Valerie Yule

Dr. Valerie Yule  (born January 2, 1929 in Melbourne, Australia) is a researcher in literacy and imagination, clinical child psychologist, academic, school psychologist and teacher, working in disadvantaged schools, Melbourne and Monash Universities in psychology and education; the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne and the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital; and hon. research fellow (Psychology) at Aberdeen University; plus a somewhat adventurous life.

Education
BA (Hons), History and English, MA Psychology, Dip Ed, and PhD Education - research thesis on Orthography and Reading, Spelling and Society.

Memberships
Fellow of the Galton Institute (UK); Member, British Psychological Society; Vice-President, Simplified Spelling Society (UK); Member, Independent Scholars Association of Australia, and of Australian educational and social reforming organizations. Founder, the non-profit Australian Centre for Social Innovations, 1991; member, the British Institute for Social Inventions , 1984.

Original work

 * Research to make literacy easier by removing the barriers. This includes the concept of online access to understanding and self-help, and improving English spelling by maximising its advantages as well as reducing its disadvantages to meet needs and abilities of users and learners. This cognitive psychological research approach goes beyond the conventional assumptions of a purely phonetic solution to spelling reform as defined in Wikipedia.


 * Studies of children’s imagination and applied imagination.


 * Social innovations; alternatives for social problems; more natural childcare; preventing waste of intelligence; the cognitive effects of very loud music, now pervasive and global; non-destructive pleasures; economic and political alternatives for sustainability without requiring continual growth; humane solutions to population growth ; cutting production of waste to reduce carbon emissions; the psychology of peace.