Dr Neil Gilbride

Neil Gilbride

Honorary Senior Research Fellow

Institute of Education

Honorary Academic Staff

Contact Details

Dr Neil Gilbride CPSychol joined the 51视频 in September 2024, having amassed 20 years of experience working across education as an academic, practitioner and knowledge mobiliser. Neil is also an Associate Dean at Ambition Institute, one of the largest professional development providers in England.

Neil’s research interweaves adult developmental psychology and complexity theory to better understand educational leadership and practitioner development. This interest includes:

  • The ‘wicked’ decisions that school leaders and teachers take in their complex settings;
  • How we can shape teachers and leaders' decision-making through professional development;
  • The develop of research methodologies to understand school leadership decision making, and;

In 2019, Neil secured a £250,000 ERASMUS+ for “Getting Heads Together” a free professional development programme to support school leaders’ sense making of complexity within their organisations. His academic background in the intersection of organisational theory and psychology has been called upon to support and influence the work of international research collaborations, national policy, notable national charities within education (Ambition Institute, Teacher Development Trust) and across different areas of professional development within other sectors.

As a Chartered Psychologist, his profile of contributions to the educator sector also includes the broader applications of psychology to understanding practitioner and child development. Neil has a particular focus for applying this knowledge to the field of special/inclusive educational needs. One of his proudest achievements was his contributions to establishing Oak National Academy's’ SEND provision during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neil’s diverse professional background within education has been influential in shaping his research and teaching. Neils’ work has spanned across all stages of the educators’ professional journey – from initial teacher training through to supporting executive school leadership. His background within education has stretched from supporting children with PMLD in the voluntary sector, parent support work in primary settings, teaching and middle leadership in inner-city secondary schools through to academia and the mobilisation of professional development at a national scale. Working across the board has influenced his passionate and informed advocacy for a closer relationship between theory and practice, and the role of knowledge mobiliser’s in achieving this goal.

 

Qualifications

  • BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science. St Georges Hospital Medical School - 2009
  • MEd (Cantab) Psychology and Education. Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge –2011
  • PGCE Secondary Science Education. Canterbury Christ Church University and Teach First Partnership -2012
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy – 2017
  • PhD Educational Leadership, Management and Administration. University of Bath -2021

Teaching and Research

Teaching Interests

  • Educational Leadership
  • Organisational theory in particular, the use of complexity theory
  • Psychology and its applications to SEND, leadership and professional development
  • The psychology of adult development

Research Interests

  • Relationship between wicked problems and complexity theory in the school environment.
  • School leader and practitioner decision making in complex circumstances.
  • Knowledge mobilisation across the education sector.

Professional Bodies

  • Chartered Psychologist – British Psychological Society
  • Fellow – Higher Education Academy
  • Member of the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS)

Publications

Selected academic publications

Gilbride, N (2025) Self Efficacy in Action. Woodbridge: John Catt Education

Gilbride, N and Biddulph, J (2024). Playful School Leadership: Being serious about leadership playfully. In Empowering play in primary education. London: Routledge.

Gilbride, N., James, C., & Carr, S. (2023). The ways school headteachers/principals in England at different stages of adult ego development work with organisational complexity. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432231170581

Gilbride, N., James, C., & Carr, S. (2021). School principals at different stages of adult ego development: Their sense-making capabilities and how others experience them. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 49(2), 234-250.

Gilbride, N and James, C. (2018) The ego development of schools leaders and its implications for sustainable leadership. In BELMAS Conference, London . May 2018.

Carr, S., Gilbride, N., and James, C. (2017) Distribution of ego development of school leaders in England. In: American Educational Research Association. San Antonio, TX. April 2017

Selected Media/Project Outputs

Getting Heads Together ERASMUS+ project

Done with, not to: How to mobilise specialist knowledge for all learners with SEND. Schools Week, June 2024


Reflective practice at 40: why it’s still a vital leadership tool. Times Educational Supplement. https://www.tes.com/magazine/leadership/staff-management/reflective-practice-why-vital-leadership-tool. September 2023

School leadership and adult ego development with Dr Neil Gilbride. https://thekeysupport.com/blog/23-key-voices-127-school-leadership-and-adult-ego-development-with-dr-neil-gilbride- The Key Podcast Series. September 2021

Ego Development and its influence on leadership. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3xJO7aUy2MJo8ZLr8FN74N. Becoming Educated. August 2020.

Are headteachers adult enough to do the job?. The Teaching Times.  https://www.teachingtimes.com/are-headteachers-adult-enough-to-do-their-jobs/. June 2020

 

 

External Roles

Associate Dean of Learning Design – Ambition Institute.