Paula Wood is a Social Mobility researcher who works with the Civic Mission team at Wrexham University and the Public Map. She has completed postgraduate research in educational leadership at the University of South Wales (MA Leadership and Management), and doctoral research, Education for Social Mobility, at Bangor University (PhD Education). Her research concerns itself with socio-economic diversity, equity and inclusion, and explores how social, cultural, educational, and economic experiences influence the prospects of children and young people living in Wales. Paula has comprehensive experience of working in the Welsh post-compulsory education and training sector developing high-quality, career-connected learning that positively influences the relative social mobility of future generations.
Research Interests
Education, Social Mobility, Social Capital, Equity, Critical Consciousness.
Research Projects
| Title | Role | Description | From/To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unmet Needs in Rural Flintshire in the Context of Persistent Austerity | PI | This qualitative study, commissioned by Flintshire County Council, explores rural vulnerabilities across the region. | 2025 |
| Extended School Day Pilot | PI | This study develops a strategic education leadership blueprint for implementing an extracurricular extended school day programme. It provides practical implementation guidelines, builds a strategic framework that aligns Local Authority support structures with effective delivery, and defines operational success indicators to measure impact on pupil engagement and relative social mobility. | 2026 |
| Trauma Informed Design | Researcher | Led by Wrexham University's Civic Mission team in collaboration with the Trauma Informed Design Society (TiDS), this project examines how campus environments influence staff and student wellbeing, using trauma-informed design principles to inform practice at Wrexham University and across the higher education sector. | 2024 - 2026 |
| Tomorrows Changemakers Career Connected Project Based Learning Pilot | PI | This study evaluates how economically connecting school pupils through Project Based Learning can influence children's engagement in learning, future education and career expectations. | 2024 - 2026 |
| Lle Llais, Public Map Platform | Researcher | This research details how engagement in arts and nature-based trauma informed activities developed meaningful connections that cultivated social and cultural wellbeing and developed a place-based understanding of this. The research considers disparities of place provides insight into how places and the natural environment are important factors in children’s feelings of belonging and cultural identity. | 2025 |
| 100 Stories | PI | The 100 Stories Project was a research collaboration with BCUHB exploring transitions from children's neurodevelopmental, learning disability and mental health services to adult provision in North Wales. Recognised as a Bevan Commission Exemplar for innovation in co-production and patient experience, the project demonstrated the power of storytelling, both as a tool for developing self-advocacy and as a catalyst for identifying systemic challenges. | 2026 |
| North Wales Childrens University | Researcher | The research for the North Wales Children's University (CU) pilot 2023-2024 provides comprehensive insight that evidences the significant reach and success of the project. The insight data that informed the report came from 1,161 children and young people, 56 North Wales schools, and over 27,108 hours of extracurricular learning activity. | 2024 |
Professional Associations
| Association | Function |
|---|---|
| British Educational Research Association | Member |
| International Sociological Association Social Stratification | Member |
Committees
| Name | Description | From/To |
|---|---|---|
| Wrexham University Research Committee | Research Staff Representative | 2024- |
| Ysgol Clywedog Governing Body | Chair of Governors | 2019- |
| Centre for People's Justice | Academic Associate | 2025- |
Employment
| Employer | Position | From/To |
|---|---|---|
| Emrys Ap Iwan | Lecturer | 1995 - 1997 |
| Yale College | Programme Co-ordinator, Lecturer and Lead IQA | 1997 - 2005 |
| Yale College | Lecturer and Teaching & Learning Mentor | 2005 - 2009 |
| Yale College | Assistant Director of Curriculum (Tier 4) | 2009 - 2011 |
| Yale College | Director of Curriculum (Tier 3) | 2011 - 2013 |
| Coleg Cambria | Director of Curriculum (Tier 3) | 2013 - 2014 |
| Coleg Cambria | Executive Director of Curriculum (Tier 3) | 2014 - 2016 |
| Coleg Cambria | Assistant Principal & Director of Curriculum (Tier 3) | 2016 - 2020 |
| Bangor University | Doctoral Researcher | 2020 - 2024 |
| Wrexham University | Social Mobility Researcher | 2024 - 2026 |
Education
| Institution | Qualification | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| University of South Wales | MA | Leadership and Management |
| Bangor University | PhD | Education |
| Manchester Metropolitan University | PGCE | Education |