The Moray House School of Education
Staff Profiles

Qualifications

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

Principal Interests

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 particular areas of interest include:

• Qualitative methodologies and researching the social worlds of children and young people
• Citizenship and democracy in schools
• Violence, children and young people
• School surveillance, including the deployment of CCTV technologies in schools

PhD Supervision

I am happy to supervise research under the headings above and currently supervise doctoral students in the area of education for citizenship.

Biographical Note

My interest in children was established early in my career whilst working in residential care and therapeutic settings with children with behavioural difficulties. I subsequently trained as an art therapist, and then specialised in work with children and young people in a child protection agency. 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, all of which relate to understanding of the social lives of children and young people (Funded by ESRC, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Health Education Board for Scotland, Scottish Government, Barnardoes). I am the Ethics Officer for Moray House School of Education and a member of the Research and Conference Travel Committee. I am the co-ordinator of the recently formed SERA: 'Citizenship and Democracy Network' and a member of the 'School Surveillance Group' based at the University of Strathclyde.

Current and Recent Research

I have recently completed (with Professor Mary Simpson) a study of school geographies and the management of pupil behaviour, including attitudes towards the use of CCTV technologies in schools. I am currently working with colleagues on the following projects.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Publications

Selected Publications:

Brown, J. (Forthcoming 2010) '"They are just like caged animals": security, surveillance and school spaces', Special Edition: 'Surveillance and Childhood' Surveillance and Society see Surveillance and Society website

Brown, J. (forthcoming 2009) 'Understanding dimensions of peer violence in pre-school settings: an exploration of key issues'. In Barter, C. & Berridge, D. (Eds.) 'Children Behaving Badly? Exploring Peer Violence between Children and Young People' Routledge/Falmer.

Brown, J. and Munn, P. (2008) School violence' as a social problem: charting the rise of the problem and the emerging specialist field, 'International Studies in Sociology of Education', Vol. 18 (3-4), pp 217-228.

Brown, J. (2007) Gender, time and space understanding problem behaviour in young children, 'Children & Society', Vol. 21 (2) pp 98-110.

Brown J. (2005) 'Violent girls': same or different from 'other' girls?, in Lloyd, G. (Ed.) 'Problem Girls: Understanding and Supporting Troubled and Troublesome Girls and Young Women', London: Routledge/Falmer pp 63-75.

More on the School's Publications Database