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Political Science & Sociology

Dr. Danielle Kennan

PhD, B.A., L.L.B., L.L.M.,

Contact Details

Lecturer
Political Science & Sociology
Room 1024
UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre
Institute for Lifecourse and Society
NUI Galway

T: 091 495731
E: danielle.kennan@nuigalway.ie
W: Skype address: danielle.kennan Twitter: @d_kennan
 
researcher

Biography

Danielle Kennan is a Lecturer in the School of Political Science and Sociology. Her post is associated with the BA in Child, Youth and Family: Policy and Practice. Since 2009, Danielle has conducted and published research aligned with the work of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre in the Institute for Lifecourse and Society. She is currently Co-Principle Investigator for a specified programme of research within the Research and Evaluation Study of the Tusla Prevention, Partnership and Family Support Programme. This specified programme of research is focused on the extent to which children and young people’s participation in decision-making is embedded in the structures and culture of Tusla - the national Child and Family Agency. Danielle holds a LL.M in Human Rights and Criminal Justice (Queens University, Belfast) and a PhD in Sociology (NUI Galway). She previously worked with the Irish Human Rights Commission as a Research and Policy Fellow and at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Research Interests

I am an experienced applied social science and legal research. My research interests are in the area of children's rights, in particular a child's right to participate, child well-being and ethical issues when conducting research with children and young people. 

Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
Research and Evaluation Study of Tusla's Mainstreaming and Development Programme for Prevention, Partnership and Family Support: Children's Participation Work Package 01-JAN-15 30-JUN-18

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2017) 'Justifying children and young people’s involvement in social research: Assessing harm and benefit'
Kennan, D. and Dolan, P. (2017) 'Justifying children and young people’s involvement in social research: Assessing harm and benefit'. Social Studies-Irish Journal Of Sociology, 0 (0):1-18 [Details]
(2013) 'Why we Still Need the Term ‘Young Carer’: Findings from an Exploratory Study of Young Carers in Ireland'
Fives, A., Kennan, D., Canavan, J. (2013) 'Why we Still Need the Term ‘Young Carer’: Findings from an Exploratory Study of Young Carers in Ireland'. Critical Social Work, [Details]
(2012) 'Accessing a hard to reach population: reflections on research with young carers in Ireland'
Kennan, D,Fives, A,Canavan, J (2012) 'Accessing a hard to reach population: reflections on research with young carers in Ireland'. Child & Family Social Work, 17 :275-283 [DOI] [ARAN Link] [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2016) 'Activated Social Empathy for Child Welfare and Youth Development: A Case for Consideration'
Dolan, P., Kenny, J. and Kennan, D. (2016) 'Activated Social Empathy for Child Welfare and Youth Development: A Case for Consideration' In: Routledge Handbook of Global Child Welfare. London: Routledge Press. [Details]
(2015) 'Understanding the Ethical Requirement for Parental Consent When Engaging Youth in Research'
Kennan, D. (2015) 'Understanding the Ethical Requirement for Parental Consent When Engaging Youth in Research' In: Youth 'At the Margins': Critical Perspectives and Experiences of Engaging Youth in Research Worldwide. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. [ARAN Link] [Details]

Published Reports

  Year Publication
(2017) Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making withinin Tusla: A Baseline Assessment Prior to the Implementation of the Programme for Prevention, Partnership and Family Support.
Kennan, D., Forkan, C. and Brady, B. (2017) Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making withinin Tusla: A Baseline Assessment Prior to the Implementation of the Programme for Prevention, Partnership and Family Support. NUI Galway, UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. [Details]
(2016) Exploring the Effectiveness of Structures and Procedures Intended to Support Children’s Participation in Child Welfare, Child Protection and Alternative Care Services: A Systematic Literature Review.
Kennan, D., Brady, B., and Forkan, C. (2016) Exploring the Effectiveness of Structures and Procedures Intended to Support Children’s Participation in Child Welfare, Child Protection and Alternative Care Services: A Systematic Literature Review. UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway. [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2015) Toward the development of a Participation Strategy for children and young people.
Kennan, D., Redmond, S., Devaney, C., Landy, F and Canavan, J. (2015) Toward the development of a Participation Strategy for children and young people. Child and Family Agency, Dublin. [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2015) Wave Change - A Youth Social Entrepreneurship Initiative: Final Evaluation Report.
N. Kearns, D. Kennan, J. Canavan (2015) Wave Change - A Youth Social Entrepreneurship Initiative: Final Evaluation Report. UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, Galway. [Details]
(2012) Understanding Youth Civic Engagement: Debates, Discourses and Lessons from Practice.
Brady, B., Dolan, P., Kearns, N., Kennan, D., McGrath, B., Shaw. A. & Brennan, M. (2012) Understanding Youth Civic Engagement: Debates, Discourses and Lessons from Practice. UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. Prepared for Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI), NUI Galway. [Details]
(2012) Children’s Rights and the Family – A Commentary on the Proposed Constitutional Referendum on Children’s Rights in Ireland.
Kennan, D. and Keenaghan, C. (2012) Children’s Rights and the Family – A Commentary on the Proposed Constitutional Referendum on Children’s Rights in Ireland. Children and Youth Programme, Galway. [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2011) A Rights-Based Approach to Monitoring Children and Young People’s Well-Being.
Kennan, D., Keenaghan, C., O’Connor, U., Kinlen, L. and McCord, J. (2011) A Rights-Based Approach to Monitoring Children and Young People’s Well-Being. The Children and Youth Programme, The Children and Youth Programme. [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2010) If I can make their life a little easier, then I'm happy: Study of Young Carers in the Irish Population.
Fives, A., Kennan, D., Canavan, J., Brady, B. and Cairns, D. (2010) If I can make their life a little easier, then I'm happy: Study of Young Carers in the Irish Population. The Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affaris, Dublin. [ARAN Link] [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2016) The Lundy Model of Participation: Illustrative Practice Examples,
D. Kennan, Forkan, C. and Brady. B. (2016) The purpose of this presentation was to provide illustrative practice examples of approaches adopted by Tusla professionals to comply with the different elements of Lundy’s (2007) model of participation. The focus in this document is on the different approaches adopted by Tusla (Ireland's National Child and Family Agency) as part of the process of facilitating space, voice, audience and influence. [Plenary Lecture], The Lundy Model of Participation: Illustrative Practice Examples, University of Lodz, Poland , 21-OCT-16. [Details]
(2016) Children’s Participation: ‘What Works’,
Kennan, D., Brady, B. and Forkan, C. (2016) The purpose of this presentation is to set out the findings of a systematic literature review exploring ‘what works’ in terms of supporting children’s participation in the context of child welfare, child protection and alternative care services. [Plenary Lecture], Children’s Participation: ‘What Works’, NUI Galway , 07-JAN-16. [Details]

Manual

  Year Publication
(2015) Youth as Researchers Training Manual.
Dolan, P., Campbell, M., Kennan, D., Egan, K. and Greene, C. (2015) Youth as Researchers Training Manual. UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre: Manual [ARAN Link] [Details]

Other Item

  Year Publication
(2010) Inclusive Education for the Marginalised. A Publication by the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding under the Auspices of UNESCO.
Dolan, P. & Kennan, D. (2010) Inclusive Education for the Marginalised. A Publication by the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding under the Auspices of UNESCO. Other Item [Details]

Teaching Interests

I teach in the area of human rights and multiculturalism, children's rights and child and youth participation, childhood research in Ireland, research methods and ethical issues when involving children and young people in social research.