DR NICOLA J BALLANTYNE
BSc (Hons), MSc, MA, PhD, FHEA
SENIOR LECTURER, LEVEL TUTOR IN CRIMINOLOGY
BIOGRAPHY
Nicola Ballantyne is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology. One of her contributions to the Criminology Programme is writing the module Re-thinking Gender and Violence. She leads and teaches this to second-year students. Continuing in this area, Nicola supervises third-year Criminology dissertation students researching sexual and domestic violence.
RESEARCH INTERESTS AND EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENTS
Nicola's criminological research interests are in the `treatment' of sexual and domestic violence offenders, and the National Probation Service (NPS). Nicola's research considered the NPS as a criminal justice institution, and its capacity to adequately protect women from men's sexual and domestic violence. More recently, Nicola's research interests are in pedagogical research.
CURRENT WORK
Nicola's recent research is in pedagogical research and student retention seeking to understand how students experience their first-year at University. Using in-depth interviews her study aimed to understand student attendance and non-attendance to seminars and lectures to help inform strategies to enhance students' experiences of academic study. Nicola also carried-out a small-scale piece of research for her MA in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. This study aimed to understand students' relationships at University and what matters to them during their academic studies. Nicola focuses upon carrying out qualitative research that aims to make sense of the complexities and diversities of individuals' experiences.
POST-GRADUATE SUPERVISION
Nicola is co-supervisor to one PhD student in the faculty, Gillian Denny, who is researching Racist Perpetrators in the North East of England.
