London Interdisiplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
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Inclusive sensory methodologies are needed to improve understanding of homeless families with neurodiverse children living at the sharp end of England’s housing crisis. Academic research on family homelessness remains rare, and engagement with children’s experiences is even more so.
Working in collaboration with the Shared Health Foundation and the academic team, Dr Rosalie Warnock and Prof Katherine Brickell (both KCL Geography), we aspire to break new ground by developing experimental and innovative sensory methods for eliciting how everyday life in temporary accommodation is experienced by parents, neurodivergent children, and their sibling(s).
Part of this endeavour is pushing for more inclusive research design and dissemination in the social sciences. Through qualitative research with families in Greater Manchester and the design of a children’s mobile playhouse tent to communicate findings to diverse audiences across the country, the Leverhulme-supported team are proactively creating space for the knowledge of people with neurological differences – and those living with them – to be better represented and registered in academic research, public, and political debate nationally.
The study has high-risk ethics permission already granted.
The student’s focus of work will be on planning for inclusive sensory research impact from the study which examines neurodivergent children’s experiences of homelessness and temporary accommodation. The student will:
1) Conduct desk-based research on academic and third-sector studies which have successfully delivered inclusive, accessible, and high-impact knowledge exchange and engagement with young audiences and/or with neurodivergent audiences. What can be learned from these?
2) Research and explore different sensory technologies which could be used as part of the children’s mobile playhouse tent to communicate neurodivergent children’s experiences in a way that is engaging and accessible to a diverse audience.
3) Research potential locations for the children’s playhouse tent tour across England, including rationale for these, accessibility considerations, costs, and logistics, with a view to engaging the general public of all ages (including children and young people), plus national/regional/local policy makers.
More info: https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/internships/towards-inclusive-sensory-research-impact/