Dr Jane Brown

Honorary Fellow

Biography

Background

My interest in children was established early in my career whilst working in residential care and therapeutic settings with children with behavioural difficulties. Subsequently, I trained as an art therapist, and then specialised in work child protection working with children and young people. My practice as an art therapist led me to the topic of my doctoral research which examined early educators' views regarding sexuality in pre-school children.

I started life as a researcher in 1992, observing children giving evidence in court room situations. Since then, I have worked on a range of projects, most of which relate in some way to understanding the lives of children and young people (Funded by ESRC, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Health Education Board for Scotland, Scottish Government, Gordon Cook Foundation, Barnardos).

I am the Ethics Officer for Moray House School of Education and teach research ethics and undertaking qualitative research to postgraduate students.

Qualifications

  • 1984: BA (Hons) Sociology (University of York)
  • 1985: Diploma in Art Therapy (University of Sheffield)
  • 1998: PhD Social Policy (University of Glasgow)

Areas of interest for supervision

I am happy to supervise research under the headings listed in the research tab and currently supervise doctoral students in the areas of education for citizenship, bullying in schools, school inclusion.

Current PhD students supervised

  • Yuchen Wang- The policy and practice of inclusive education for disabled children in China - a case of Shanghai
  • Dimitra Tsakalou- Teacher beliefs and values in relation to inclusion in Greece 
  • Jaye Ware- Young people's perspectives on Queerphobia, gender and sexual diversity in Scottish secondary schools
  • George Abakah- Boys' perspectives of peer-bullying in Ghanaian secondary schools

Research summary

I am interested in the ways in which the social study of childhood can inform how we understand children and young people's everyday experiences of schooling. My specific areas of interest include:

  • Participation and citizenship in schools
  • Violent behaviour in children and young people
  • The phenomenon of school violence and school surveillance, including the deployment of CCTV technologies in schools
  • Qualitative methodologies and researching the social worlds of children and young people
  • Research ethics

Project activity

  • A mixed methods study of pupils' perspectives on participation across the transition from primary to secondary school. Funded by the Gordon Cook Foundation PI (September 2014-August 2016).
  • A qualitative interview study investigating the views of teachers regarding pupil participation and citizenship across the primary/secondary school transition. Funded by the Gordon Cook Foundation co-applicant with Dr Hamish Ross, University of Edinburgh (September 2012-September 2013).
  • An evaluation of the Five Nations Programmme. January 2012-October 2012. Funded by the Gordon Cook Foundation PI.
  • Pilot: Citizenship and values education in primary schools facing challenging socio-economic circumstances. Funded by the Five Nations Network with Hamish Ross. October 2011-September 2012.
  • BERA Insight: Violence in Mainstream Schools across the UK. July 2009-February 2010 Funded BERA. PI with Dr Mandy Winterton, Jen Ross University of Edinburgh, Professor Michele Burman University of Glasgow.
  • Evaluation of the All Wales School Liaison Core Programme. 2009-10 Funded by the Welsh Assembly. With Professor Sheila Riddell, Dr Joan Stead, Dr Gwynedd Lloyd, Dr Adela Baird, University of Edinburgh.
  • An exploratory study of school geographies and the management of pupil behaviour, including attitudes towards the use of CCTV. technologies. Internal Funding. PI with Professor Mary Simpson.
  • Research into Behaviour in Scottish Schools in 2009. 2008-09 Funded by the Scottish Government. With Professor Pamela Munn, Dr Gwynedd Lloyd, Dr Stephen Sharpe, Dr Gale Macleod, Dr Gillean Mcluskey and Dr Lorna Hamilton, University of Edinburgh. 

View all 27 publications on Research Explorer

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