Dr Emma Bolger

I had the pleasure of delivering a keynote speech this week, as part of the the Skills Development Scotland / Scottish Graduate School of Social Science collaborative doctoral programme annual networking event.  It is testament to the quality and value of the programme that each year, at a time when many of us in policy, practice and academia are gearing up for a much needed summer break, that we prioritise our attendance at this annual event. We hear from those who have been through the programme, those who lead it, and those who are currently studying.  My slides can be viewed here: Slides

The article below is reproduced from its original publication in the Summer 20025 issue of Dyslexia Voice, published by Dyslexia Scotland Our son, Fiachra, has autism (diagnosed age 10) and dyslexia (identified age 11). Our journey to identifying our child as having dyslexia highlights the challenges that co-occurring conditions can play in the identification journey. Fiachra had early challenges in relation to speech and language, but our concerns were dismissed. Challenges became more apparent during the Covid-19 lockdown. I think this is when many of us realised that there was something “going on” with our neurodiverse children, in the sense of feeling alienated when parents referred to home learning as “difficult,” listed their reward strategies, shared their tactics. For us it wasn’t difficult, it was impossible. We are parents not schoolteachers, and certainly not teachers with specialist training in supporting neurodiverse children. Fiachra was in P2 when lockdown commence...

Full text below of my guest blog post that appeared in today's #TheWeekInCareers on one of my favourite topics, the gender balance within the career development sector. #TheWeekInCareers:  Episode 106 Link *** “It has only crossed my mind when you’ve pointed it out. I’ve never really associated it as a sort of woman’s role.” These are the words of a CIAG Modern Apprentice I interviewed a few years ago as part of my PhD. As career professionals we are all familiar with concepts of occupational segregation and gender balance, or lack thereof, across employment roles and sectors. I am concerned about the presence of occupational segregation within our own field. Diversity matters for our profession. As public facing advisers, we need to reflect the demographics of the public. Ok, so on the occupational segregation front, it’s not as marked in CIAG as other sectors (I’m not going to list them here, we know what they are), but we could do better. However, there are other reasons w...

*republished today from an earlier LinkedIn post to enable open access* In 2023-24, I was delighted to be a guest editor for Veilederforum , operated by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills . Direct links and summaries of the articles are available here: Career guidance for marginalized groups and below. Many thanks to Mari Thorbjørnsrud for inviting me to take on this role and for the many conversations we had on how to ensure equitable, diverse and inclusive practice in the career guidance sector. The articles: Career guidance throughout the lifespan: Working with clients with dementia , Dr Laura Lebec and Dr Louise Ritchie Practitioner Wellbeing , Dr Gill Frigerio Career guidance for refugees and migrants , Professor Füsun Akkök and Honorary Associate Professor Dr Deirdre Hughes Career development and mental wellbeing , Honorary Associate Professor Dr Deirdre Hughes , Liane Hambly and Dr Chris Percy A note on gender The articles were fully or l...

Volunteering has always been important to me. I previously volunteered for charities and causes that have been close to my heart; for example, fundraising for and representing Breast Cancer Now and Beat . And long before this, as a child and into my teens I was a cadet with the St John Ambulance . Volunteer work as parent My volunteering these days is more focused on education and advocating for children, parents/guardians. I was asked to set up and I continue to co-chair the parent council for my children's newly established primary school which has been a real learning experience. Having valued their support throughout this, I have long championed the work of Connect  and joined their Board of Directors in 2023. As my children attend Gaelic Medium Education (GME), which is a growing route through state education in Scotland, I've also found myself sitting on number of working groups in relation to GME. Perhaps my increasing volunteer engagement in education would alw...

I will be co-presenting a webinar with Dr. Tania Lyden on ethics and careers practitioner-led research for higher education professionals on 20th February 2025. I am really looking forward to this, as I get to talk about some of the principles and concepts I cover in my forthcoming book on careers practitioner-led research, to be published later this year by Trotman Publishing. AGCAS members can consider this a sneak preview of what will be covered in more detail in my book! Reserve your place here:  ACGAS Webinar Booking Link If you are embarking on a research project and unsure about the ethical consideration then join us to explore key ethical principles and the ethical review process with valuable insights and practical guidance.  

I have been commissioned by Trotman Publishing to write a book this year for careers professionals. It is an introductory guide for anyone working frontline in the careers sector (in its widest sense) on how to get started with doing research. I am currently seeking careers professionals to contribute insightful comments and help me ensure I have pitched the textbook at the right level for what you need. 📖 About the book Many practitioners want to use their workplace as the basis for research but are unsure of where to start. You might have a specific client group whose needs you would like to better understand, or a project to evaluate. You might want to unpick some fundamentals of practice, or propose a new way of working, but you feel under-confident and do not know where to begin. My book explains why it matters that you conduct research, and guides you through how to plan, deliver and share robust, ethically sound research with the right audience. 📖 How you can get ...