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Dr Nicola McCullogh

Assistant Professor

Department: Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation

After completing an undergraduate degree in Applied Psychology at Durham University, Nicola initially worked in administration in a mental health setting and then spent four years as an A-Level Psychology teacher. Following a growing involvement in the sport of archery as a coach and volunteer on a national project into participation levels, she brought together her interests in psychology and physical activity through study at Northumbria University: first by completing the MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology programme, and then by undertaking her PhD into the role of physical activity in primary school education. She is now an Assistant Professor in sport and exercise psychology, with research interests in higher education pedagogy and school-based physical activity, as well qualitative research in the field of sport and exercise more generally.

Nicola McCullogh

Nicola has conducted research into the outcomes of physical activity participation for primary school children, particularly in relation to their cognition and wellbeing, and using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. She is interested in how physical activity can be integrated in practical and sustainable ways into people’s lives, accounting for barriers and competing priorities, and in how people’s individual experiences shape their physical activity behaviour. She has also explored via a series of collaborative research projects a range of issues related to teaching and learning in higher education, including online delivery and student belonging.

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Trialling ‘relatedness nudges’ to support student engagement, McCullogh, N., Goodall, A., Goodall, S. 16 Oct 2024, Handbook of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Sport, National Teaching Repository
  • Exploring how a disability sport charity utilises exchange relationships with external organisations to sustain operations in times of lockdown, Hayton, J., McCullogh, N., Scott-Bell, A. 2 Jan 2023, In: Leisure Studies
  • Exploring how a disability sport charity utilises exchange relationships with external organisations to sustain operations in times of lockdown, McCullogh, N., Trigo Pereira, F., Scott-Bell, A., Stalenberg, R., Hayton, J. 1 Dec 2023, Lockdown Leisure, London, Routledge
  • 'If lecturers are at home, they can’t tell their kids to shut up’: University student engagement with blended learning during Covid-19: A mixed methods study, Thornton, C., Peart, D., Hicks, K., McCullogh, N., Allen, G. 21 Apr 2023, In: Journal of Further and Higher Education
  • Online learning in higher education in the UK: Exploring the experiences of sports students and staff, McCullogh, N., Allen-Baker, G., Boocock, E., Peart, D., Hayman, R. 1 Nov 2022, In: Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education
  • The impact of COVID-19 on dual career athletes: Three typologies of coping, Cartigny, E., Vickers, E., Harrison, G., Appleby, R., McCullogh, N. 3 Jun 2022, In: Journal of Sports Sciences
  • The potential nutrition-, physical- and health-related benefits of cow's milk for primary-school aged children, Rumbold, P., McCullogh, N., Boldon, R., Haskell, C., James, L., Stevenson, E., Green, B. 1 Jun 2022, In: Nutrition Research Reviews
  • Simple, likeable, luck? How to get physical activity research into practice, McCullogh, N. 19 Mar 2021
  • ‘A really good balance’: Thematic analysis of stakeholders’ views on classroom- and games-based positive choices interventions for primary school children, McCullogh, N., Boyle, S., Fothergill, M., Defeyter, M. 9 Jul 2019, In: PLoS One

  • Sam Dixon How Does Physical Activity Affect the Cognition and Academic Achievement of Preadolescent Children? A Mixed Methods Approach. Start Date: 01/10/2021
  • John Fleetwood Start Date: 01/10/2024

  • Education PCAP March 03 2021
  • PhD September 16 2019
  • Psychology MSc November 03 2014
  • Psychology BSc (Hons) June 28 2007
  • Fellow (FHEA) Advance HE 2021
  • Member British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Sport & Exercise Psychology 2017

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