About

I am a senior lecturer in Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion. I work within the Institute of Education working with both undergraduate students on the BA Special Educational Needs and Disability and postgraduate students on the MA (SEND pathway). In addition to my role as an academic, I maintain close ties with the special schools in Derby to enable both the undergraduate students and the postgraduate students to have the best possible experience.

Teaching responsibilities

I teach across a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate modules with a particular focus on inclusion and inclusive strategies, social emotional and mental health and global aspects and issues. I supervise both undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations.

Professional interests

As a Senior Lecturer in Education with a specialist focus on Special Educational Needs and disabilities (SEND), my professional interestscentre on advancing inclusive teaching practices, improving outcomes for learners with diverse needs, and supporting educators to develop evidence‑informed approaches to inclusion. I am particularly committed to exploring the intersections of policy, practice, and pedagogy in SEND, with a focus on empowering schools to create equitable learning environments. I am also passionate about professional development for teachers, collaborative practitioner research, and strengthening the integration of student voice and lived experience within the design of inclusive educational frameworks.

Research interests

My research interests focus on the critical examination of inclusive education systems, with particular emphasis on how policy, professional practice, and institutional structures shape the experiences and outcomes of learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). I am engaged in investigating evidence‑informed approaches to inclusion, exploring how teachers develop adaptive expertise, and examining the role of practitioner inquiry in transforming classroom practice. My work also considers the sociocultural and ethical dimensions of SEND provision, including the ways pupil voice, family partnerships, and community perspectives can strengthen inclusive pedagogies. I am particularly interested in collaborative and participatory research methodologies that centre lived experience and contribute to the co‑construction of equitable, sustainable educational environment.

My EdD focused on the voices of families seeking sanctuary who have children with special educational needs. The research focused on how their intersecting identities and systematic structures shaped their experience of entering the English education system.

Membership of professional bodies

Chartered College of Teachers (FCCT)

Qualifications

MA Education- University of Derby

PGCEHE- University of Derby

EdD University of Derby

Recent conferences

IPIE Conference 2022 Bridging cultures - Meeting the needs of international postgraduate students undertaking postgraduate studies in disability and inclusion.

BERA 2024 Unravelling Narratives- An analysis of Refugee and Asylum Families Perspectives of Accessing Education with a SEND Child

ECER 2026 An examination of the narratives of families of sanctuary who have children with SEND when accessing the education system in England

Recent publications

Conrad, W. (2026) Voices from the Margins: Experiences of misrecognition among refugee and asylum parents of children with disabilities upon entry to the education system in England. International Journal of Inclusive Education. DOI10.1080/13603116.2026.2628848

Conrad, W. and Codina, G. (2025) Families in England and the Disability-Sanctuary Intersection. Forced Migration, Disability and Education. Routledge

Conrad, W. (2023) Bridging Cultures Meeting the Needs of International Postgraduate Students Undertaking Postgraduate Studies in Disability and Inclusion. Contemporary Challenges in Education. Paradoxes and Illuminations. Waxman