Child and youth studies

Child and youth studies is located in the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport. We draw on a range of approaches and methodologies including those from developmental psychology, childhood and youth studies, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. Childhood and youth studies researchers have good contacts with pre-school institutions, schools, young people and families. We are an active inter-disciplinary group in various research clusters and centres.

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and an MA or research methods training at MA level (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

Potential research projects

We are interested in research topics related in some way to the themes noted below:

• children and young people: experiences, identities, spaces, voice and agency
• young people: gender relations, masculinities and femininities
• the impacts of social and cultural change on children and young people
• learning, education, disability and technology
• the development of thinking, social relationships and representations
• international perspectives on childhood and youth
• child and young person-led research projects, including rights-based work, learning and support for families experiencing a serious illness
• children's health and wellbeing in body, mind and media

Current/recent research projects

• The scientific resilience of KS3 students
• The relationships between teachers’ pedagogical stance and their uses of ICT in teaching practices
• The impact of the primary national curriculum on the progress of disadvantaged pupils
• Experiences of outdoor play and learning by pre-school children with a disability
• Mindfulness programmes in primary schools
• Learning from children's perspectives in the search for fun
• Inclusive practice in Early Years settings
• The role of humour in children's books
• Young migrant children's 'funds of knowledge'
• Parents' perspectives and practices around the schooling of their children
• Supporting pupils with Asperger's syndrome
• Co-teaching in a bi-lingual school
• Inclusion and exclusion in early years settings
• Self-reported and enacted multi-age practice in early childhood
• Peer coaching and peer observation in secondary schools
• The assessment of progress for students with severe learning difficulties
• Childhood bilingualism
• Collaborative learning in early years

Potential supervisors

• Dr Victoria Cooper
• Dr Amber Fensham-Smith
• Dr Pam Foley
• Dr Naomi Holford
• Dr Paul Ibbotson
• Professor David Messer
• Mr John Oates
• Professor Kieron Sheehy
• Dr Mimi Tatlow-Golden

Fees and funding

PhD fees

Professional doctorate fees

Some of our research students are funded via The Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.

To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.

Links

• Childhoods, Youth and Sport Group
• Children's Research Centre
• Centre for Children’s Wellbeing: Body, Mind and Media
• Centre for Literacy and Social Justice