Full-Time

As part of the Tusla Development and Mainstreaming Programme, this piece of research is associate with the “Networks and Meitheal Work Package Evaluation Plan” conducted by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. This research area of interest is: pre-school children’s interactions in the context of early intervention, prevention and family support. This research aims to study how meaningful interactions with pre-school children receiving integrated family services, can improve children’s outcomes. It views children from a holistic perspective based on the Ecological Model and is guided by the National Policy Framework for Children & Young People (2014). A sequential exploratory mixed methods design will be applied.

Melissa was born in Brazil in an Italian descent family. Besides English, the researcher speaks Portuguese, Spanish and Italian. She holds a Pre-school Teaching qualification and a BA in Communications and Public Relations (UFSM), a postgraduate degree in Educational Management (UNIJUI), a Certificate in International Development (University of Ulster) and an MSc in Development Studies (UCD). In terms of professional experience, Melissa has a background working in communications, education (early years) and the development field. She has also set up (in Brazil) and been first Chair of a community association for child education for underprivileged children. She has been living in Ireland, since 2007, apart from working trips to India, Africa, Palestine and Latin America.
Melissa Bonotto- m.bonotto1@nuigalway.ie

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This research study examines why growing up in a one-parent family influences educational outcomes for children.  Recent findings from the Growing Up Ireland Study (2019) show that regardless of socio-economic status, children growing up in one-parent families have poorer educational outcomes than their two-parent family peers. 

Literature has previously established that one-parent families are a vulnerable group in society, and research clearly indicates the importance of educational achievement in mitigating negative outcomes for vulnerable children and families. This research addresses a gap in current literature, asking why it is, that regardless of economic grouping, children in one-parent families continuously have lower educational outcomes than their two parent peers.

A mixed methods study will be used to explore this research question.

Caroline has a professional background as an early years educator, with over ten years’ experience operating her own childcare service.  She holds a BA in Early Childhood Studies and Practice and a MA in Family Support Practice. 

Caroline Fahy-c.fahy4@nuigalway.ie

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Sibling relationships are usually the longest lasting and most enduring of all intimate family based relationships (Meyer, 2009). The inter-relational bond between siblings typically develops from birth onwards and can extend across the life-course. Nevertheless, sibling relationship dynamics can be strongly impacted when a sibling has a disability (Strohm, 2014). Family dynamics and routines change within the family and relationships between siblings can become more complex. Family patterns may frequently change in response to the specific care needs of a child with a disability. In some instances, siblings may provide vital support or undertake caring activities alone or alongside a parent for their sibling with a disability in order to help fill a care demand in the home.

A vast majority of siblings will maintain a high level of involvement in the lives of their sibling(s) with a disability across the life-course, often exceeding that of parents or service providers (Meyer and Vadasy, 2014; Strohm, 2014). Existing research indicates that young people with caring responsibilities (young carers) fare worse in many areas of their lives than their non-carer peers (Becker & Becker, 2008; Arnold & Heller, 2018). Moreover, there is relatively little known about the direct and indirect challenges faced by a subgroup of sibling carers who provide care exclusively for their sibling(s) with a disability in Ireland, as research in this area is quite limited and underdeveloped.

The principal aim of the study is to explore sibling’s perspectives of their lived experience growing up alongside a brother or sister with a disability in an Irish context. As the study is interested in understanding sibling’s experiences from their own frame of reference, a qualitative research design was selected using a narrative approach in order to capture in-depth and detailed information in relation to the research topic under exploration and to address the current gap in Irish social scientific literature.

Paula holds a BA (Hons) in Psychology & Sociology, Psychology (H.Dip) and a MA in Health Sciences from the National University of Ireland. Paula has many years experience working alongside families of children with chronic illness, special health issues and disability. Paula also has a professional background working within the NGO and charitable sectors as a health promotion practitioner facilitating family, child and youth development programmes and initiatives in educational and community based settings.

E: Paula Jennings -  p.jennings5@nuigalway.ie

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Adolescence is a difficult stage in the life of every youth because it is not only a time of extreme change and conflicts confronted with different lifestyles, ideologies, and values but also a transitional period between childhood and adulthood when they are clashing about their identity, asking ‘who am I’. Identity involves synthesizing the various parts of oneself i.e., goals, social roles, relationships into a coherent whole, so it is a period when youths begin to consolidate their self-perceptions into a coherent view of themselves. Marcia (2002) talks about the fourth personality structure of identity as the stage where teenagers face the psychosocial crisis of finding their identity. Child Migration Matters (2016) described identity as being a “massive issue” for young migrants as they struggle to find a sense of their own identity and who they are. My first-hand experience as a migrant parent of a child growing up in Ireland as well as being in supporting, mentoring, and coaching relationships with other African/Irish adolescents ignited my interest in this research. They have always presented the confusion around their identity and where they belong; they constantly express struggling with ‘fitting in’ here and this struggle has led to a lot of them emigrating from Ireland.

The purpose of my research is to explore the concept of ‘identity’ amongst African/Irish youths and to understand the processes they pass through in attaining their true identity. Researchers and theorists state that an individual's identity, especially adolescents’ identity is influenced by the people around them and the environment in which they live. This research will carry out a review of the theories and research within the identity/psychosocial development and bioecological approaches. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted amongst Africa/Irish youth to explore their experiences in identifying ‘who they are’ and their struggle in pursuit of ‘true identity’. It will also explore how the influence of family beliefs/ideologies/religion/customs, peer pressure, school and the environment affect their pursuit for true identity (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). The study will also explore experiences of practitioners and experts from around the world with regards to identity development among migrant youth to make recommendations for policy and practice in Ireland.  

While my interests in migrant issues are vast, I have found special interests in migrant children and youths especially around ‘growing up’ as a minority group and their path to identifying and attaining their identity. I discovered that these issues, the theories, and concept satisfy my intellectual curiosity and provide a meaningful methodological foundation. Therefore, it is from this theoretical perspective and challenging background that I am carrying out my PhD in Child and Youth research at the Child and Family Research Centre, National University Ireland, Galway. One of the interesting aspects of this research and past ones is the ability to place the ideas in the background of current events and emerging issues such as identity clash, empathy, and migrant experience.

 ‌   E: h.ogbu2@uigalway.ie

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