This page describes some current and recent research projects undertaken by members of the Centre for Social Justice Research.
Relationships and Sex Education in England: challenges faced by schools in parental engagement
About the project
Schools and parents – and school-parent partnership – all play a crucial role in young people’s learning about relationships and sex. Parents want to support their children in this, but are often unsure about what to say about relationships and sex, and how and when to say it. Relationships Education is now compulsory in primary schools, and Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools, and schools must consult parents in developing and reviewing their RSE policy. As emphasised by the Sex Education Forum (SEF), children and young people’s needs are best served by a home-school partnership on RSE. However, SEF’s Young People’s RSE Polls show that, whilst the quality of school RSE is improving, young people aren’t always receiving comprehensive information about relationships and sex from school or parents and some are turning elsewhere to learn.
Parents are largely supportive of school RSE, but parental engagement in this area can be difficult for schools, and schools can feel under-confident about delivering on some areas of the statutory curriculum that are particularly politicised (Sex Education Forum, 2024). This research investigates the challenges faced by primary schools in parental engagement with RSE by carrying out interviews with teachers, and will identify effective ways to strengthen home-school partnership in this area.
Funding body
BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants SRG 2023-24 Round SRG2324\240840
Investigators
- Dr Naomi Rudoe (Senior Lecturer, Sociology, University of Westminster)
- Dr Ruth Ponsford (Assistant Professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
Non-Binary in Higher Education: Lived Experiences Imagined Futures
About the project
The Non-Binary in Higher Education: Lived Experiences, Imagining Futures project is an internally funded project investigating how non-binary people navigate higher education in the UK as both teaching staff and students. The aim is to explore questions of institutional inclusion and the disruptive potential of non-binary gender in HE. In 2019 we conducted a large online survey of UK non-binary students and staff, and hosted a non-binary staff skills-sharing event and public round table discussion. In late 2022 we conducted six focus group workshops with non-binary students around the UK in which we asked them to imagine a university conceived by and for non-binary people.
Website: https://nbinhe.com
Twitter/X: @NBinHE
Investigators
- Dr Jennifer Fraser, Principal Lecturer, School of Social Sciences and Centre for Education and Teaching Innovation, University of Westminster
- Dr Francis Ray White, Reader, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster
- Raf Benato, City, University of London
FemIDEAS: Decolonising Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Higher Education
About the project
We work on developing survivor-centered, feminist, intersectional and abolitionist understanding and responses to Sexual and Gender Based Violence within Higher Education. Through this project we also aim to bridge the gap between theory, policy, and practice by bringing together insights and experiences from survivors, activists, academics, and policy makers from South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina. We are funded by UKRI and based at the University of Westminster, London.
Website: http://femideas.com/
Funding body
UKRI Future Leader Fellowship
Investigators
- Dr Adrija Dey, Senior Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences and School of Media and Communication, University of Westminster
- Dr Jess Wild, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences and School of Media and Communication, University of Westminster
Self-Governing Brazilian Prison Communities
About the project
This project explores the self-governing nature of Brazilian voluntary sector community prisons through the theoretical lenses of decolonial and southern criminology. It examines the roles played by prisoners in overseeing disciplinary and security norms and procedures, preventing and resolving conflicts. Such housekeeping powers and responsibilities are formally devolved by prison managers to prisoner councils as part of a wider focus on human dignity and civil engagement. Fieldwork focused on two community prisons in the southern state of Paraná, and involved three intensive periods of participatory observation, focus group and individual interviews, completed between February and September 2022. The outputs from the research will explore the implications of devolving housekeeping powers and responsibilities to prisoners for global, Latin American and Brazilian theories on prison order and legitimate authority.
Funding body
Leverhulme Trust
Investigators
- Dr Sacha Darke, Reader in Criminology, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster
Parental social licence for operational data linkage and analytics to identify families for service intervention
About the project
The Parental social licence for data linkage for service intervention research project is providing a comprehensive understanding of the social legitimacy of and trust in operational data linkage and analytics as a basis for intervention in family lives. The research fills a vital gap in knowledge about the dynamics of social legitimacy and trust among parents of dependent children, in a context where policy developments and data processing practices to inform services interventions may be moving ahead of public knowledge and consent.
Website: www.parent-data.org.uk
Funding body
ESRC grant number ES/T001623/1
Investigators
- Professor Rosalind Edwards, University of Southampton
- Professor Val Gillies, Professor of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster
- Dr Sarah Gorin, University of Warwick
- Dr Helene Vannier Ducasse
Between the community and the sociologist: Wives diaries, classic studies, and digital archival resources
About the project
The proposed research offers unparalleled insights into the role of the wives of sociologists in ground-breaking post-war community studies – investigations that set a foundation for how the discipline of sociology conceived of social change in working class communities and family life. The research is illuminating how social researchers’ wives bridged community and social sciences for their husbands’ studies, significantly contributing to knowledge about mid-20th century social research practices, and community and family life. Outputs from the research will include journal articles, a short video and a 6 episode podcast titled #thanksfortyping.
Funding body
British Academy
Investigators
- Professor Rosalind Edwards, University of Southampton
- Professor Val Gillies, Professor of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster
The UK Sex Offender Register twenty-five years after its inception: does it currently work?
About the project
The Sex Offender Register was created by the 1997 Sex Offender Act, and the requirement to notify has now been in force for 25 years. This project uses a mixed methods approach to identify which aspects of the register are working effectively and proportionately, and which aspects would benefit from a re-evaluation. The research also examines the demographics of children who are 'on the register' - an issue not looked at previously. We examine statistics provided by the Police, and held interviews with staff from key agencies (Police, Probation, Youth Justice, and staff from voluntary agencies/providers of treatment for young people).
Funding body
Barrow Cadbury Trust
Investigators
- Dr Wendy Fitzgibbon, Reader in Criminology, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster
- Dr Maria Ansbro, Buckinghamshire New University