Dr Harriet Churchill
Lecturer in Social Work (BA, PG Cert, PhD)
Email: h.churchill@sheffield.ac.uk
Room: Elmfield, LG14 | Telephone: 0114 222 6440 (external), 26440 (internal)
Academic Profile
I joined the Department of Sociological Studies in September 2008 having previously taught at the University of Manchester (2005-2008) and been a Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds (2003-2005).
Research
My research interests bridge social policy and sociology with a focus on the analysis of policies, services and everyday lived experiences in relation to childhood, young people, parenthood and family support. I am interested in the relationship between child, family and social policy, and engage in critical policy analysis for improvements in child welfare and family support entitlements, provisions and services. I have completed qualitative research about lone mothers’ experiences of negotiating motherhood and paid work, parental empowerment in Sure Start Children’s Centres and parents of teenagers’ experiences of participating in group parenting programmes.
| Funded Research Projects | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Sponsor | Details |
| 2012 | University of Sheffield | Parent Youth Relations |
Teaching
I contribute to teaching on our MA Social Work and MA in Professional Practice in Children and Families programmes. See:
MA in Professional Practice
MA in Social Work
I also contribute to teaching on our MA Social Policy programmes. I teach the following areas - child welfare policies, family support, child and family social work, child and family policies across European Union countries, social policy and research methods.
- SCS638 Children, Families and Welfare States
Postgraduate Supervision
Students who share similar research interests to those listed below are welcome to discuss the possibility of postgraduate supervision:
- Contemporary parenting and childhoods
- Social constructionist perspectives on families, childhood, youth and family orientated policies
- Family support
- Social exclusion, families and children
- Feminist family sociology / social policy
To find out more about our PhD programmes, go to:
Studying for a PhD in Sociology
Selected Publications since 2005
Churchill, H (2012) ‘The retreating state? Recent developments in family support policies’ in Kilkey, M et al (eds) Social Policy Review 24: Analysis and Debate in Social Policy 2012, Bristol: Policy Press.
Churchill, H (2011) Parental rights and responsibilities: Analysing policy and service user perspectives, Bristol: Policy Press
Clarke, K and Churchill, H (2010) ‘‘A chance to stand back’: Parenting programmes for parents of adolescents’, Children and Society, available on early article access from November 2010 online. DOI: 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2010.00346.x
Churchill, H and Clarke, K (2009) ‘Investing in parent education: A critical review of policy and provision under New Labour’, Social Policy and Society, 9 (1), pp. 39-53.
Churchill, H (2009) `Every child´s voice matters?´, in Durose, C., Greasley, S and Richardson, L (eds), Changing Citizens: The impact of local governance on citizens, Policy Press.
Churchill, H and Clarke, K (2009) A small scale evaluation of Manchester City Council’s work with families with complex and multiple needs, In-house report for Manchester City Council Children’s Services Director, Manchester.
Churchill, H and Clarke, K (2008) A pilot evaluation of Manchester City Council’s Parenting Your Teen courses, In-house report for Manchester City Council Children’s Services Director, Manchester.
Churchill, H (2008) ‘Decentralising public service provision and decision making to the neighbourhood level: Opportunities and challenges for local agencies’, Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, 1 (1), pp. 49-69.
Churchill, H (2008) 'Being a responsible mother: New Labour policy discourses versus lone mothers’ contextualised accounts', in Bridgeman, J., Keating, H and Lind, C (eds) Responsibility, Law and the Family, Ashgate Publishing.
Churchill, H and Clarke, K (2007) Parenting Interventions with the Parents of Adolescents: A review of approaches, programmes and outcomes, In-house report for Manchester City Council Children’s Services Director, Manchester.
Churchill, H (2007) `New Labour versus lone mothers´ discourses of parental responsibility and children´s needs´, Critical Policy Analysis, 1 (2) pp.149-162.
Churchill, H and Sanders, T (2007) Getting Your PhD: A Practical Insiders Guide, Sage: London.
Churchill, H (2007) `Children´s Services in 2006´, in Clarke, K., Maltby, T and Kennett, P (eds) Social Policy Review 19: Analysis and Debate in Social Policy, Bristol: Polity Press.
Churchill, H (2007) Decentralising public service provision and decision making to the neighbourhood level: Opportunities and challenges for local agencies, North West Improvement Network/ IPEG: Manchester.
Churchill, H (2007) Choice in public services: A review of the evidence, North West Improvement Network/ IPEG: Manchester.
Williams, F and Churchill, H (2006) Empowering parents in Sure Start Local Programmes, National Evaluation of Sure Start Report, NESS/2006/FR/018, London: DfES.
A full list of publications can be downloaded by clicking the link on the right of this page.