Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology
Education
Ph.D. Sociology, Middlesex University, UK
MSc. Social Science Research Methods, Middlesex University, UK.
B.A. Social Anthropology, African and Asian Studies (minor), Sussex University, UK
Teaching
- Introduction to Sociology
- Introduction to Microsociology
- Sociology of the Family
- Sociology of Childhood
Research
Microsociology, Global Childhoods, Family in Social Context, Identities and Inequalities, Children’s Rights, Play and Playwork, Non-Traditional Education
Current Research
Drs. H. Smith Brennan, and L. Porter. ‘Rejecting the narrative: reasons US families are embracing homeschooling as a viable alternative’.
Drs. H. Smith Brennan, L. Shaw, and J. McCloud ‘Rapid review of existing data and academic literature on playwork practice in the UK and USA’.
Drs. H. Smith Brennan and L. Shaw, ‘Playwork practice in schools: challenging social inequalities, impacting children’s agency, rights, and identities’.
Publications
2023 Storyteller and panelist, ‘International Women’s Day: Stories of Redefining Motherhood’, Gates Foundation, WA.
2021- Storyteller, the Moth Global Program alumni, multiple live performances and radio, USA
2018 Speaker, ‘Don’t Sink the Ship: Navigating Healthy Relationships at JMU and Beyond’, JMuse Café, James Madison University, VA
2017 Author, ‘Researching children’s play as a playworker-ethnographer’ in King, P. and Newstead, S. (Eds) Researching Play from a Playwork Perspective, Routledge
2016 Presenter, International Play Association (IPA), Rutgers University, paper title: ‘Playwork practice, children’s play and navigating the contradictions’.
2016 Presenter, Playwork/Object of Play interdisciplinary seminar, Institute for Visual Studies, James Madison University
2014 Presenter, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families/Family and Youth Services Bureau Annual Conference, Washington DC, poster presentation: Overcoming Barriers to In-School ‘Draw the Line, Respect the Line’ Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Delivery, Competitive Personal Responsibility Education Program (C-PREP)-funded initiative
2012 Book review, ‘Children and Social Change: Memories of Diverse Childhoods’, by Dorothy Moss. International Journal of Play, London: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
2011 Author, ‘Playwork, After School Care and Empowering Children’. Playwords, 43
2007 Author, ‘Not Something We’re New To, It’s Something We Grew To: Urban Youth Culture and Social Identity’. Journal of Creative Communications, Vol. 2, 219–244. SAGE
