Education

• Information For New Students
• Information For Returning Students
• Undergraduates
• Postgraduate Taught Courses
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
  • Doctorate in Childhood Studies
  • MSc Applied Social Studies
  • Masters in Social Research Methods
  • MA Sociology
• Student Support
• Student Consultative Committee
• Careers Employability and Skills
• Erasmus
• International Student Exchange
• Practice Learning
• Practice Development Days

Programme Director - Dr Karen Winter

DChild Brochure

The DChild is a new and exciting multi-disciplinary addition to the School's doctoral degree programmes.  It is designed to allow experienced professionals who either work with, or have an interest in children and young people to further their studies and professional development whilst still retaining their current jobs.  It will be of particular relevance to those working in the fields of child health and welfare, social work, social policy, juvenile justice and youth and community work.

The programme aims to foster and extend professional knowledge, understanding and skills through the development of research, evaluation and high level reflection on practice.  It includes assessed taught courses and supervised original research.  

Funding

Funding may become available later this year, please check this webpage regularly as any funding opportunites will be advertised here. The application form for the DChild is available on the QUB website.

Programme of Study

CORE MODULES

Theory and Practice in Social Research 

This module offers an introduction to quantitative and qualitative research methods and is designed for students with some basic knowledge but who seek further grounding. It is designed as preparation for undertaking postgraduate research and dissertation work. It also acts as preparation for the advanced quantitative and qualitative courses (SOC9008 and SOC9007) available in semester 2.

Sociological Approaches to Research Childhood (Professor Madeleine Leonard)

The module will explore sociological approaches to researching children’s everyday lives and experiences.  The module will commence by considering the extent to which methodologies used to study adult lives can be successfully utilized to research children’s lives.  Participants will be encouraged to reflect on which methodologies are appropriate and which are not.  The module will then examine how childhood researchers moved from research on children to research with children.  The module will explore various ‘creative’ and ‘participatory’ methods used in research with children and consider them critically in terms of data generation, ethics and analysis.

Psychological Approaches to Researching Childhood (Dr Anne Lazenbatt)

The module familiarizes students with the psychological methods, knowledge, value, and processes involved in studying children. Significant emphasis is given to the practice of research with children, rather than on children, with attention given to views of children as active research participants, rather than as passive subjects of research. It will also examine psychological concepts, theories, research methods and influencing factors in child development relevant to the period from birth to pre-adolescence, and provide students with the knowledge and experience of different research methods, in the study of children's psychological development. Students will have the opportunity to explore creative, child-friendly, and participatory methods used in research with children, their ethical implications, and the reliability and validly of such methods.

Children’s Rights:  Research and Practice (Dr Laura Lundy)

The module has two core aims.  The first is to enable students to conduct research into the international children’s rights law which affects children.  The second is to enable students to understand the key children’s rights principles and to employ them in order to critique professional practice.  The first part of the module will provide an introduction to children’s rights law, with an emphasis on the research skills needed to identify and understand major human rights treaties as well as secondary documentation, including key decisions, statements and the reports of the main United Nations Treaty Bodies. The second part of the module will provide an introduction to children’s rights theory and some of the ongoing debates in the field, for example around the limits of children’s autonomy. The module will conclude by examining the rights of particular groups of children, including children with disabilities and religious and linguistic minorities.

OPTIONAL MODULES

Adolescent and Youth Perspectives (Dr Siobhan McAlister)

This multi-disciplinary module will explore contrasting perspectives on youth and ‘normative’ adolescent development.  It will consider how changing processes of socio-economic change have impacted on young people in the context of structural relations of class, ‘race’, gender, sexuality and age.  It will consider the role of state intervention through legislation, policy and institutional practices in meeting identified needs, opening up opportunities and regulating the lives of young people.

Drawing on a range of sociological, psychological and criminological analyses of youth and adolescence, the module examines the representation and meaning of youth, social and historical constructions, the psychology of youth and adolescent development.  Debates regarding structure and agency will be reviewed through focusing on key issues including adolescent risk taking, young people and social exclusion, youth transitions and youth culture.

Childhood, Rights and Justice (Professor Phil Scraton)

This module is located within social constructionist and structural critiques of ‘childhood’ and ‘youth’. It theorises children’s rights within the historical, political and ideological contexts of changing perceptions and representations of ‘childhood’, examining the contemporary national and international debates concerning the implementation of international standards and conventions. It will explore the relationship between age and power and its significance for the rights of children and young people in private and public domains. Rights discourses will be examined and the ideology and politics of ‘the family’ will be discussed as central determinants of the experience of childhood.

Pathways and Outcomes for Children in Care (Dr Dominic McSherry)

The module will critically examine children’s entry into, and journey through care.  It will begin with an examination of the familial, societal and legal context for children initially being taken into care, with a particular focus upon child abuse and neglect and their relationship to social disadvantage.  This will be followed by a contemporary research-centred examination of the experiences of children whilst in care, particularly long-term foster care, and a critique of the recent development of adoption for children in care.  There will also be a focus upon the less well understood experiences of children who return home from care.  The module will conclude by looking at the experiences of older children who ‘age out’ of care, and their preparedness for independent living.   

Critical Perspectives on Early Childhood (Karen Winter)

This module aims to provide students with an understanding and overview of a wide range of theories and perspectives on the early years. It will encourage students to develop a critical appreciation of traditional theories as well as more recent perspectives. Recent key policy and practice developments in the early years will be explored with particular reference to service design, delivery and effectiveness. Examples of national and international research will be considered with an emphasis on questions of effectiveness. Students will be encouraged to consider the relevance and impact of recent developments in research, policy and practice in relation to their own working environments.

Advanced Qualitative Methodology (Professor Mary Daly)

The course addresses both theoretical and practical aspects central to the conduct of qualitative research.  It critically raises questions about the choice, role and value of theory and the manner in which this influences processes like data collection, analysis, interpretation and writing up.  There is also a major emphasis on the practical aspects of the research process.

Advanced Quantitative Research Skills (Dr Andrew Percy)

The course provides the 'quantitative perspective'.  It covers social survey design and probability sampling, probability statistical testing, and the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences to analyse social data.

The modules will be taught over blocks of two and a half days and it is envisaged that three to four modules will be taken each year. 

Further details about the course are available from the School's postgraduate secretary:

The Postgraduate Office
School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work
028 9097 5117