BA, PhD (Queen’s)
Professor of Sociology
Room 1.14, 3 College Park East
Ext. 3375
My research interest is in the sociology of childhood. I am particularly interested in creative and participatory methods of including children in the research process and I am the convenor of a Special Interest Group on Research Methods for the University Forum for the Child. I employ a wide range of qualitative research methods in my work with children and their childhoods. I am particularly interested in children’s experiences of growing up in divided societies and have carried out research into children’s experiences of growing up in interface areas in Belfast and plan to extend this focus to other divided cities such as Nicosia and Jerusalem.
I have also carried out research into children’s experiences of doing the transfer test in Northern Ireland using stories, drawings and focus group interviews. Children’s participation in paid and unpaid work is further research interest and I have carried out research into children’s paid employment and their participation in household work paying particular attention to their views on the right to work.
I am keen to support applications for postgraduate research in any of the above and in the general area of childhood studies.
Teaching Interests
Sociology of Childhood, Research Methods with Children, Social Change and Development
Recent Publications
‘Teenagers Telling Sectarian Stories’ Sociology (2006) 40,6, pp. 1117-1133.
‘Segregated Schools in Segregated Societies: Issues of Safety and Risk’, (2006) Childhood, 13,4 145-164
‘Teens and Territory in Contested Spaces: Negotiating Sectarian Interfaces in Northern Ireland’, (2006) Children’s Geographies, 4,2, 225-238.
‘Children, Childhood and Social Capital: Exploring the Links, (2005) Sociology, 39, 4, 605-622.
‘Involving Children in Social Policy: A Case Study from Northern Ireland ’ (2005) Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, 10, 153-169.
‘Bonding and Bridging Social Capital: Reflections from Belfast ‘,(2004) Sociology, 38, 5, 927-944.
‘Children’s Views on Children’s Right to Work’ (2004) Childhood: A Global Journal of Child Research 11, 1, 73-89.
‘Teenage Girls and Housework in Irish Society’, (2004) Irish Journal of Sociology, 13,1, 71-86.
Children’s Attitudes to Parents’, Teachers’ and Employers’ Perceptions of Term-Time Employment, (2003) Children and Society, 17, 349-360