Dr. Athanasia Chatzifotiou (Research lead: Childhood and Early Years)
Athanasia Chatzifotiou has gained her Ph.D from Durham university (UK). Her doctoral thesis examined primary school teachers’ knowledge and awareness of environmental education in two European countries, namely England and Greece. Her subsequent work has addressed issues concerning the status of education for sustainable development (EfSD) in the National Curriculum in England and Greece, the role of eco-schools in promoting EfSD, the status of EfSD in early years settings. Her current project employs the use of narrative positioning analysis to examine the potential impact a story book can have upon children’s environmental perspectives. Her research interests also include qualitative methodological approaches and climate change education.
Dr Lesley Deacon (Research lead: CASS Working Papers Editor)
Dr Lesley Deacon is currently working with the Wallsend Children’s Community and Save the Children on several research areas, including, 'Story of Place – family experiences of local community support in an area of high deprivation' and 'Practitioner Reflections – the reflection of community practitioners during Lockdown 1' which is being supported by Mz Zeta Bikova, as co-researcher. These projects are based on an approach developed by Dr. Deacon; Facilitated Practice-Based Research (Deacon and Bikova, 2021). This approach focuses on empowering practitioners to complete their own research studies and utilize expertise of research academics for dissemination. The topics for the research emerge from practice and research problems identified from within the field.
This is facilitated through the implementation of a research programme based on the methodological framework of Emancipatory Practice Development (originating in nursing) as it has two particularly unique aspects to service evaluation. Firstly, it is concerned with how human services are received, not just how they are provided. Creative methodological approaches are used to engage service users (experts by experience). Secondly, in EPD, ALL stakeholders should be involved in the research and evaluation so focus is given to how to authentically listen to and hear the (unusually unheard) service user voice whilst then facilitating research that also listening to and facilitating the involvement of all other stakeholders at practitioner and strategic level.
Dr. Sarah Lonbay (Research lead: Health and Social Care)
Dr. Sarah Lonbay is currently working with Dr. Lesley Deacon to develop and disseminate a podcast series. ‘The Portal Podcast: Bringing Academia into Practice’ is focused on making research accessible for social workers. This podcast is being developed to actively support the dissemination of research into social work practice. In each episode, Dr Sarah Lonbay and Dr Lesley Deacon interview a different social sciences researcher about their work and how it can be used to inform practice. Alongside this a small research project is being undertaken to examine the impact that the podcast has on the practice of its listeners. Sarah and Lesley are also currently working with practitioners and volunteers from Nightstop to develop a project exploring youth homelessness. The project is utilising Lesley Deacon’s Facilitated Practice-Based Research approach (see above).
Sarah is also currently disseminating findings from two completed research projects. The first was undertaken in collaboration with Dr. Carole Southall (Northumbria University) and was initiated by a Safeguarding Adults Board following growing concerns in the region about domestic abuse in the older population. The study utilised a qualitative approach to explore the topic with practitioners and with older women. The second project was focused on educator and student experiences of teaching about trauma and the application of trauma informed principles to social work education. This project was undertaken in collaboration with Dr. John Cavener (Northumbria University).
Dr. Nicola Roberts (Research lead: Criminology)
Dr Nicola Roberts has recently completed her research on students’ perceptions of safety and security on-campus. Her current research projects are the dissemination of her qualitative data analysis of a bystander project, which examined ‘what works’ in the intervention. With her colleague, they are (re)-reading the data from a post-humanist/new materialist stance to provide a more nuanced analysis of becoming/being a bystander.
Nicola is also currently disseminating the findings from her Criminology Longitudinal Retention Project. The statistical analysis of the data, used binary logistic regression to identify variables that predict the odds of students failing to progress with their studies. With her colleague, they are thematically analysing the qualitative data to add to the findings from the statistical analysis. Finally, Nicola is also analysing qualitative data with a former student, and in collaboration with an external academic, on the resettlement of high-risk child sex offenders in the community.
Dr. Sheila Quaid (Research lead: Sociology)
Dr Sheila Quaid recently published her research on troubling moments and difficult pedagogies with her colleague, Dr. Helen Williams. As PI on this project with a group of colleagues, she addressed the teaching of inequalities. The research explored tensions that arise when theoretical explanations for inequalities and power differentials clash with the students’ existing knowledge of the social world. These difficult moments produced struggle both for students and the teacher as students transition from common sense understandings of the social world to more analytical approaches. It was found that difficult pedagogical moments are faced by lecturers and the discomforting pedagogies experienced by the students. The first stage of this qualitative project included focus groups with HE educators. With a highly skilled facilitator free flowing conversations with participants were enabled around key themes. Thematic analysis was achieved through coding and a rich set of narratives were produced. These findings give clear narratives of the lecturer’s perspective, and findings were shared with HE educators at conferences and published. Sheila is currently planning to develop the project by redirecting the focus on the student perspective. She is discussing the use of this research to be included in CPD for HE staffs.
Dr Sheila Quaid is also currently completing a qualitative pilot study exploring the lives of women who are not mothers. In this project she drew from life history techniques in semi structured interviews with women who, at the point of interview, did not have children. Her project is at the stage of thematic analysis. One of the aims of this project going forward is to reveal experiences of women who are most often not asked about motherhood. The narratives potentially add an important voice to sociology of reproductive and life course choices on both mothers and women who are not mothers. Following production of data in the pilot stage she aims to further develop techniques for intersectional sampling and is currently developing a bid for further funding to expand this project.
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Young People, Educational Transition and Identity
Jan Grinstead, Julian Kranz and Tom Oliphant have recently undertaken a project to examine young people’s perceptions of self and community in the North East of England. The research aimed to gain insight into the experiences of young people aged between 11 and 14 who were identified as existing within a ‘policy-gap’ between early years pupils and those aged between 14 and 19. The study used a multi-method approach using scrapbooks, questionnaires, interviews and focus groups to collect data in three secondary schools in order to give a voice to this under-researched age group. Young people’s perceptions of self in addition to their relationships with educational professionals were explored (Grinstead et al. 2017). The findings of the project also underscored the centrality of the experience of transition between primary and secondary educational phases to young people. The research thus sought to understand their experiences of this transition and the support offered by professionals at this time (Grinstead, et al. forthcoming).
References
Grinstead, J., Kranz, J. & Oliphant, T. (2017) ‘Who Do They Think They Are? Perceptions of Young People Aged 11-12 Years’ in Childhoods Today 11 (1).
Grinstead, J., Kranz, J. & Oliphant, T. (forthcoming) ‘From ‘Swirlies’ to Support: Transitional Expectations and Realities’
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Ponzi Schemes
Kate Tudor is currently undertaking research which explores the motivations of those involved in investment fraud. Kate has conducted qualitative interviews with fourteen men who have been convicted for the perpetration of high-yield investment, or Ponzi, schemes. The research seeks to explore the way in which harmful and predatory subjectivities are formed within the ultra-individualistic and competitive landscape of contemporary capitalism. In a recent publication, Kate has analysed the relationship between investment fraud and neoliberal interpretations of individual sovereignty and liberty (Tudor, 2018). The research has also considered the role played by material and symbolic precarity in the production of economic predation (Tudor, forthcoming).
References
Tudor, K. (2018) ‘Toxic Sovereignty: Understanding Fraud as the Expression of Special Liberty within Late-Capitalism’ in Journal of Extreme Anthropology 2 (2).
Tudor, K. (forthcoming) ‘Symbolic Survival and Harm: Investment Fraud and Consumer Capitalism’s Perversion of the Causa Sui Project’
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Children Who Display Harmful Sexual Behaviour
Dr Lesley Deacon has recently completed a research project concerning Local Authority responses to referrals regarding children who display harmful sexual behaviour. The research used ethnographic content analysis and also carried out semi-structured interviews with eleven social workers and nine parents and carers who have experience in this area. The findings of Dr Deacon's research suggest that social workers involved in generic safeguarding practice are not equipped with the relevant training or understanding of policy in order to effectively respond to these children. Consequently, she suggests that a ‘knowledge gap’ exists in how social workers understand, and respond to, allegations of harmful sexual behaviour by children.