Dr Di Cantali

Di is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She teaches on initial teacher education programmes and the Master of Education degree and supervises PhD students. She was awarded Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) in February 2025.

Di's research interests lie in the areas of inclusion and teacher education. She holds a Professional Doctorate for research undertaken on stakeholders' experiences of the move from primary to secondary school. Di is active at School, University and national level in the arena of equality, diversity and inclusion, particularly gender equality, and served for several years as School EDI and Athena Swan lead. Di sits on the Scottish Universities Inclusion Group and served as Chair from 2018 to 2026. She was appointed as an Advance HE Athena Swan award panellist in 2022, and as Co-Editor-in-Chief for the NASEN journal Support for Learning in 2025.

Di completed her initial teacher education at Charlotte Mason College, Ambleside, going on to teach in primary and specialist schools before joining a Local Authority's specialist teaching service. Her most recent teaching post was as an Inclusion Teacher, where she taught children with Autism and with Learning Difficulties, and spent four years as Autism Specialist Team Leader. She also enjoyed supporting teachers, wider educational professionals, parents and carers, in their professional learning through developing and delivering a range of workshops and training events.

Di is an independent fostering panel member for the Carolina House Trust and is a volunteer for Maggie's Dundee. She also sits on the Harris Educational and Recreation Association (HERA) board and is Chapter Administrator for Cycling Without Age Scotland (CWAS) Dundee. From 2014, she served for 9 years as a Board Member for Dundee Women’s Aid, including four years as their Vice-Chair. She is also a keen pianist and flautist, and enjoys walks with her dogs, Ruby and Dexter.