Cluster Events

The Children and Young People research cluster hosts regular events at which ISS21 members and invited speakers can present their work. Highlights from recent years include:

Making Space for Play in Irish Schoolyards, 28^th November 2024

Dr. Michelle Bergin presented a paper on the “Making Space for Play in Irish Schoolyards” project, which aims to evaluate existing provision for children’s right to play in diverse schoolyards in an Irish context to inform how we can best support schools to create conditions for all children to play. Hosted by the ISS21 Children and Young People Research Cluster & UCC Futures – Children.

The State of Play - UNCRC, Article 31, 23rd May 2024.

Theresa Casey and Marguerite Hunter Blair to discuss the background of General Comment No. 17 and a Scottish perspective on incorporating the right to play in Scottish law in 2024. Hosted with UCC Futures: Children and the P4Play Joint Doctoral Network Programme.

Perspectives of hearing children of deaf parents & their exposure to deafness stigma, 10 May, 2024.

The ISS21 Children and Young People Research Cluster, in collaboration with UCC Futures: Children, hosted a seminar with Dr Noel O’Connell, PI of the CODA (Children of Deaf Adults) Project. 

Examining the effects of Graduate Trauma-informed Practice Education on Child Welfare Professionals, 19 March 2024

Dr Maria Lotty presented the findings of the TARA project, a study that  evaluated the effects of a UCC graduate level trauma-informed care program developed for child welfare professionals.

Every Moment Counts: Promoting mental wellbeing and inclusion in Irish schools, 14 November 2023

Dr Susan Bazyk presented a paper on her innovative work in school inclusion, focusing on the Every Moment Counts programme. 

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Early Years & Childhood Studies Conference, 10 March 2023

This one-day conference was hosted by the Early Years and Childhood Studies Programme, UCC, in conjunction with the Children and Young People Research Cluster.

Research Ethics and Ethical Approval Procedures in UCC, 1 December 2022 

In this seminar, Dr Kenneth Burns, Deputy Chairperson of the Social Research Ethics Committee, provided practical guidance on applying for ethical approval for social research projects in UCC.

Young People's Inclusion in Public Policy-making in Portugal, the UK and Ireland, 18 Oct. 2022

The seminar was co-hosted by the ISS21 Research for Civil Society and Social Action (REACT) and Children and Young People research clusters.

Children's Research Advisory Groups: 'Who else would you ask?’ 29 March 2022

Co-hosted by they CYP Cluster, the PPI Ignite Network and the ISS21-affiliated P4PLAY project, this seminar explored a number of issues relating to child participation, including the policy context for child participation and children’s contribution to the development of national policy in areas which affect them. Details available here

Gender Stereotyping in 5–7 Year-olds and the Development of an Initiative to Combat Gender Bias, 12 January 2022

On 12 January 2022 the CYP Cluster hosted a seminar with Cormac Harris and Alan O’Sullivan, winners of the BT Young Scientists 2020 and the European Union Contest for Young Scientist 2021. They presented the findings of their study on the prevalence of gender stereotyping in 376 primary school pupils aged 5-7. Further details and a recording of the seminar are available here

Children's Daily Lives During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Participative Online Study with 7-to-9-year-olds from Germany, 21 Oct. 2021

In this seminar visiting scholar Iris Würbel (Freie Universität, Berlin) described the participative methodology used in her research on children’s daily lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, and presented some of the preliminary findings from the research. Further details available here

Moving Towards a Barnahus Model: Setting the Scene for an Integrated Response to Child Sexual Abuse in Ireland, Feb. 2021

On 22 February 2021 the CYP cluster hosted a seminar on the Barnahus model of service provision to children in sexual abuse cases, with presentations from Aoife O’Malley, Manager of Barnahus OneHouse Galway, and Fiona Geraghty, Principal Social Worker at the Family Centre in Cork. A recording of the seminar is available here

The Special Rapporteur for Child Protection in Ireland: Stories from the Field, December 2020

18 months on from his appointment as Special Rapporteur for Child Protection, Professor O’Mahony accepted an invitation from the ISS21 Children and Young People Research cluster to present a seminar to explain what the role involves, and share his experiences so far. The seminar was chaired by Dr Deirdre Horgan, co-convenor of the Children and Young People Cluster. A recording of the presentation is available at the following link: Special Rapporteur for Child Protection

Creative Research Methodologies with Children & Young People, October 2019

On the 24 & 25 October the ISS21 Children and Young People Research Cluster, in conjunction with the Children's Research Network, hosted a masterclass on creative research methodologies with children and young people. The keynote speech was delivered by Professor Kay Tisdall, School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh. Further details available here

Community, Urban Futures and Faith Belonging in Children's Art, June 2019 

On the 11 June 2019 the Children and Young People Research cluster hosted a seminar on interfaith childhoods with guest speaker Anna Hickey-Moody, Professor of Media and Communication at RMIT University, Australia. Further details available here

Children & Young People Research Cluster Showcase, April 2019

In this showcase event, members of the CYP Research Cluster presented short papers on their on-going or completed research. A range of research topics were presented by colleagues from different disciplinary backgrounds including: the use of animation in children's research, the political socialisation of school children, the integrations of migrant children in schools, and the use of voluntary care arrangements in Ireland. Further details available here

Researching Children's Lives in a Digital Age, 5 September 2018

In September 2018, the Children and Young People Research Cluster hosted a seminar with visiting speaker, Dr. Liam Berriman, Lecturer in Childhood and Youth Studies at the University of Sussex, UK. Drawing on findings from a recent qualitative longitudinal study ('Everyday Childhoods'), this seminar reflected on the methodological and ethical issues that arise in researching children’s digital lives. Further details available here

Solidarity and Young People in Medellín (Colombia) 2 May 2018

In this seminar Yicel Nayrobis Giraldo Giraldo (University of Medellín, Colombia) spoke about her recently completed doctoral research on the ethical-political meanings of solidarity actions in young people from the city of Medellín (Colombia), especially involving young people living in areas affected by violence and poverty.

Human Rights Education in Children's Spaces, 20 March 2018

In this seminar Jonathan Todres presented some of the findings of his research on children’s rights. Focusing on the world of children’s literature, the seminar explored opportunities to partner with children in dialogues about human rights – their own rights and their responsibility to respect the rights of others. Jonathan Todres is Professor of Law at Georgia State University, Atlanta and a Fulbright Scholar at the School of Law, UCC during 2018.

In addition to the events listed above, the cluster hosts lunchtime seminars at which cluster members present their work. A list of presentations from recent years is available at: Children & Young People Cluster Seminars

Research Projects

ISS21 research projects linked to the themes of the Children and Young People cluster include:

CODA: A Hidden Minority Amongst the Majority (2023-2028)

TARA Project Trauma, Attachment, Resilience into Action (2022-2025)

Youth Volunteering: building capacity for the future (2022-2023)

Babbling Babies Experiences of an Early Communication and Literacy Programme for Infants (2021-2022)

YOUNGCARERS Sharing the Caring: Young Carers Access to and Experience of Carer Supports in Ireland (2021-2022)

TEENT1D Teenagers Transitioning to the Self-Management of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D): Exploring Day-to-Day Experiences and Developing Social Supports (2021-2022)

IMMERSE Integration Mapping of Refugee and Migrant Children in Schools and other Experiential Environments in Europe (2018-2022)

P4PLAY - People, Place, Policy and Practice for Play (2020 - 2024)

MusConYP Music Consumption and Young People’s Negotiation of Space in Direct Provision: An A/r/tographic Inquiry (2019-2021)

Childcare Proceedings in the District Court

Community parks and playgrounds: inter-generational participation through Universal Design (2017-2018)

Making Communion (2012 - 2013)

Children and Housing Estate Regeneration (2012 - 2013)

Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Children (2012 - 2013)

 Irish Child Abuse Inquiries in Social/Cultural Context (2012 - 2013)

 Seen and Not Heard? The lived realities of children and young people’s participation in Ireland in their homes, schools and communities(2012 - 2013)

 Reimagining Initial Teaching Identity and Learning (2012 - 2013)

 Volunteer-led Youth Work (2012 – 2013)

 Transnational Childraising (2010-2013)

Cluster Membership

For a list of cluster members, please click on the following link: Cluster Members

New cluster members are always welcome. Please contact cluster leaders Dr. Deirdre Horgan (D.Horgan@ucc.ie) and Dr Helen Lynch (h.lynch@ucc.ie) or the ISS21 Research Coordinator (m.scanlon@ucc.ie).

^{Members of the CYP Cluster at the Cluster Research Showcase, 2019}