Staff Profiles

Dr. DANIELLE KENNAN

PhD, B.A., L.L.B., L.L.M.,

Biography

Danielle Kennan is a Lecturer in Applied Social Science in the School of Political Science and Sociology and a Senior Researcher with the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre in the Institute for Lifecourse and Society at University of Galway.

Danielle has an interdisciplinary expertise in human rights law and the the study of childhood and youth from a sociological perspective. Her main research interests are in the area of children's rights, especially child and youth participation rights and she is experienced in implementing a range of participatory research methodologies. Danielle has secured funding, published widely and delivered conference papers in this field, most recently co-editing a 2021 Routledge Book 'Child and Youth Participation in Research, Policy and Practice'.

Danielle is Programme Director of the MA Child, Youth and Community and Co-Programme Director of the structured PhD in Child and Youth Studies. Danielle teaches on these programmes as well as the BA Child, Youth and Family: Policy and Practice and the BA Joint Honours Political Science and Sociology.

Danielle holds a PhD in Sociology (University of Galway) and an LL.M in Human Rights and Criminal Justice (Queens University, Belfast). She previously worked with the Irish Human Rights Commission as a Research and Policy Fellow and at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Research Interests

Danielle's research interests are in the area of childrens rights and their implementation, especially child and youth participation rights. She is experienced in implementing a range of participatory research methodologies , ranging from consultations, to collaborative research, to child and youth led-research.

Danielle has been awarded Irish and European funding contributing to the advancement of children's rights and engaged research activities. In 2022, Danielle was funded by the European Commission to partner on a project with a consortium of government and non-governmental organisations, led by the Children's Rights Alliance. The aim of the project is to work collaboratively with children and young people to advise government on how a child rights-based approach can be embedded in decision-making in times of emergency. The outcome of the research will be a prototype Child Rights Impact Assessment Tool and training supports.

In 2017, she was funded by the European Commission to partner on a European wide project, led the Children's Rights Centre in Queens University Belfast, to co-produce with children positive service responses for child victims of violence. The outcome of this research informed a national and international training programme for professionals working with children and young people.

Danielle co-developed the Youth as Researcher programme, supporting youth, from Ireland and internationally, to lead social research projects on issues of concern to them for the purpose of informing policy and practice dialogue. This programme is now delivered internationally via UNESCO field offices and was central to UNESCO's global response to understand the impact of Covid-19 on youth (18-35).

Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2022)	'Childrens participation in practice: comparing the views of managers and practitioners in an early intervention and prevention programme' Tierney, E., Rodriguez, L., Kennan, D., Devaney, C., Brady, B., Canavan, J., Forkan, C., Cassidy, A., Malone, P. and McGregor, C. (2022) 'Childrens participation in practice: comparing the views of managers and practitioners in an early intervention and prevention programme'. Journal of Children¿s Services, Vol. 17 (No. 1):73-93 [DOI] [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2021)	'Developing, Implementing and Critiquing an Evaluation Framework to Assess the Extent to Which a Child’s Right to be Heard is Embedded at an Organisational Level' Kennan, D., Brady, B., Forkan, C. and Tierney, E. (2021) 'Developing, Implementing and Critiquing an Evaluation Framework to Assess the Extent to Which a Child’s Right to be Heard is Embedded at an Organisational Level'. Child Indicators Research, [DOI] [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2020)	'Influencing policy and practice for young people in foster care: Learning from a model of collective participation' Jackson, R., Brady, B., Forkan, C., Tierney, E., Kennan, D. (2020) 'Influencing policy and practice for young people in foster care: Learning from a model of collective participation'. Children And Youth Services Review, 113 [DOI] [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2019)	'The Participation of Children and Young People in Care: Insights from an Analysis of National Inspection Reports in the Republic of Ireland' Brady, B., Kennan, D., Forkan, C., Tierney, E., Jackson, R., Holloway, R. (2019) 'The Participation of Children and Young People in Care: Insights from an Analysis of National Inspection Reports in the Republic of Ireland'. Child Care In Practice, 25 (1):22-36 [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2018)	'Space, Voice, Audience and Influence: Implementing the Lundy Model of Participation (2007) in Child Welfare Practice' Kennan, D., Brady, B. Forkan, C., (2018) 'Space, Voice, Audience and Influence: Implementing the Lundy Model of Participation (2007) in Child Welfare Practice'. Practice: Social Work in Action, [DOI] [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2017)	'Justifying children and young people’s involvement in social research: Assessing harm and benefit' Kennan, D. and Dolan, P. (2017) 'Justifying children and young people’s involvement in social research: Assessing harm and benefit'. Irish Journal Of Sociology, 25 (3):1-18 [DOI] [Details]
	(2018)	'Supporting Children’s Participation in Decision-Making: A Systematic Literature Review Exploring the Effectiveness of Participatory Processes' Kennan, D., Brady, B., Forkan, C. (2018) 'Supporting Children’s Participation in Decision-Making: A Systematic Literature Review Exploring the Effectiveness of Participatory Processes'. The British Journal Of Social Work, 48 (7):1985-2002 [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2013)	'Why we Still Need the Term ‘Young Carer’: Findings from an Exploratory Study of Young Carers in Ireland' Fives, A., Kennan, D., Canavan, J. (2013) 'Why we Still Need the Term ‘Young Carer’: Findings from an Exploratory Study of Young Carers in Ireland'. Critical Social Work, 14 (1):49-61 [Details]
	(2012)	'Accessing a hard to reach population: reflections on research with young carers in Ireland' Kennan, D,Fives, A,Canavan, J (2012) 'Accessing a hard to reach population: reflections on research with young carers in Ireland'. Child & Family Social Work, 17 (3):275-283 [DOI] [ARAN Link] [Details]

Book Chapters

	Year	Publication
	(2024)	'Contribution of Participatory Research with Children and Young People to Policy' Kennan, D., Horgan, D. (2024) 'Contribution of Participatory Research with Children and Young People to Policy' In: Being Participatory: Researching with Children and Young People. Cham: Springer. [DOI] [Details]
	(2021)	'Systematically embedding child and youth participation in Tusla¿s culture, practices and processes: Key findings from an evaluation of national training for staff' Forkan, C., Jackson, R., Tierney, E., Kennan, D., Brady, B., Martin, K., McCabe, A., Sheehan, M. and Lundy, L., (2021) 'Systematically embedding child and youth participation in Tusla¿s culture, practices and processes: Key findings from an evaluation of national training for staff' In: Understanding System Change in Child Protection and Welfare. Oxon: Routledge. [Details]
	(2021)	'Informing Policy Dialogue: the Youth as Researchers Programme' Kennan, D; Dolan, P; Anderson, E; Garrett, G. (2021) 'Informing Policy Dialogue: the Youth as Researchers Programme' In: Child and Youth Participation in Policy, Practice and Research. :30-42 Oxon: Routledge. [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2017)	'Fostering Social Innovation in Youth: Learning from a Youth Social Entrepreneurship Initiative in Ireland' Kennan, D.; Canavan, J; and Kearns; N (2017) 'Fostering Social Innovation in Youth: Learning from a Youth Social Entrepreneurship Initiative in Ireland' In: Youth as Architects of Social Change: Global Efforts to Advance Youth Driven Innovation. :277-300 Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2016)	'Activated Social Empathy for Child Welfare and Youth Development: A Case for Consideration' Dolan, P., Kenny, J. and Kennan, D. (2016) 'Activated Social Empathy for Child Welfare and Youth Development: A Case for Consideration' In: Routledge Handbook of Global Child Welfare. London: Routledge Press. [Details]
	(2015)	'Understanding the Ethical Requirement for Parental Consent When Engaging Youth in Research' Kennan, D. (2015) 'Understanding the Ethical Requirement for Parental Consent When Engaging Youth in Research' In: Youth 'At the Margins': Critical Perspectives and Experiences of Engaging Youth in Research Worldwide. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. [ARAN Link] [Details]

Published Reports

	Year	Publication
	(2024)	Building Childrens Futures: Using Childrens Rights to Recover from the Global Pandemic: The Childrens Report. Daniels, D. and Kennan, D. (2024) Building Childrens Futures: Using Childrens Rights to Recover from the Global Pandemic: The Childrens Report. The Children's Rights Alliance, Dublin. [Details]
	(2021)	Mind the Gap: Barriers to the realisation of the rights of children with disabilities in Ireland. Moloney, C; de Bhailís, C; Kennan, D; Kealy, C; Quinlivan, S; Flynn, E.; Phiri, J. (2021) Mind the Gap: Barriers to the realisation of the rights of children with disabilities in Ireland. Office of the Ombudsman for Children, Dublin. [Details]
	(2017)	Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making withinin Tusla: A Baseline Assessment Prior to the Implementation of the Programme for Prevention, Partnership and Family Support. Kennan, D., Forkan, C. and Brady, B. (2017) Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making withinin Tusla: A Baseline Assessment Prior to the Implementation of the Programme for Prevention, Partnership and Family Support. NUI Galway, UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2016)	Exploring the Effectiveness of Structures and Procedures Intended to Support Children’s Participation in Child Welfare, Child Protection and Alternative Care Services: A Systematic Literature Review. Kennan, D., Brady, B., and Forkan, C. (2016) Exploring the Effectiveness of Structures and Procedures Intended to Support Children’s Participation in Child Welfare, Child Protection and Alternative Care Services: A Systematic Literature Review. UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway. [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2015)	Toward the development of a Participation Strategy for children and young people. Kennan, D., Redmond, S., Devaney, C., Landy, F and Canavan, J. (2015) Toward the development of a Participation Strategy for children and young people. Child and Family Agency, Dublin. [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2015)	Wave Change - A Youth Social Entrepreneurship Initiative: Final Evaluation Report. N. Kearns, D. Kennan, J. Canavan (2015) Wave Change - A Youth Social Entrepreneurship Initiative: Final Evaluation Report. UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, Galway. [Details]
	(2012)	Understanding Youth Civic Engagement: Debates, Discourses and Lessons from Practice. Brady, B., Dolan, P., Kearns, N., Kennan, D., McGrath, B., Shaw. A. & Brennan, M. (2012) Understanding Youth Civic Engagement: Debates, Discourses and Lessons from Practice. UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. Prepared for Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI), NUI Galway. [Details]
	(2012)	Children’s Rights and the Family – A Commentary on the Proposed Constitutional Referendum on Children’s Rights in Ireland. Kennan, D. and Keenaghan, C. (2012) Children’s Rights and the Family – A Commentary on the Proposed Constitutional Referendum on Children’s Rights in Ireland. Children and Youth Programme, Galway. [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2011)	A Rights-Based Approach to Monitoring Children and Young People’s Well-Being. Kennan, D., Keenaghan, C., O’Connor, U., Kinlen, L. and McCord, J. (2011) A Rights-Based Approach to Monitoring Children and Young People’s Well-Being. The Children and Youth Programme, The Children and Youth Programme. [ARAN Link] [Details]
	(2010)	If I can make their life a little easier, then I'm happy: Study of Young Carers in the Irish Population. Fives, A., Kennan, D., Canavan, J., Brady, B. and Cairns, D. (2010) If I can make their life a little easier, then I'm happy: Study of Young Carers in the Irish Population. The Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affaris, Dublin. [ARAN Link] [Details]

Conference Contributions

	Year	Publication
	(2023)	Tusla Youth Participation Conference, Kennan, D. (2023) Youth Meaningful Involvement in Research. [Invited Oral Presentation], Tusla Youth Participation Conference, Mayo , 22-NOV-23. [Details]
	(2023)	Meaningful Involvement of Children in Health Research, Kennan, D. (2023) Learning from Children and Young Peoples Involvement in Research. [Keynote Address], Meaningful Involvement of Children in Health Research, Trinity College Dublin , 23-OCT-23. [Details]
	(2022)	Youth Participation and Civic Engagement: Future Directions, Kennan, D. and Dolan, P. (2022) Paper Delivered at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre 10th Biennial International Conference. [Keynote Address], Youth Participation and Civic Engagement: Future Directions, NUI Galway , 09-JUN-22 - 10-JUN-22. [Details]
	(2016)	The Lundy Model of Participation: Illustrative Practice Examples, D. Kennan, Forkan, C. and Brady. B. (2016) The purpose of this presentation was to provide illustrative practice examples of approaches adopted by Tusla professionals to comply with the different elements of Lundy’s (2007) model of participation. The focus in this document is on the different approaches adopted by Tusla (Ireland's National Child and Family Agency) as part of the process of facilitating space, voice, audience and influence. [Plenary Lecture], The Lundy Model of Participation: Illustrative Practice Examples, University of Lodz, Poland , 21-OCT-16. [Details]
	(2016)	Children’s Participation: ‘What Works’, Kennan, D., Brady, B. and Forkan, C. (2016) The purpose of this presentation is to set out the findings of a systematic literature review exploring ‘what works’ in terms of supporting children’s participation in the context of child welfare, child protection and alternative care services. [Plenary Lecture], Children’s Participation: ‘What Works’, NUI Galway , 07-JAN-16. [Details]

Manual

	Year	Publication
	(2015)	Youth as Researchers Training Manual. Dolan, P., Campbell, M., Kennan, D., Egan, K. and Greene, C. (2015) Youth as Researchers Training Manual. UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre: UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway Manual [ARAN Link] [Details]

Other Item

	Year	Publication
	(2010)	Inclusive Education for the Marginalised. A Publication by the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding under the Auspices of UNESCO. Dolan, P. & Kennan, D. (2010) Inclusive Education for the Marginalised. A Publication by the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding under the Auspices of UNESCO. Other Item [Details]

Report

	Year	Publication
	(2015)	The Role of the City: Impacts on Community Participation - Findings from the 3-Cities Project. Kennan, D., Egan, K., Walsh, K., Scharf, T. (2015) The Role of the City: Impacts on Community Participation - Findings from the 3-Cities Project. Report [Details]

Teaching Interests

Danielle's teaching interests are in the area of human rights and social justice, examining contemporary social issues affecting children, youth and families from a rights based perspective, with a focus on policy and service provision responses.