Profile
Dr Alfredo Gaitán, Senior Lecturer, Academic Director for Psychology
I studied psychology at the Pontificia Universidad Javariana (Bogotá, Colombia) and completed a degree as a Professional Psychologist in 1982. My dissertation looked at the psychosocial impact of socio-economic changes on crime.
In 1989 I obtained a PhD in psychology from the University of Southampton and my dissertation was also on aggression. However, during my PhD my views changed under the influence of British ‘new’ social psychology (e.g. Harré & Secord, 1972; Clarke, 1983), social constructionism (Gergen, 1985) and particularly discourse analysis (Potter & Wetherell, 1987). My interest shifted from aggression, as an ‘objective’ external phenomenon (in my undergraduate thesis), towards explanations of aggression in the forms of accounts (e.g. Antaki, 1988) and narratives (Tölölyan, 1989).
In 1990 I returned to Colombia and worked at the Javeriana for six years as a lecturer. I also supervised research in the MSc in Community Psychology. During that time, I had the privilege of taking part in a nation-wide project on adolescence named ‘ATLANTIDA’ over a period of two years using an ethnography approach.
I joined the University of Bedfordshire in 1996. I taught on and was course manager of the MSc in Psychology & Culture until 2004. I have contributed to the teaching of mainstream Social Psychology as well as Critical Social Psychology and (Qualitative) Research Methods. From 2005 to 2008 I was a CETL Fellow which allowed me take part in debates and research in teaching and learning which helped shape the new curriculum at Bedfordshire (also known as ‘Cre8’). More specifically, I developed the notions of of 'realistic learning and ‘learner development’. My current research explores these empirically through students' e-portfolios. This September I became the Academic Director for undergraduate degrees in Psychology and I see it as an opportunity to work with colleagues and students to support engagement with learning, encourage constructive leaning relations and make a more creative use of resources.
Areas of academic interest
- Transitions and processes of personal change (e.g. going into higher education, living in-between cultures); (auto)biographical and narrative approaches.
- Personal Development Planning, realistic learning and learner development in HE.
- Construction of social identities (ethnic, cultural, religious).
- Explanations of violent events (in personal accounts as well as in the media).
- The history of social psychology, cultural psychology, ethnography.
Main activities
- Member of the e-portfolio group and the Action Research Consortium
- Module Co-ordinator: Foundations to Psychology (PSY001-1) and Critical Social Psychology (PSY004-3).
- Teaching qualitative research methods and cultural aspects of psychology in the BSc Psychology and the MSc Health Psychology
- Postgraduate dissertation supervision: I am currently supervising one PhD student who is working on cultural dimensions of Personal Development Planning’.
- Undergraduate dissertation supervision on the topics listed above under ‘areas of academic interests’.
Sample of recent publications
- Cook, E., Gaitán, A. & Chater, A. (Mar. 2010). From unhelpful to helpful: The role of Implementation-Intentions in a weight-loss intervention. Health Psychology Update.
- Atlay, M., Gaitán, A. & Kumar, A. (2008). Stimulating learning – Creating CRe8. In C. Nygaard & C. Holtham (eds.). Understanding learning-centred higher education. Federiksberg: Copenhagen Business School
- Gaitán, A., Manton, R. & Jankowska, M. (2008). Moving forward from piloting e-portfolios: applying the lessons learnt to wider adoption. CRA 'PDP & ePortfolio Newsletter', Issue 15. http://www.recordingachievement.org/pdpuk/newsletter/Issue15.pdf
- Hackett A. & Gaitan, A. (2007). A qualitative study assessing mental health issues in two hospices. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, Vol. 13, pp 273 – 281.
- Moore, C., Gaitán, A. & Asimakopoulou, K. (2007) A qualitative study of the effects of infant massage on women with low postnatal mood. Health Psychology Update, 16, 56-64.
- Gaitan, A. (2003). Cultural-psychological crossings: Dialogues between self and other. PsyPag Quarterly.
- Gaitán, A. (2000, November). Exploring alternative forms of writing ethnography. Review essay of: Carolyn Ellis and Arthur Bochner (eds.) (1996). Composing Ethnography: Alternative Forms of Qualitative Writing.. [9 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal] 1 (3). Available at: qualitative-research.net
Sample of recent conference presentations
- Lehtonen, M. & Gaitan, A. (2009). Religious tolerance and children‘s board games: An interpretative study of the development of tolerance. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Dublin, Ireland, 14-17 July.
- Gaitán, A. & Robertson, A. (2009). Embedding e-PDP within a psychology curriculum as a means of supporting learner development. Paper delivered at the HEA Annual Conference, Manchester, 1-3 July.
- Lehtonen, M. & Gaitan, A. (2009). The development of religious tolerance: using a co-operative board game to study how children deal with differences'. Poster presented at the BPS Annual Conference, Brighton, 1-3 April.
- Teoh, K & Gaitan, A. (2009). International students' identities and their relationship with perceived discrimination and acculturation stress. Poster presented at the BPS Annual Conference, Brighton, 1-3 April.
- Bessis, N., Gaitan, A., Shukla, M., Lai, Z. & Stephens, J. (2008). Using next generation service oriented technologies to assess cultural handling of information communication technology. Paper delivered at the International Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems, Web Based Communities 2008, IADIS, Amsterdam, 24th -26th July.
- Gaitán, A., Atlay, M. & Marcos, A. (2008). Exploring portfolios as a reflective practice that constructs the learners’ development. Paper delivered at the HEA Annual Conference, Harrogate, 1-3 July.
- Gaitán, A., Atlay, M. (2008). Learner development in the first year of university: what students’ portfolios tell us. Paper delivered at the 7th conference of the CLTR on ‘Transitions and Transformations: Developing Learners and Learning Environments’. Ormskirk Campus, Edge Hill University, 4th June.
- Gaitán, A., Atlay, M. (2008).‘Can skills account for all that is achieved in higher education? Toward a conceptual model of learner development. Paper delivered at the conference on ‘Doing University’. Huddersfield University, 19th March.
- Gaitán, A., Manton, R. & Jankowska, M. (2007). Stories of engagement: evaluating the use of e-portfolios. Paper delivered at HEA Annual Conference, Harrogate, 3-5 July 2007.
- Gaitán, A. (2007). “When I learnt that this module involved group work, I felt rather apprehensive”: an analysis for students’ reflections of group work. Paper delivered LDHEN Symposium. Bournemouth University, April 12th 2007.
- Maskell, C. & Gaitán, A. (2006). Fundamentalism and social identity of Christians, Muslims and Jews in Britain today. Poster to be presented at the Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology. Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona. July 12-15
- Jellis, V. & A. Gaitán, A. (2003). Making sense of 9/11: argumentative dialogues with the media. Poster to be presented at the International Conference on Critical Psychology. University of Bath. August 27-31.
- Gaitan, A. (2000). Diversity in higher education: the complexity of transition processes. Paper presented at the 19th International Human Science Research Conference. University of Long Island, N.Y. U.S.A. June 12-15.
- Gaitan, A. (2000). Construing the transition to higher education in terms of the student's decision and its biographical context. Paper presented at the First International Conference on the Dialogical Self. University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands. June 23-26.
Contact details
Dr Alfredo Gaitan
Department of Psychology
University of Bedfordshire
Luton, Bedfordshire
LU1 3JU
UNITED KINGDOM
T: +44 (0)1582 743006
E: alfredo.gaitan@beds.ac.uk
