language. In P. C. Hogan (ed.) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences. Cambridge University Press.

Spencer, P.E. & Harris, M. (2005). Patterns and effects of language input to deaf infants and toddlers from deaf and hearing mothers. In M. Marschark & P.E. Spencer (eds.), Sign language development (pp 71-101). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Harris, M. (2004). First words. In J. Oates & A. Grayson (eds.), Cognitive and language development in children. (pp 61-112). The Open University/ Blackwell Publishing.

Harris, M. & Hatano, G. (1999). A cross-linguistic perspective on learning to read and write. In M. Harris & G Hatano (eds.), Learning to read and write: a cross-linguistic perspective (pp 1 - 9). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Harris, M. & Giannouli, V*. (1999). Learning to read and spell Greek: the importance of letter knowledge and morphological awareness. In M. Harris & G Hatano (eds), Learning to read and write: a cross-linguistic perspective (pp 51 - 70). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Harris, M. (1997). Language and its pathology. In G. Bremner, A. Slater & G. Butterworth (eds.), Infant development: Recent advances (pp 311 - 330) Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Harris, M. & Barlow-Brown, F*. (1997). Learning to read in blind and sighted children. In V. Lewis & G. M. Collis (eds.), Blindness and psychological development 0 - 10 years (pp 53 -68). Leicester UK, BPS Books.

Marschark, M. & Harris, M. (1996). Success and failure in learning to read: the special (?) case of deaf children. In C. Cornoldi & J. Oakhill (eds.), Reading comprehension difficulties: Processes and intervention (pp 279 - 300). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Harris, M. & Beech, J. (1995). Reading development in prelingually deaf children. In K Nelson & Z. Reger (eds.), Children's lLanguage Volume 8. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. (pp 181 - 202).

Harris, M. (1993) The relationship between maternal speech and children's first words. In D. Messer & G. Turner (eds.), Critical aspects of language acquisition and development. London: Macmillan. (pp 3 - 22)

Clibbens, J. & Harris, M. (1993) The acquisition of formational parameters in British Sign Language: a case study. In D. Messer & G. Turner (eds.), Critical aspects of language acquisition and development. London: Macmillan. (pp 197 - 208).

Journal Articles (Selected)

Kyle. F.E. & Harris, M. (2011). Longitudinal patterns of emerging literacy in beginning deaf and hearing readers. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. 16(3), 289-304.

Kyle. F.E. & Harris, M. (2011). Foundations for literacy. British Association of Teachers of the Deaf Magazine, March, 6-7.

Harris, M. & Marschark, M (2011). Literacy in the classroom and beyond. Introduction to a special section on Literacy in Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 16(1), 1.

Harris, M. & Terlektsi, E. (2011). Reading and Spelling Abilities of Deaf Adolescents with Cochlear Implants and Hearing Aids. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 16(1), 24-34.

Kyle. F.E. & Harris, M. (2010). Predictors of reading and spelling development in deaf children: a three year longitudinal study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 107(3), 229-243.

Archbold^, S., Harris, M., O’Donoghue, G., Nikolopoulos, T., White, A. & Lloyd Richmond, H. (2008). Reading abilities after cochlear implantation: the effect of age at implantation on outcomes at five and seven years after implantation. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 72(10), 1471-1478.

Oates, J.M., Bard, K., & Harris, M. (2008). Social and communicative functioning. Down Syndrome Research and Practice. 12(3), 46-48.

Chasin, J. & Harris, M. (2008). The development of visual attention in deaf children in relation to mother’s hearing status. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 39(1), 1-8.

Bunce, L. & Harris, M. (2008).’I saw the real Father Christmas!’: Children’s everyday uses of the words real, really and pretend. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28(3), 445-455.

Chasin, J. & Harris, M. (2008). The development of visual attention in deaf children in relation to mother’s hearing status. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 40,

Harris, M. & Moreno, C. (2006). Speech reading and learning to read: a comparison of deaf children with good and poor reading ability. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. 11, 189-201.

Kyle, F. .E & Harris, M. (2006) Concurrent correlates and predictors of reading and spelling in deaf and hearing school children. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 11, 273-288.

Harris, M. & Chasin, J. (2005) Attentional patterns in deaf and hearing infants: the role of auditory cues. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 1116-1123.

Harris, M. & Moreno, C. (2004) Deaf children's use of phonological coding: Evidence from reading, spelling and working memory. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 9, 253-268.

Harris, M. (2001) It's all a matter of timing: Sign visibility and sign reference in deaf and hearing mothers. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 6, 177-185.

Harris, M. (2000) Social interaction and early language development in deaf children. Deafness and Education International, 2, 1-11.

Harris, M. & Chasin, J. (1999). Developments in early lexical comprehension: a comparison of parental report and controlled testing. Journal of Child Language, 26, 453 - 460.

Harris, M. (1998). Can connectionism model developmental change? Mind & Language, 13, 442 - 447.

Harris, M. & Beech, J. R. (1998). Implicit phonological awareness and early reading development in pre-lingually deaf children. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 3, 205 - 216.

Harris, M. & Mohay, H. (1997). Learning to look in the right place: A comparison of attentional behavior in deaf children with deaf and hearing mothers. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 2, 95 - 103.

Beech, J. & Harris, M. (1997). The prelingually deaf young reader: a case of reliance on direct lexical access. Journal of Research in Reading, 20, 105 - 121.

Harris, M., Barlow-Brown, F. & Chasin, J. (1995). The emergence of referential understanding : pointing and the comprehension of object names. First Language, 15, 19 - 34.

Harris, M., Yeeles, C., Chasin, J. & Oakley, Y. (1995). Symmetries and asymmetries in early lexical comprehension and production. Journal of Child Language, 22, 1 -18.

Barrett, M. D., Harris, M. & Chasin, J. (1991). Early lexical development and maternal speech: a comparison of children's initial and subsequent uses of words. Journal of Child Language, 18, 21-40.