Dr Esther Burkitt,

BA (Oxon), MSc (Oxon), PhD, CPsychol, CSci

Background

Dr Esther Burkitt is currently a Reader in Developmental Psychology at the University of Chichester, previously holding lecturing posts at The Open University, UK, Victoria University, New Zealand, the University of Portsmouth, UK, and the University of Sussex, UK. Esther graduated with an honours degree in Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology from the University of Oxford in 1995, an honorary MSc in Psychology from the University of Oxford in 2000 and was awarded her PhD examining expressive aspects of children’s drawings from the University of Surrey in 2000. She is a Chartered Psychologist and Chartered Scientist with the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Teaching experience

Esther has designed and delivered a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, Social Psychology, Critical Thinking and Research Methodology. She is currently module co-ordinator for the Level 1 modules Everyday Experience and Psychology- Making Friends PSY 101, Psychology of Human Interaction SPL123 and Everyday Experience and Psychology- Living the Dream PSY 104. She also co-ordinates the Level 2 Developmental Psychology module and supervises two PhD students at different institutions.

Current administrative roles:

Esther is a member of the University Ethics Committee and is Admissions Tutor for the Psychology BSc.

Research interests and indicative publications:

Esther’s publications focus on children’s use and benefits of expressive devices to communicate through their drawings, factors which facilitate artistic development, and the influences of colour on children’s memory and learning.

Indicative publications:

Burkitt, E. & Watling, D. (in press) The impact of audience age and familiarity on children’s drawings of themselves in contrasting affective states. International Journal of Behavioral Development.

Burkitt, E. & Sheppard, L. (in press). Children’s colour use to portray themselves and others with happy, sad and mixed emotion, Educational Psychology.

Burkitt, E., Watling, D. & Murray, L. (2011) Children’s drawings of significant figures for a peer or an adult audience, Infant and Child Development, 20,  466–473.

Burkitt, E. & Barrett, M. (2011). The effects of different drawing materials on children's drawings of positive and negative human figures, Educational Psychology, 4 (11), 459-479.

Burkitt, E., Jolley, R. & Rose, S. E. (2010). Art educational issues in the attitudes and practices that shape children’s drawing experience at home and at school, International Journal of Design and Art Education. 29, (3), 257-270.

Burkitt, E. & Barrett, M. (2010). Children’s graphic flexibility: A response to representational redescription, Journal of Creative Behavior.44, (3), 169-190.

Burkitt; E, Barrett; M. & Davis, A. (2009). Effects of different emotion terms on the size and colour of children's drawings, International Journal of Art Therapy: Formerly Inscape, 14, 2, 1745-4840.

Burkitt, E. Children’s choice of color to depict metaphorical and affective information, in Millbraith C. & Trautner, H. M. (Eds.) (2008). Children's Understanding and Production of Pictures, Drawings and Art: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches. Hogrefe & Huber Publisher, pp107-120, ISSBN 978-0-88973-350-1.

Burkitt, E., Tala, K. & Low, J. (2007). Finnish and English children’s color use to depict affectively characterised figures. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 31, (1), 59-64.

Burkitt, E., Barrett, M. & Davis, A. (2007) Effects of different emotion terms on the size and colour of children's drawings International Journal of Art Therapy.

Burkitt. E. & Barnett, N. (2006). The impact of brief and elaborate mood induction on drawing size: a question of approach? Educational Psychology, 26, (1), 93-108.

Rose, S.E., Jolley, R.P. & Burkitt, E. (2006). A review of children's, teachers' and parents' influences on children's drawing experience. International Journal of Art and Design Education,25, 341-349.

Burkitt, E. (2006). Review of Developmental Cognitive neuroscience (2nd. Ed) Mark H. Johnson, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. Applied Developmental Psychology, 20, 1-2.

Burkitt, E. & Newell, T. (2005). Effects of human figure type on children's use of colour to depict sadness and happiness, International Journal of Art Therapy, 10, (1), 15-22.

Burkitt, E., Barrett, M. & Davis, A. (2005). Drawings of emotionally characterised figures by children from different educational backgrounds. International Journal of Art and Design Education, 24, (1), 71-83.

Davey, G. (Ed.) (2005). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychology. London: Arnold. Contributor - development, change, childhood, adulthood.

Burkitt, E., Barrett, M., & Davis, A. (2004). The effect of affective characterizations on the
use of size and colour in drawings produced by children in the absence of a model. Educational Psychology, 24, 315-343.

Burkitt, E., Barrett, M. & Davis, A. (2003). The effect of affective characterisations on the size of children's drawings. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 21, 565- 584.

Burkitt, E., Barrett, M. & Davis, A. (2003). The effect of affective characterisations on the use of colour within children's drawings. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 3, 445-455.

Hadjivassiliou, M., Tooth, C., Romanowski, C., Byrne, J., Battersby, R., Oxbury, S., Creswell, C., Burkitt, E., Stokes, N., Paul, C., Mayes, A. & Sagar, A. (2001). Aneurysmal SAH: Cognitive outcome and structural damage after clipping or coiling. Neurology, 56, 1672-1677.