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Research Centre

Centre for Childhood Studies

Part of Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies

A line of young children walking on a beach with the sun in the background.

Project overview

The Centre for Childhood Studies offers a radical and alternative contribution to existing knowledge within the field of childhood studies, exploring the lives of younger and older children from a multi-disciplinary perspective. We will bring together scholars from across the whole University whose work represents a contribution to expanding our understandings of and approaches to children and childhood, filling the conceptual, methodological, social and political lacunae that still exist in the theories and research of mainstream childhood studies.

View our latest research project video - Be Yourselves Project – Forging the Links between Child Psychotherapy and Virtual Reality

Our key aims

to bring together scholars from across the University whose work represents a contribution to expanding our understandings of and approaches to children and childhood, filling the conceptual, methodological, social and political lacunae that still exist in the theories and research of mainstream childhood studies.
to build and develop an international reputation in the multidisciplinary academic study of childhood (birth-21 years), encouraging ground-breaking theoretical and policy relevant analysis, applied to understand and explain the lives of children.
to provide the development of an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to childhood studies forging important connections with other University Departments and disciplines, such as developmental psychology, sociology, language, neuroscience, history, anthropology, geography, literature and politics.

Tweets by ChildStds_Essex

Our goal is to apply ground-breaking theoretical research to understand and explain the lives of children.

Dr Norman Gabriel Director for the Centre for Childhood Studies

Our Director

Dr Norman Gabriel

Senior Lecturer

Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex

Our research

Be Yourselves Project

Forging the Links between Child Psychotherapy and Virtual Reality.

Key publications

Working in other worlds, the article begins on page 30 featuring research from Dr Norman Gabriel, Arianna Pulsoni, Dr Vito De Feo and Dr Katerina Bourazeri
The Sociology of Early Childhood - Critical Perspectives.
Carolyn Laubender: https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/pah.2017.0229 and https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15240657.2019.1559519
Soreanu, R. and Hurducaș, I., (2016). Children's imaginaries in the city: on things and materials. Children's Geographies. 14 (4), 422-436
Clark J, and Duschinsky R. (2020) Young masculinities, purity and danger: Disparities in framings of boys and girls in policy discourses of sexualisation. Sexualities. 2020;23(5-6):739-756. doi:10.1177/1363460717736718
Castro, I. and Clark, J. (2019) (eds.) Child and Youth Agency in Science Fiction, Travel, Technology, Time, NY: Lexington
Clark J. (2018) “There’s Plenty More Clunge in the Sea”: Boyhood Masculinities and Sexual Talk. SAGE Open. April 2018. doi:10.1177/2158244018769756
Nicholson, C. Dwivedi, K.N. Irwin, M. (2010) Children and Adolescents in Trauma: Creative Therapeutic Approaches. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Nicholson, C. (2018) ‘The needle dips and pokes’: Graves, Childhood and Psychoanalysis’ republished by request in Vestigia, The Journal of The International Network of Psychotherapeutic Practice. Volume 2, Issue 2, pp 299-315
Nicholson, C. (2012) ‘Relational Ruptures: The Psychodynamic Processes Influencing Care Leavers and Care Organisations’ International Journal of Therapeutic Communities. Issue 32 (3)
Clark J, and Duschinsky R. (2020) Young masculinities, purity and danger: Disparities in framings of boys and girls in policy discourses of sexualisation. Sexualities. 2020;23(5-6):739-756. doi:10.1177/1363460717736718 Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1363460717736718#articleCitationDownloadContainer
Castro, I. and Clark, J. (2019) (eds.) Child and Youth Agency in Science Fiction, Travel, Technology, Time, NY: Lexington https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498597388/Child-and-Youth-Agency-in-Science-Fiction-Travel-Technology-Time
Clark J. (2018) “There’s Plenty More Clunge in the Sea”: Boyhood Masculinities and Sexual Talk. SAGE Open. April 2018. doi:10.1177/2158244018769756 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244018769756#articleCitationDownloadContainer