As part of our January 2021 monthly update, we introduce to you three new PhD students working within the School of Sport Exercise and Health Sciences here at Loughborough University.
Disability sport has always been of interest to James. During his A ‘Levels’, he completed an internship with Guildford Borough Council, which aimed to support students with special educational needs. This experience motivated James to pursue a career in improving physical activity in individuals living with disabilities. During his undergraduate studies on the BA (Hons) Physical Education and Sports Coaching degree at the University of Chichester, James helped run several inclusive sport festivals for students with disabilities in the West Sussex region. These experiences led James to undertake a research project in his final year assessing whether the gender of physical education teachers’ affects attitudes towards inclusive physical education.
More recently, James has completed an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology within the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University. Under the supervision of Dr David Maidment, James examined the barriers and facilitators to physical activity in young adults living with disabilities. Whilst studying, James also helped to encourage regular physical activity in older adults living with disabilities in his role as a care assistant with Carers at Home Ltd., Surrey.
From January 2021, James will be undertaking a PhD project supervised by Dr David Maidment and Dr Daniel Rhind. James will be working toward developing and evaluating novel intervention strategies that aim to improve physical activity in young adults living with disabilities. Ultimately, James would like his research to help address existing barriers to physical activity in people with disabilities throughout the lifespan that will improve their overall quality of life.