Jade Davies

I am a postgraduate researcher at the Manchester Institute of Education. My PhD examines what young people do on social media (their social media activities) and whether different social media activities have distinct effects on mental health and wellbeing. It utilises secondary data from the #So.Me project, a three-year UKRI-funded project aiming to measure adolescents’ social media experiences and understand how these experiences relate to their mental health and wellbeing. 

I was awarded a BSc (Hons) in Psychology with Placement Year (First Class) in 2021, and an MEd in the Psychology of Education (Distinction) in 2023, both from the University of Manchester. 

Before starting my PhD, I worked as a Research Assistant at UCL's Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE). Here, I led the Discover Autism Research and Employment (DARE) initiative, which aimed to understand and reduce the autism-employment gap by conducting cutting-edge research and generating evidence-based insights on best practices. Alongside this initiative, I worked on various other projects identified as important by the autistic community, including research on post-16 education, the implementation of annual health checks, and the accessibility of post-diagnosis support. 

I am passionate about co-creating research with community members to make a meaningful, positive impact on people's lives. 

I am part of the Education and Psychology research group at the Manchester Institute of Education.

I am a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Environment, Education and Development. I have taught on the following modules:

• Cognition & Learning: Implications for Schools (EDUC23022)
• Learning and Individual Differences (EDUC60721)
• Foundations of Psychology (EDUC13011)
• Research Methods in Education (EDUC60452)

I have also delivered guest lectures on the following modules:

• Research Issues in Psychology and Education (EDUC13060)
• Psychological Perspectives in Child Development (EDUC70121)