Margaret Jean Snowling (born 15 July 1955) is a British psychologist, and world-leading expert in language difficulties, including

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

. From 2012 to 2022 she was

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

and Professor in the Department of

Experimental Psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Snowling was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 2016 for services to science and the understanding of dyslexia. She was born in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

Research interests

Snowling's main research interests are in the development of language and literacy skills. In particular, her research looks at underlying causes of difficulties in language and literacy skills, and what interventions are effective in treating them. A central focus of her research is

, and the effect of oral language difficulties on educational attainment. In addition, Snowling's research has considered the prominent role of women and mothers - in academia, advocacy movements and teaching - in provision for children with dyslexia and other special educational needs. Principally, this has been through her work on the history of dyslexia. Snowling's work has been cited over 39,000 times.

Education

Snowling was educated at state schools. She attended Mortimer Road Primary School and Cavendish School, Hemel Hempstead. Snowling completed her undergraduate studies at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 1976. She was awarded her PhD from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in 1979. She qualified as a clinical psychologist in 1988. She has been awarded honorary doctorates by

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

(2007),

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

(2014), the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

(2016), and the

(2019).

Academic career

Snowling was Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Head of Department at National Hospitals College of Speech Sciences (1979-1992), Professor of Psychology and Head of Department at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

(1992-1994), and Professor of Psychology at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

(1994-2012). She is Honorary Professor at the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring,

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. Snowling was a member of the 2009 Rose Review of Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties. As

from 2012 to 2022, Snowling promoted the '2000 Women' programme, a series of events to celebrate the 2000 women matriculated at the College since 1979, when women were first admitted to the College. Snowling was significantly involved with policies and strategies to widen participation at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Awards

Snowling's contributions to the study of dyslexia have been recognised with the Marion Welchman Award of th
British Dyslexia Association
in 1997, the

British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the organ ...

Presidents' Award in 2003, the Samuel T. Orton award of the International Dyslexia Association in 2005, and the Lady Radnor Prize of

Dyslexia Action Dyslexia Action (formerly the ''Dyslexia Institute'') founded in 1972 is an organization, based in Staines, Surrey, England, with three main divisions: *Dyslexia Action Training *Dyslexia Guild *Dyslexia Action Shop Dyslexia Training offers on ...

in 2013. She is a fellow of the

(1992),

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(2002),

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its mission is to adv ...

(2008), and

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

(2009). She was elected Academician of the

Academy of Social Sciences The Academy of Social Sciences is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The Academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of matters, a ...

in 2003.

Personal life

Snowling is married to the psychologist,

Charles Hulme Charles Hulme, (born 12 October 1953) is a British psychologist. He holds the Chair of Psychology and Education in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, and is a William Golding Senior Research Fellow at Brasenose College, Ox ...

Selected published works

Dyslexia: A Very Short Introduction
' (2019). Oxford University Press
Developing Reading Comprehension
' (2013) (with PJ Clarke, E Truelove, C Hulme). Wiley-Blackwell
Developing Language and Literacy: Effective Intervention for Language and Literacy in the Early Years
' (2011) (with JM Carroll, C Bowyer-Crane, F Duff, C Hulme). Wiley-Blackwell
Developmental Disorders of Language, Learning and Cognition
' (with C Hulme). Wiley-Blackwell
Dyslexia
' (2nd edition) (2000). Blackwell
Dyslexia: A Cognitive-Developmental Perspective
' (1st edition) (1997). Blackwell

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snowling, Margaret J. Presidents of St John's College, Oxford British psychologists Alumni of University College London Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Living people 1955 births Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Women academic administrators British women psychiatrists Dyslexia researchers People from South Shields