Meet The
The Emerging Scholars Committee was established in June 2025 to represent and provide opportunities for research students and early career researchers within the International Network for School Attendance (INSA). It supports INSA’s mission to promote school attendance by facilitating international collaboration involving research students and early career researchers, forging connections and mentoring opportunities between emerging and experienced researchers in the field of school attendance, and collating and disseminating research outputs to inform the development of future research, policy, and recommendations for practice. The committee organises activities and events to connect emerging scholars with peers and established researchers, enabling promotion of early career research, research support, networking, and collaboration.
In 2025, the committee comprises Amy Meade (Australia) as Chairperson, Kat Chadbourn (Scotland / Australia) as Secretary, Isabella Sasso (Germany) as Activity and Communications Coordinator, Chiara Enderle (Germany) as Deputy Chairperson, Lara Stauvermann (Germany) as Deputy Secretary, and María Perez Marco (Spain) as Deputy Activity and Communications Coordinator.
Amy is a PhD candidate and research assistant at Deakin University in Australia. Her research focuses on the early detection of school refusal, and aims to develop a screening measure that enables identification of students at risk of experiencing school refusal prior to its emergence.
Amy Meade
PhD Candidate
School of Psychology
Deakin University
Australia
Kat is a PhD researcher on a cotutelle program between Aston University (England) and Deakin University (Australia). Their research seeks to develop a neuro-affirming intervention that will support autistic students experiencing emotionally based school avoidance, and their parents. They are passionate about embracing participatory methods in research and their project is informed by the values of co-design. Through their PhD, they hope to be a part of improving access to inclusive education for neurodivergent students, and are excited to be part of a growing body of ECRs working in the attendance space internationally.
Kat Chadbourn (she/he/they) what is this?
PhD Research Student
School of Psychology
Faculty of Health
Aston University (England) and Deakin University (Australia)
Isabella Sasso is a PhD student and licensed psychotherapist. Her current research is about school absenteeism among autistic individuals in mainstream school settings. Her primary interest lies in the student’s perspective, as well as the impact of the environment on self-efficacy and self-determination.
Isabella Sasso
PhD Candidate and Licensed Psychotherapist
Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
and
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Germany
Chiara is a doctoral researcher at Europa-Universität Flensburg and a research associate at Leipzig University in Germany. Her research focuses on school attendance (problems) from youth and teacher perspectives in international comparison. She is particularly interested in exploring promotive factors that strengthen students' ability to attend school in the context of social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties.
Chiara Enderle
Institute for Special Education
Europa-Universität Flensburg
Lara's PhD research focuses on multi-professional collaboration in addressing school attendance problems among young people with special educational needs. To explore this, she is conducting a qualitative case study that incorporates the perspectives of the young people themselves, their parents, special educational teachers, school social workers, and other professionals involved. Beyond her academic work, Lara is also actively engaged in voluntary work in the field of child and youth welfare.
Lara Stauvermann
Research Associate/PhD Candidate
School of Educational and Social Sciences
University of Oldenburg
Germany
María is a PhD candidate at the University of Alicante, Spain. Her research focuses on school refusal and other forms of school attendance problems in both children and adolescents. She is particularly interested in the identification of functional and latent profiles of school non-attendance and in the design and analysis of intervention strategies tailored to these profiles. Her work aims to contribute to the early detection and effective response to school attendance problems through evidence-based practices across educational and clinical settings.
María Pérez-Marco
PhD Candidate
Department of Developmental Psychology and Didactics
Faculty of Education
University of Alicante
Spain
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