Submitted at: 12:00am Friday 11th January 2013
An Open University centre which empowers children as active researchers has been shortlisted in The Guardian University Awards’ Outstanding Research Impact category.
The Children’s Research Centre (CRC) trains and supports children to research topics they consider important, leading in some cases to impact on policy or practice.
Led by Founder Director Mary Kellett, Professor of Childhood and Youth at the OU, CRC has been at the forefront of child-led research since 2004.
Its work is an important development within the university’s Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology.
The CRC's outputs reflect findings relevant to children’s experiences and to society more generally.
Examples include: internet safety; cultural and race identity issues; bereavement; children’s worries; children’s rights; mobility issues for children of wheelchair users; children’s views about the Police; looked-after children; young Travellers; young carers; TV and gaming; diet and exercise; substance abuse; staying safe; life on housing estates.
Some of this research has influenced policy:
- A 10-year-old’s research on social isolation factors for children with Graves disease changed practice at Great Ormond Street Hospital
- CRC children’s research contributed to Joseph Rowntree’s flagship Education and Poverty programme
- Youth-led cyberbullying research, in partnership with Diana Award, hit 72 media outlets and impacted significantly on national anti-bullying week.
A full list of shortlised awards is on the Guardian Higher Education Network site. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Wednesday 27 February.
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