Dr Katie Rix

Professional biography

BA Hons in Social and Political Sciences  - University of Cambridge (2007)

MSc in Psychology - The Open University (2011)

PhD in Psychology - University of Greenwich (2015)

I have worked at the Open University since 2014, teaching across level 1-3 and masters modules. I have also taught at the University of Essex and the University of Greenwich.

As well as working in Psychology, I have worked in social care, social research and the charity sector. I was Principal Researcher / Research Manager at the National Children's Bureau from 2015 - 2017.

I moved into my Staff Tutor role in September 2022. I am also a fully qualified dance teacher and examiner.

Research interests

My research interests mostly relate to young children's social and cognitive development - specifically their social behaviour and peer relationships.

My PhD research looked at children’s own perceptions of their social behaviour and my post-doc focused on children's social behaviour and their Theory of Mind.

I am also interested in participatory research with children and young people which was a big part of my role at the National Children's Bureau.

My scholarship work involves understanding the learning experiences of students in higher education and how to enhance this. My current scholarship work with Dr Eimear O'Connor relates to peer interactions in tutorials and use of the chat box -   Does peer interaction in online tutorials impact the student experience? | FASS Centre for Scholarship and Innovation (open.ac.uk)

I have experience across a range of research such as: reading in foster families; children missing education; poverty and children's personal and social relationships; experiences of the youth justice system; the impact of children's centres; wellbeng measures.

Current research projects:

Principal Investigator:

Exploring the views and confidence of primary school teaching staff when reporting on children's behaviour and behaviour experiences. Katie Rix and Claire Monks.

Children's views of their own behaviour. Katie Rix and Claire Monks. 

Co-Investigator of Pilot Study: What happens after leaving residential childcare? Research into young people’s experiences and outcomes post-placement at the Mulberry Bush School. OU Team: Heather Price, Caryn Onions, David Jones, Felicitas Rost, Katie Rix. Project Partners: School of Psychology and Counselling, Mulberry Bush School.

I am an External Examiner for students undergoing vivas on the Clinical Doctorate Programme at the University of East London.

Teaching interests

I currently chair the J (October) presentation of our capstone dissertation module, DE300.

I have regional oversight of D110 and DE300B in London. 

I have taught across a range of modules in Psychology and Wellbeing and Education. This includes:

- Levels 1 to 3 psychology (including research methods and statistics)

- Research with children and young people (level 3)

- MSc level / MSc conversion developmental psychology and childhood studies

I am a Senior Fellow of the HEA and External Examiner at Sheffield Hallam University.