Understanding ADHD: How Research, Practice and Lived Experience Shape More Inclusive Classrooms
As the number of students diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) continues to rise, Dr Charlotte Greenway, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), highlights the growing importance of understanding ADHD within educational settings. Drawing on her research and the valuable insights contributed by students on the MA Children and Young People’s Mental Health programme, Dr Greenway explores how deeper awareness can shape more inclusive and effective approaches to learning.
Why Does Understanding ADHD Matter in Education?
Across schools and universities in Wales and beyond, there has been a noticeable increase in students presenting with ADHD. This rise reflects not only better recognition but also growing awareness of the complex ways ADHD can influence learning, attention, emotional regulation, and social interaction. Understanding ADHD, then, is not just the work of psychologists or clinicians; it is knowledge that every educator should possess.
Teachers, teaching assistants, and higher education staff are increasingly navigating the intersection between learning and neurodiversity. When educators understand ADHD as more than a behavioural label, as a neurodevelopmental difference with distinct strengths and challenges, they can begin to design environments that enable students to thrive rather than simply cope.
How Does Your Research Inform Your Teaching?
My research examines how children and young people with ADHD perceive their learning environments, focusing on how classroom practices, expectations, and relationships influence their experiences. A key strand of my work examines the knowledge and attitudes of teachers and teaching assistants towards ADHD. Alongside this, my research on inclusive education explores grouping practices, the implementation of Additional Learning Needs (ALN) reform in Wales, and the experiences of learners within support and low-attainment contexts, viewed through a rights-based lens. Together, these studies highlight how inclusive practices and informed professional understanding can transform learning environments for neurodivergent and marginalised learners. These insights directly inform my teaching on the MA Children and Young People’s Mental Health programme, particularly the module ‘ADHD: Research and Practice’, which brings together practitioners to bridge the gap between research and practice in creating more inclusive and equitable educational settings.
In teaching the module, I draw directly on current research findings to link theory, evidence, and classroom practice. For example, we explore how executive functioning challenges can affect learning persistence, organisation, and emotional regulation, and how stigma and labelling can influence a child’s self-concept, peer relationships, and engagement. These discussions are grounded in my own research, encouraging students to critically reflect on how these factors play out in their professional contexts. Many of the MA students are teachers or teaching assistants working with children with ADHD or additional learning needs, and they actively test these ideas within their own settings. Their reflections, case examples, and observations then feed back into our sessions, creating a dynamic cycle of applied learning where research informs practice, and practice, in turn, refines our collective understanding of what inclusive, evidence-informed support for neurodivergent learners can look like in real educational environments.
How Does This Approach Benefit Schools and Universities Alike?
The insights emerging from this interaction ripple outward. Teachers and teaching assistants take back to their schools a depth of understanding, one that moves beyond surface-level “behaviour management” to recognise sensory, emotional, and cognitive needs. In universities, these same insights help shape more inclusive teaching practices for neurodivergent students navigating higher education.
By embedding research-informed understanding within real educational contexts, the module contributes to a cultural shift from viewing ADHD as a challenge to be managed to seeing it as a form of diversity to be supported. This shift benefits all learners, promoting environments where differences in attention, motivation, and regulation are met with flexibility and empathy rather than frustration or exclusion.
What Does This Mean for the Future of Inclusive Education?
The interplay between ADHD research, classroom practice, and lived experience demonstrates how higher education can act as a bridge between theory and practice. When educators are empowered with both knowledge and reflective understanding, they can create learning spaces that genuinely include neurodiverse learners.
Ultimately, the goal is not just to understand ADHD and Inclusion better; it is to transform that understanding into everyday practices that make schools and universities more compassionate, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of individuals with ADHD. In this way, the research we teach doesn’t just live in journals; it lives in classrooms, corridors, and lecture halls, reshaping what it means to teach and learn together.
Further Information
Eleri Beynon
Head
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: e.beynon@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: 01267 676790