I joined York St John University in 2014. I have worked for over 20 years as a professional youth and community worker with Local Authorities, voluntary and faith based organisations. I have also worked on a number of national youth research projects, undertaking fieldwork and data analysis.
My academic interests relate to young people, youth and community work, and youth political participation.
I teach on a range of courses:
- Foundation Year Education, Children and Counselling
- BA Children, Young People and Society
- BA Education Studies, Special Educational Needs and Mental Health
- BA Early Years Education and Care
- MA Education.
Across these courses, I teach on the following modules: Historical contexts of education, childhood and counselling; Inclusive and holistic practice; Preparation for progression; Academic and professional literacies; Social divisions and inclusion; Supporting families; Learning as researcher and Dissertation at both BA and MA levels.
I have been actively involved in research around young people for over 20 years. I have been involved in national research projects that have examined detached youth work and narrative approaches to evaluating youth work practice. I have been commissioned to work collaboratively with a range of organisations to support service development and evaluation.
Areas of research interest include: young people's political citizenship and political socialisation; youth work and youth policy.
My current research examines young people's political citizenship, evaluation approaches in mentoring, innovative approaches to poverty proofing schools and exploring the role of young people in shaping the development of ecological youth work.
Recent publications
I am a Senior Fellow of the HEA. I also have a number of roles supporting the youth and community sector locally, including: Chair of York Youth Sector Partnership; Vice Chair Door 84 Youth and Community Project, and Board Member for the raise York Partnership. I also convene the Raise York Research Network. I am an external examiner at Teeside University.
