Abigail Parrish

School of Education

Lecturer in Languages Education

Deputy Director of MA Education Programme

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a.parrish@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 8113
The Wave

Full contact details

Abigail Parrish
School of Education
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
Profile

Following an undergraduate degree in Modern European Studies, I trained as a Modern Foreign Languages teacher at the University of Sheffield. I went on to undertake an MA at Sheffield alongside teaching full-time in Lincolnshire, followed by a PhD in Education at the University of York. 

My PhD focused on choice and motivation in Modern Foreign Languages education in schools in England, and I continue to research in this area. Before coming to Sheffield, I worked at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln where my teaching focused on education policy, language policy and research methods.

Research interests

I am interested in motivation to learn a language, particularly in schools, and how this links to factors such as choice, multilingualism and socio-economic status. I use self-determination theory in my work, which is a broad theory of motivation and wellness grounded in psychology. 

I would be interested to hear from prospective research students interested in language learning motivation, self-determination theory, school-level language learning or language policy, multilingualism in schools and related topics.

Publications

Books

  • Parrish A & Shaikh G (2023) A Quick Guide to Research Methods for Dissertations in Education.

Journal articles

  • Parrish A, Noels KA & Zhang X (2024) . The Language Learning Journal, 53(2), 201-219.
  • Parrish A & Bailey EG (2024) . Journal of Language, Identity, and Education.
  • Parrish A (2024) . Journal of Education Policy, 39(5), 718-735.
  • Gee N, Parrish A & Puttick S (2023) . Teacher Development, 27(5), 563-579.
  • Bailey EG, Parrish A & Pierce NJ (2023) . Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development.
  • Oga-Baldwin WLQ, Parrish A & Noels K (2023) . Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 4(1).
  • Parrish A & Shaikh G (2023) .
  • Parrish A & Shaikh G (2023) .
  • Parrish A (2023) . The Language Learning Journal, 51(1), 94-111.
  • Parrish A & Vernon J (2022) . Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 4(1).
  • Scally J, Parrish A & Montgomery A (2022) . Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 52(3), 492-510.
  • Parrish A (2020) . Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 39(5-6), 777-780.
  • Parrish A (2020) . Cambridge Journal of Education, 50(4), 469-481.
  • Parrish A (2020) . The Language Learning Journal, 48(5), 534-554.
  • Parrish A & Lanvers U (2019) . The Language Learning Journal, 47(3), 281-298.

Book chapters

  • Parrish A (2025) , The Routledge Handbook of Endangered and Minority Languages (pp. 228-242). Routledge
  • Parrish A (2023) , A Quick Guide to Research Methods for Dissertations in Education Bloomsbury Academic
  • Scally J, Parrish A & Ayudhaya PDN (2022) Power Imbalances Inequality in International Exchange in the UK and Thailand, CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON EQUITY AND SOCIAL MOBILITY IN STUDY ABROAD (pp. 13-26).
Teaching interests

My teaching focuses on language education and general education topics. I am interested in all aspects of education and language policy and the teaching of research methods.

Professional activities and memberships

I lead the self-determination theory special interest group of the International Association for Language Learning.