Professor Moira Hulme has an extensive academic record in educational research, particularly focusing on teacher education, professional learning, and school leadership. Prior to joining UWS in 2023, she held research positions at the University of Glasgow and Manchester Metropolitan University.

She is the research lead for educational research at the University of the West of Scotland and directs the Pedagogy, Policy and Place research group, which works closely with a regional network of education settings across southwest Scotland.

Professor Hulme engages in evidence-based research that has practical applications for improving educational systems and teacher working conditions in Scotland and the broader UK context. Her recent work includes a major collaborative study on teacher workload in Scotland, conducted with Cardiff Metropolitan University and Birmingham City University, and commissioned by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS). This research, utilising a comprehensive time-use survey of nearly 2,000 teachers, revealed substantial impacts of excessive workloads on teacher wellbeing, job satisfaction, turnover intentions and career progression in Scottish schools.​

She is currently engaged in research funded by the Universities and Schools' Council for the Education of Teachers (USCET Cymru) to examine the strengths, achievements and ambitions of teacher educators and student teachers in Wales. This research involves stakeholders from each ITE partnership in Wales following the re-accreditation and reconceptualisation of school-university ITE as a joint endeavour. Hulme’s research has consistently examined the reform of teacher education and models of support for educator development, contributing to policy discussions around improving teacher education and support systems in the UK.

Her funded work in the last five years includes an investigation of the drivers of school exclusion in the Blackpool Opportunity Area, strategies to raise literacy and numeracy in the local authority of Knowsley, wellbeing strategies & vulnerable group support in southeast Wales, the development of cluster-based approaches to school improvement and the introduction of support for newly qualified teachers in Wales.

Her work at four universities has championed practitioner engagement with research and supported the development of professional learning pathways that stretch from professional preparation (pre-service) through to EdD/PhD.

Professor Hulme has examined doctoral dissertations from the University of Oxford, Exeter University, the University of Melbourne, Lancaster University, Strathclyde University and Oxford Brookes University.