Chrissy is a Lecturer in Education. Her main area of expertise is autism spectrum conditions, educational technology in early years and primary education and school-based research.
Before joining ARU in April 2020, Chrissy taught and conducted research about SEND and TEL at the Open University, University of Exeter, and University of Aberdeen.
Chrissy received her PhD in Education from Coventry University and her MSc in SEND from the University of Birmingham. Her background is in teaching children with autism and learning difficulties in mainstream and special schools.
She is a BERA SIG convenor in Children and Childhood, a BESA executive committee member and a frequent peer reviewer in journals and speaker in national and international conferences in the field of autism and digital technologies.
Chrissy’s research interests include school-based research, teacher training, technology-enhanced learning, and special education. In her PhD she used participatory action research methodologies to explore good autism practice and iPads’ contribution in the development of social communication skills.
She has a keen interest in conducting school-based research investigating the potential of interactive technologies in learning and children’s development. She is interested in community engagement and translating research into classroom practice. She is working in close partnership with teachers, parents, and children as co-researchers.
Chrissy would be pleased to consider supervising doctoral students with the following research interests/topics:
Chrissy teaches and contributes to the online delivery of postgraduate modules in the MBA Educational Leadership and Management, MA Education, MA SEND and MA Early Childhood Education. She is also supporting postgraduate students in their major projects.
Herodotou, C., Hlosta, M., Boroowa, A., Rienties, B., Zdrahal, Z. and Mangafa, C., 2020. The scalable implementation of predictive learning analytics at a distance learning university: Insights from a longitudinal case study. The Internet and Higher Education, 45, pp.1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2020.100725
Herodotou, C., Hlosta, M., Boroowa, A., Rienties, B., Zdrahal, Z. and Mangafa, C., 2019. Empowering online teachers through predictive learning analytics. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50 (6), pp.3064-3079. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12853
Mangafa, C., Moody, L., Woodcock, A. and Woolner, A., 2016. The Design of Guidelines for Teachers and Parents in the Use of iPads to Support Children with Autism in the Development of Joint Attention Skills. International Conference of Design, User Experience, and Usability: Design, User Experience, and Usability: Novel User Experiences, Springer International Publishing AG, Cham, pp.178-186. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40355-7_17
Mangafa, C., Herodotou, C. and Yuill, N., 2019. Enable-ASC: Enabling Collaboration in the Classroom with the Use of Touchscreen Devices with Young Children with Autism. 12th Autism Europe International Congress, 13-15 September 2019, Nice, France.
Mangafa, C., 2019. Using Touch Screen Devices to Develop Social Skills in Class with Children with Autism. 7th Panhellenic Autism Congress 'From Diversity to Disorder', 1-3 November 2019, Athens, Greece.
Mangafa, C., 2019. ENABLE- ASC: Enabling Collaboration in the ASC Classroom with Young Children and Touchscreen Devices. International Conference on Education and New Developments, pp.276-280, 22-24 June 2019, Porto, Portugal.
Mangafa, C., 2018. Parents’ Experiences in Using Mobile Tablets with their Child with Autism to Encourage the Development of Social Communication Skills: The Development of a Parents’ Guide, pp.5129-5137. 10th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, 2-4 July 2018, Palma, Spain. http://dx.doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2018.1252
Mangafa, C., 2018. The Use of Touchscreen Devices with Young Children with Autism. Digitising Early Childhood International Conference, 7-14 July 2018, Perth, Australia.
Mangafa, C., 2017. Navigating the Digital Wild West of Apps: How Can Teachers and Parents Find Suitable Apps for their Children with Autism to Improve their Social Communication Skills? Innovative Technologies for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ITASD): Matching technology with people: Evidenced-based practice, 30 June - 2 July 2017, Valencia, Spain.
Mangafa, C., Moody, L., Woodcock, A., and Woolner, A., 2016. The Use of iPads to Enhance Joint Attention Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) 2016, 11-14 May 2016, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Mangafa, C. 2016. The Design of Guidelines for Teachers and Parents in the Use of iPads to Support Children with Autism in the Development of Joint Attention Skills. The 18th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCII), 17-22 July 2016, Toronto, Canada.
Mangafa, C., Moody, L., Woodcock, A., and Woolner, A., 2015. Teachers’ Experiences of Developing Joint Attention Skills in Children with Autism Using iPads, pp.6170-6179. 7th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, 6-8 Jul 2015, Barcelona, Spain.