Applied Social Studies - Journal Articles
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Item Child and adult perspectives on implementing a quality improvement strategy in ECEC settings(OMEP Ireland, 2021) Martin, Shirley; Buckley, Lynn; Harford, KatherineThis article presents findings from a mixed methods research project which sought to include the voices of young children in an ongoing evaluation of a government funded community-based prevention and early intervention programme in Ireland. The main objective of the intervention programme is to measurably improve the lives of children (pre-birth to six years) and their families through universal and targeted services in an urban community which experiences high levels of socio-economic deprivation. A key aspect of the programme is an Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) strategy which involves the delivery of a suite of Early Years quality improvement measures to seven ECEC centres (both crèche and preschool rooms) in the catchment area. The core elements of the quality improvement strategy focused on language supports for practitioners (Hanen Learning Language and Loving It™training), curriculum enhancement (HighScope™ curriculum training), onsite mentoring for practitioners, and an Environment Enhancement Fund for each centre. The project evaluation utilised a mixed methods approach including pre and post programme Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) assessments (ECERS-3) at seven early years centres. Post programme implementation ERS results show significant improvements in many areas, in particular scores related to adult-child interactions. Using participatory research guided by a children’s rights framework and informed by UNCRC Article 12, children’s voices are being included in the project evaluation through participatory research methods including photo-voice and talk and draw methods. The article presents findings from post-intervention ECERS-3 assessments and qualitative interviews with early years’ practitioners which were merged with the findings in the children’s data to improve the overall implementation of the programme.Item Youth and adult perspectives on representation in local child and youth councils in Ireland(National Youth Agency, 2017-05) Martin, Shirley; Forde, CatherineWhen we consider young people’s participation in democratic societies, we have to ask to what extent young people are or should be representative of the communities they are active within. This paper is based on findings from a participatory research project which examined young people’s perspectives on taking part in Comhairle na nÓg, the local youth councils in Ireland. The article considers how differing understandings of the concept of representation may impact on the experiences, provision and structures of participatory initiatives for young people. The findings reveal differing attitudes between youth participants and adult support staff towards the meaning of representation. Many of the adult personnel refer to representation in terms of accessing and retaining younger age-groups and “seldom heard” young people, while significant numbers of youth respondents indicated that they understand representation as having a voice, being heard, and making a difference, rather than necessarily about representativeness and they view themselves as being representative of other young people.Item Ask the children: youth views about parenting, parental freedom, and child safety. A survey study of youth in Finland, Ireland, Norway, and USA(Taylor & Francis, 2025-02-14) Duerr Berrick, Jill; Burns, Kenneth; Pösö, Tarja; Roscoe, Joe; Skivenes, Marit; Norges Forskningsråd; Peder Sather Center for Advanced StudyThis exploratory study examines youth (ages 15–17) attitudes about child protection. The study includes data from youth in four countries (Finland, Ireland, Norway, and the U.S.) (n = 2,010) to offer an international comparative perspective. The study also compares youth attitudes to adult attitudes in Norway and the U.S. Findings suggest that youth generally favour restricting parenting practices when an infant is experiencing risk and that views about unrestricted parenting are especially negative when risk to an infant rises. Youth had mixed views about whether it was appropriate to separate an infant from a parent and their views were more favourable under conditions of increased risk. In general, findings from the youth were similar to findings from adults. The study has implications for the design of child protective policies based on the views of the social actors ultimately affected by state-protective actions.Item University ‘dude walls’ must fall(Oxford University Press, 2024-09-07) O'Donovan, ÓrlaRecently I attended one of the weekly public concerts hosted by University College Cork (UCC) as part of its community engagement activities. Although the music was sublime, like every other event I have attended in the Aula Maxima, I was distracted by the portraits of former university presidents looking down on the assembled crowd. The question posed by US journalist Rachel Maddow when invited to present awards at a ceremony in New York’s Rockefeller University came to mind (Greenfieldboyce, 2019). What’s up with the dude wall? But also, what do university dude walls do? What place, if any, have dude walls in contemporary public universities that aspire to break with their troubling heritages of elitism and extractivism, and promote more equitable and democratic futures? Decolonization movements have taught us that these are not frivolous questions.Item Bridging boundaries to acquire research and professional skills: reflecting on the impact and experiences of technology-enabled collaborative cross-institutional and transnational social work placement project(MDPI, 2024) Rose, Joanne; Halton, Carmel; Morley, Louise; Short, MonicaWorldwide, social work educators’ teaching and learning practices are founded on social justice principles and recognised for their evidence-based, interpersonal, cross-cultural, and problem-solving approaches. Placements are integral to social work education preparing students for practice. Learning experienced on such placements, particularly those involving research, can assist students to develop a broad understanding of diversity, inequality, and anti-oppressive practice in local, national, or international contexts. Technology-enhanced, online research opportunities have revolutionised research placements. This article offers a reflective dialogue on the insights gained from two transnational, technology-enhanced social work research-based placements. The first example reviews three student-led, rural-focused inquiries completed in Australia and Ireland; the second pertains to students physically situated in Ireland and who engaged in collaborative online projects while completing their USA-based social work placements online. The authors reflect on the experiences and the skills the students developed and how the application of technology helped meet an increasing need for environmentally sustainable practices in teaching, learning, and research on placement. Publicly available student reflections on significant knowledge and practice benefits gained from their transnational experiences are considered. The study highlights how reflective practice assisted in the enactment of research in online contexts.