Be part of a vibrant, fast-growing research environment.
Join us to make a difference in the lives of children and young people facing poorer developmental, health, educational, social, and economic outcomes.
Read on to learn more about our exciting research programme or contact us directly today.
For an informal discussion about Children and Young People research at Manchester Metropolitan, please contact Professor Saul Becker.
Our research
strength
Join more than 50 academics whose research and practice aim to deliver better outcomes for children and young people.
Our interdisciplinary research promotes social justice and challenges social and economic inequalities to transform young people’s lives.
The work we do is underpinned by theoretical rigour and is recognised for its ethos of youth-informed and youth-led research methods carried out with children and young people. It has attracted national awards, including a Times Higher Education Award for work in youth justice.
In REF 2021, we ranked in the top ten for research power in Education and top 20 for Allied Health Professionals, Sociology, and Social Work and Social Policy.
We are set to launch the new cross-university Institute for Children’s Futures in October 2024, bringing together our expertise and amplifying our impact regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Current
research
themes
Our world-leading research is aligned with UK government strategies centred on children’s futures, city-region priorities, and international agendas. We work closely with multiple local, regional, national, and international partners to co-produce research and to inform policy and practice.
Current research themes include:
- Youth-informed research: Internationally recognised and award-winning research with marginalised groups of young people to bring about real-world change.
- Multi-agency safeguarding: Pioneering research and engagement which explores safeguarding across systems, processes, and people, informing key national and international policies and practices to improve outcomes for children, young people, and adults.
- Education and learning: Our highly impactful work includes early childhood education, critical policy studies in education, EDI, mathematics education, pedagogical innovation, post-developmental childhood studies, and community-based learning.
- Young carers: Our internationally acclaimed work informs policy and practice in many countries, increasing national and international recognition and identification of young carers and developing services and interventions that lead to better outcomes.
- Children’s rights: Our research ensures that evidence on the rights of children to provision, protection, and participation in decision-making influences policy development and appropriate multi-agency practice nationally and internationally.
Hear from our
professors
There are minimal barriers to cross-disciplinary working here, making it incredibly easy to collaborate with colleagues across different faculties.
Hear from our
professors
This is a ‘can-do’ place for academics. We choose people who bring new thinking and new ways of working to help solve grand challenges.
Hear from our
professors
There’s so much happening in the city. And go twenty minutes in any direction and you’re in the most stunning countryside. That’s special.