Dr Julia Ulber

I am a Principal Lecturer in Psychology at Canterbury Christ Church University, and a developmental psychologist interested in how children grow into social beings, especially how they learn to share, cooperate, and develop a sense of fairness.

My research sits at the intersection of development, wellbeing, and environment. I am particularly interested in how children’s everyday experiences, including access to nature, family context, and broader social inequalities, shape their development and life chances.

I completed my PhD in 2015 at the Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, supervised by Prof Michael Tomasello. My doctoral research explored fairness and distributive justice in early childhood. I then worked as a postdoctoral researcher within the same department, investigating the conditions that support young children’s sharing behaviour.

Before joining Canterbury Christ Church University in 2018, I was a Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at the University of Kent. Since then, I have taken on a range of leadership roles, including Course Director for BSc (Hons) Psychology and, since 2023, joint Head of Psychology, with continued leadership within the School of SPACES.

Alongside my research, I have a strong track record in teaching, leadership, and curriculum development. I have contributed to programme leadership and redesign, including the development of new undergraduate pathways and a stronger focus on employability and inclusive learning under the New Academic Framework.

I work closely with colleagues, schools, and external partners to ensure that both my teaching and research have real-world relevance and impact, particularly in relation to children’s wellbeing, education, and social equity.

I teach across undergraduate and postgraduate levels (L0–L7), with a focus on developmental and educational psychology. My teaching spans modules such as Social and Developing Self, Discovering Development and Identity, Developmental Psychology, Learning and Development, Psychology of the Family, and Psychology in Education.

My approach is strongly research-led and applied, supporting students to think like psychologists from the outset. I place particular emphasis on developing critical thinking, research skills, and real-world application. I supervise undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations across a wide range of topics, including early development, parenting, and wellbeing.

As a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy I have also played a key role in curriculum design and innovation, leading the development of new modules and contributing to programme redesign under the university’s New Academic Framework, with a focus on student experience, inclusivity, and employability.

My research focuses on early social development, with particular emphasis on prosocial behaviour, fairness, and cooperation in childhood. I am interested in understanding the developmental origins of humans’ uniquely social behaviour and how these unfold across early childhood.

More recently, my work has expanded to explore the role of social and environmental contexts in shaping wellbeing and development. This includes research on children’s nature connection and outdoor play, maternal wellbeing (including breastfeeding in migrant mothers), and the psychosocial impacts of inequality.

I lead and contribute to a range of collaborative projects, including:

• Evaluating the impact of nature engagement on wellbeing and attainment in primary schools (with The Harmony Project and CCCU School of Education)
• Contributing to the Kent Green and Blue Spaces initiative, focusing on children’s nature connection and wellbeing
• Research on ethnic inequalities and maternal wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Collaborative work on infant feeding and developmental disabilities

My work combines experimental, behavioural, and applied methods, including observational studies, interviews, and physiological measures (e.g. EEG, eye-tracking), and aims to inform both theory and practice.

I work with a range of external partners, including schools, charities, and research organisations, to apply psychological research in real-world settings. My collaborations include partnerships with organisations such as The Harmony Project, as well as contributions to regional initiatives including Kent Green and Blue Spaces.

I also undertake consultancy and evaluation work focused on children’s wellbeing and education, including projects with ACCESS to develop and measure wellbeing in UK primary school children.

My work involves collaboration with colleagues across institutions, including the University of Kent, the Open University, and KMMS, supporting interdisciplinary approaches to research and impact in areas such as education, health, and community wellbeing.