Sam Shaw

Head of Programme BA in Children, Young People & Families

T: 01904 876249

E: s.shaw@yorksj.ac.uk

Sam is currently near completion of her PhD project ‘Living and Learning in the Coalfields of West Yorkshire’ which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

The main rationale for this work is concerned with how living in a community that has a fragile economic and social identity due to the disintegration of the coal industry affects the learning experiences and transitions to adulthood of young people in post compulsory education. The project also draws attention to the significance of geographical or spacial positioning alongside other factors such as family, social class, peer group, and so forth as key characteristics in determining the educational and occupational aspirations of young people.

Research Interests

Sam’s main research activities revolve around the transition to adulthood of young people, not purely in an educational context, but also how their lives are very much intertwined with the wider aspects of living in 21st century Britain today. Her particular interests include:

•Methodological innovations in youth research

•Historical and sociological constructions of childhood and youth

•Visual methods and voice

•Holistic/multi-disciplinary research in the social sciences

She is a member of the British Educational Research Association (BERA), the British Sociological Association (BSA), and the International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA).

Conference Papers & Presentations

'You know more about me than my mum!': Exploring Video Diary & Voice (Paper presented at British Sociological Association (BSA) Annual Conference April 2009)

'We're not chavs!': Living Between Rhetoric and Reality: A Critique of Widening Participation Policy in the Regeneration of a West Yorkshire Coalfield (Paper presented at University of Bristol (HEFCE) Widening Participation Seminar September 2009)

'It’s full of chavs! I can’t wait to leave': Living Between Rhetoric and Reality: Exploring Educational Policy and Regeneration in a West Yorkshire Mining Community (Paper presented at British Sociological Association (BSA) Annual Conference April 2010)