Dr Rebecca Schaaf, Subject Leader: Geography
I joined the Geography Department in September 2006 having gained degrees from the University of Birmingham, the University of Liverpool, and a PhD from the University of Bath. My doctoral research used a wellbeing framework to explore the effects of community group membership and microfinance schemes on the wellbeing of villagers in Northeast Thailand. The research was prompted by government promotion of community groups and microfinance facilities as a way of achieving the development goals of social cohesion and increases in individual wealth and wellbeing.
This research has contributed to my teaching at Bath Spa, as I am interested in all aspects of the development process, from issues of sustainability and environmental change, to the politics of collective action, poverty alleviation and enhancing wellbeing. My other research interests centre around development in Southeast Asia, the role of complexity theory in the social sciences, and the learning and teaching of development geography.
I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), and a member of the Association for Southeast Asian Studies in the UK. I am currently the Subject Leader for Geography and the Course Leader for the Foundation Degree in Development Geography.
