PRR Project

Summary

Studies and education on children and youth in educational contexts and in particularly vulnerable or at-risk situations are part of the activities of the research centre and the department. The CIIE hosts a variety of research projects and courses on topics related to children and young people in education. This assesses their experiences, subjectivities and cultures of participation that underpin their diversity and inequality, and identifies and understands the opportunities, constraints and priorities to intervene in context to inform local and national policies and professional training programmes for children and young people´s education.The rapid change in different areas of society, which also affects the education of the youngest population, brings additional challenges for the social context and the professionals who work with them, and requires a closer link between research, training and intervention. Furthermore, child- led and youth-lead research have been raising concerns about the ethical challenges, their inclusion in the research design and the value placed on their perspective as insiders - both in the collection and analysis processes and in the results.Within an interdisciplinary approach, theoretical perspectives such as equity, social justice and spatial justice as well as intersectionality, materiality and ecological models have proven relevant to address social and scientific questions about young people and children and their relationships with schools, peers and communities, with the aim of avoiding exclusionary constructions and adult-centred visions. In this orientation, perspective such as decolonising and other critical approaches as well as youth- and child-centred visual, participatory and ethnographic methods are relevant to approach a variety of classical and emerging topics, such as daily educational experiences, educational pathways, transitions and employment, digital literacy and critical thinking of children and young people, or participation and activism, leisure and extracurricular activities, mobilities and interdependencies with the world that is more than human.This tenure will strengthen this area of research and contribute to the development of high quality training programmes for practitioners in child/youth work. The academic profile sought includes expertise in research on children and/or young people in formal and non-formal contexts, in vulnerable contexts and in the field of social protection and priority intervention areas, both in urban and rural areas as well as in areas with low population density. Knowledge in policy analysis and evaluation and in the analysis of the impact of European education, children and youth programmes and policies in Portugal.This position involves research, teaching and extension activities to the community related to the topics presented. The candidate should have a doctoral degree in Educational Sciences, with experience in research on youth and/or children in different educational contexts (schools and non-formal educational contexts; rural and urban settings). It is expected to demonstrate a high level of academic competence in research, participation in projects and publications, but also experience in knowledge transfer for the development of educational programmes and to society. This tenure will enable the consolidation of a sound and situated knowledge-based quality development to support policy improvement and create opportunities for knowledge transfer through seminars and publications. It is expected that this can improve the debate on the geographies and cultures of children and young people and on educational justice.