Tania's background is in professional youth, community and play work. Her research is on youth services, and how policy interacts with professional and voluntary practice and young people’s lives.

Tania teaches in the areas of education policy, child and youth studies, and interdisciplinary social science. She is actively involved in the In Defence of Youth Work forum.

Research

Tania's primary research area is the policy and practice of children's and young people's services, with a focus on issues of equality, participation and democracy. She is currently working with Louise Doherty to research how young people and youth workers experience evaluation and outcomes frameworks. Her book, Grassroots Youth Work: Policy, Passion and Resistance in Practice, draws on a three year qualitative research project investigating how youth workers experience a working context dominated by managerialism and marketisation in times of austerity. Tania is interested in young people's and children's experiences of education and everyday life in a changing policy context.

Tania draws on critical theory from a number of areas including the sociology of education policy, feminism, anarchism and activist scholarship. She is committed to sharing her research with practitioners, young people and other members of the public in a range of ways, including through creative workshops and collaborative discussions.

Teaching

Tania is the Programme Director for the MA Education, Policy and Society course and teaches on courses related to this MA. She teaches on the BA Social Sciences programme and was part of planning and setting up this programme. She also teaches on the (International) Child Studies programme and contributes more widely to teaching throughout the School.

PhD supervision

Tania supervises doctoral students and is happy to supervise in the following areas:

• Youth and community work.
• Democratic, anti-oppressive, radical and/or environmental education.

Further information

For publications and further information, please see Tania's research profile on PURE.