Dr Samantha Wilkinson
Dr Samantha Wilkinson
Senior Lecturer in Childhood and Youth Studies
My profile
Biography
I am a Senior Lecturer in Childhood and Youth Studies. I have worked at Manchester Metropolitan University since 2016. I joined as a a Lecturer in Human Geography, before moving to the School of Education in 2018. I am one of the Doctoral College Departmental Leads for PhD in Education, and Programme Leader for PhD in Education Research. I am experienced at leading and teaching on a range of units, from Foundation level to Masters level.
I am an interdisciplinary scholar, recognised for conceptual and methodological innovations in youth geographies, particularly in relation to the themes of young people and alcohol consumption; youth im/mobilities; and creative methods. I have published over 50 journal articles and peer-reviewed book chapters in high impact journals, and with leading publishers.
My current research is focused around two key themes: 1) youth and intergenerational alcohol consumption and 2) intergenerational mobilities.
Youth and intergenerational alcohol consumption
In September 2024, I was awarded, as PI, a prestigious British Academy / Leverhulme small grant (£9962.10), with Dr Catherine Wilkinson (Co-I), Liverpool John Moores University, and external project partner national charity ‘Friends, Families and Travellers’, to explore, through story-telling methodological approaches, young people’s alcohol consumption practices and experiences in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities.
Further, in September 2024, I was awarded as PI an Institute of Alcohol Studies grant to conduct research on intergenerational alcohol consumption practices and experiences in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities (£9,740.70), likewise working with Dr Catherine Wilkinson, Liverpool John Moores University (Co-I), and project partner ‘Friends, Families and Travellers’.
Intergenerational mobilities
I have recently secured (August, 2024) funding from MMU’s Research Accelerator Grant, to explore through an innovative ‘palette of methods’ intergenerational participation in junior parkrun, working with external Advisor, Dr Simon Cook (Birmingham City University).
Further to this, Dr Harrie Larrington-Spencer (University of Westminster), Dr Louise Platt (MMU), and I, funded by Manchester Geographical Society (March, 2024), are currently exploring the walking and wheeling access-making practices of families in Greater Manchester, in which a parent and / or child is disabled.
My academic background and prior research experiences are noted below:
I completed an ESRC and Alcohol Research UK PhD in Human Geography at The University of Manchester (2012-2015). My doctoral research explored young people’s (aged 15-24) alcohol consumption practices and experiences. This research has made significant contributions regarding the centrality of care, intragenerational relationships, and atmospheres of music and lighting to children and young people’s drinking practices.
Following this, I undertook a Research Fellow Post at The University of Nottingham, (2016) where I worked on a project which aimed to Broaden Our Understanding of Good Home care (BOUGH) for people with dementia. During the research process I had the dual identity of a researcher and carer, as I performed personal and companionship for people with dementia, whilst conducting ethnographic research. More recently, I worked with Professor Justine Schneider, University of Nottingham, implement Winston’s World as a Training tool. Winston’s World is a cartoon book based on the earlier research I conducted into home care for people with dementia. Through this dissemination grant funded by Alzheimer’s Society (2020), I worked with a home care provider to evaluate how Winston’s World can be used to support experienced home care workers, and prepare new ones to undertake this important job.
I also recently worked on an ERASMUS funded Reading Communities project (2021), which aimed to improve reading habits at home and at school, with a focus on those aged 3-12 years. The project involved the development of an app, based on the concept of ludic learning to stimulate children’s creativity and imagination through interactive games that allow for the creation of original stories starting from images and/or texts from classic children’s narrative of each country, promoting intercultural awareness and affection towards reading and storytelling since early age.
The research I conduct draws on both traditional and innovative methods, and I have published extensively on the use of novel, participatory methods with young people, enabling them to communicate in culturally credible ways. Methods I enjoy using include; interviews (peer; drawing elicitation); participant observation; mobile phone methods (including mobile phone interviews and text-messaging); and diaries.
Current and Previous External examiner roles
- BA and MA Childhood programmes at Bangor University
- FdA Early Years/BA Early Childhood Studies, University of Chichester and in Partnership with East Surrey College.
- Level 4 - Certificate in Higher Education Children, Young People and Families Practitioner Apprenticeship, Blackburn College.
- FdA and BA (Hons) Positive Practice with Children and Young, Blackburn College
- FdA Child and Family Studies, University of Bedfordshire.
- BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies and BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies (International) (Levels 5&6), Teesside University.
Expert reviewer for external funding bodies
Editorial Board Member for Children & Society.
Peer Reviewer of journal articles in:
BMC Public Health; Children’s Geographies; Drugs and Alcohol Today; Emotion, Space and Society; Ethnographic Edge; Fennia: International Journal of Geography. Geographica Helvetica; Gender, Place, and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography; GeoJournal; Health & Place; International Journal of Social Research Methodology; International Journal of Changes in Education; Journal of Youth Studies; Pedagogy, Culture and Society; Social and Cultural Geography; and Social Inclusion.
Mentor Peer Reviewer (2021-2022): For theChildren & Society journal Early Career Reviewer Scheme, where I mentor an early career academic to peer review academic articles submitted for publication.
Prizes and awards
- 7 nominations for ‘Teacher of the Year’ in the 2023/2024 Student Union Teaching awards.
- Nominated for The International Geographical Union Early Career Award in Geography (December 2021) presented at the 2022 Centenary International Geographical Congress in Paris, France.
- Nominated for Mildred Baxter New Writer’s Prize for article in Sociology of Health and Illness. Winner to be decided September 2021.
• Shortlisted in the top five out of over 800 nominations, for the ‘most prestigious award’ of ‘Teacher of the Year’ in the MMU student union teaching awards (2019).
• Nominated for ‘tutor of the year’ (2019).
• Nominated for ‘best postgraduate supervisor’ (2019).
• Awarded ‘highly commended’: What Research Means to Me photography competition, National Institute of Health Research, Manchester (2018).
• Awarded the Ray Hodgson award for best paper at Alcohol Research UK Postgraduate and Early Career Symposium. Paper title: ‘“It ruins your night though…if one of your mates gets too drunk, cos then you have to look after them”: Careful and Careless Drinking Geographies’ (2016).
Membership of professional associations
UK Council for Graduate Education Recognised Research Supervisor (September, 2024)
Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (April, 2024)
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (July, 2018)
Impact
My research has informed policy work (inter)nationally.
My publication on representation and responsibility in writing up participatory research involving young people was cited several times, and influential in shaping the research approach advised in the Poverty Alliance (2021) document Peer Research by Children and Young People and their Allies.
Further, one of my publications on young people and alcohol consumption was engaged with by the Health Promotion Agency (New Zealand), in their work on Diminished Inclusivity in Public Space, showing the international impact of my work.
Moreover, I was invited as an expert to be interviewed by the Strategic Policy Directorate in the User Centered Policy Design team at Department for Education ‘Opportunity Mission’; the team credited my input for “strengthen[ing] their ‘understanding of how best to apply these methods to ensure meaningful and longer-term engagement and impact”.
External Research Group and Committee Membership:
- Co-Convenor for Identities and Diversity Cluster of the Drinking Studies Network (2023-present).
- Member of the Drinking Studies Network Advisory Board (2024-)
- Award Officer and committee member for the Geographies of Children, Youth and Families Research Group of the Royal Geographical Society (with Institute of British Geographers) (2021-present)
- Associate Member of Manchester Centre for Youth Studies
- Member of The Childhood, Law and Policy Network (CLPN) Queen Mary University of London.
- Co-convenor for the British Sociological Association (BSA) Alcohol Study Group (2018-2024)
Teaching
How I’ll teach you
I am a research-led teacher. When I teach, I draw on the research I have conducted into Higher Education experiences of staff and students, along with my extensive experience of researching with children and young people to provide cutting-edge knowledge. As an interdisciplinary researcher, I am keen to draw on a variety of disciplinary perspectives in my teaching (including geography; sociology; health), to provide a holistic understanding of issues.
PhD Supervision
I welcome contact from prospective doctoral students who have an interest in the following areas:
- Children and young people’s im/mobilities and relationships with spaces and places
- Intergenerational relationships
- Alcohol consumption practices and experiences
- Innovative qualitative methods
Supervision
I have supervised the following doctoral research projects:
EdDoc, first supervisor, Manchester Metropolitan University. Project title: Changing Gaze Bryce-Clegg, A. (2024). Shifting the Gaze: Exploring Vitality, Enchantment and More-Than-Human Assemblages in Reception Classrooms. EdDoc thesis.
I am currently supervising the following doctoral research projects:
- Principal Supervisor, Manchester Metropolitan University. Project title: From Language Learners to Language Users – how using online video calling can support spoken language in MFL classroom - a longitudinal study.
- Co-supervisor, University of Manchester. Project title: DENtofacial TOxicity: Facilitating Advancement in paediatric Cancer Toxicity reporting And Liaison in Proton Beam Therapy (DENTOFACIAL-PBT). NIHR Clinical Doctoral Fellowship.
- Co-supervisor, University of Manchester. Project title: Facial Asymmetry in Childhood Cancer Survivors Treated with Radiotherapy. NIHR Clinical Doctoral Fellowship.
- First-supervisor, Disruptive Pedagogies: Movements Towards Alternative Understandings of ADHD, Co-Authorship, and Inclusion in an After-School Film Club,Manchester Metropolitan University.
- Second supervisor, Manchester Metropolitan University. Project title: How do Psychology lecturers and students in higher education experience the assessment process?
- First supervisor, Manchester Metropolitan University, Project title: Provisions for Breastfeeding in the Further Education Sector.
- Advisor for PhD by Publication candidate, Manchester Metropolitan University.
Research outputs
My publications are oriented around the following four key themes:
- Young people and alcohol consumption.
- Young people’s im/mobilities.
- Intra and Intergenerational Relationships.
- Creative methods
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Books (authored/edited/special issues)
Benzon, N.V., Holton, M., Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2021) Creative Methods for Human Geographers. SAGE.
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Chapters in books
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2023) 'Imposter syndrome and the non-pracademics: A joint autoethnographic account.' Professional Development for Practitioners in Academia Pracademia. Springer,
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2023) 'A joint autoethnographic account of two young women in academia: On overcoming imposter syndrome.' Academic Women Voicing Narratives of Gendered Experiences. Bloomsbury Publishing,
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2023) 'YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCEPTUALISATIONS OF COMMUNITY AT A UK COMMUNITY RADIO STATION.' Encountering Ideas of Place in Education: Scholarship and Practice in Place-based Learning. pp. 131-143.
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2023) 'Researching atmos- spheres of alcohol consumption.' Consuming Atmospheres: Designing, Experiencing, and Researching Atmospheres in Consumption Spaces. pp. 174-186.
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2022) 'Sounds (un)familiar: Introducing young people to the intersecting landscapes and soundscapes of a community radio station.' Unfamiliar Landscapes: Young People and Diverse Outdoor Experiences. Palgrave Macmillan,
Fenton, L., Markham, C., Wilkinson, S. (2022) 'Bright Lights, No City: Investigating Young People’s Suburban and Rural Drinkscapes.' Youth Beyond the City: Thinking from the Margins. Bristol University Press,
Von Benzon, N., Holton, M., Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2022) 'Introducing creative methods.' Creative Methods for Human Geographers. Sage,
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2022) 'Diversity and Cultural Differences.' Psychology of Education: Theory, Research and Evidence-Based Practice. Sage,
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2022) 'Sounds (Un)familiar: Young people’s Navigations of the Intersecting Landscape and Soundscape of a Community Radio Station.' Unfamiliar Landscapes: Young People and Diverse Outdoor Experiences. pp. 463-486.
Koops, T., Wilkinson, C., Perry, G., Wilkinson, S., Silverio, S. (2021) 'Making the cut: Mass media and the growing desire for genital cosmetic surgery by young women and girls.' Shame 4.0 Investigating an Emotion in Digital Worlds and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Silverio, S., Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2021) 'Academic ventriloquism: Tensions between inclusion, representation, and anonymity in qualitative research.' Handbook of Social Inclusion, Research and Practices in Health and Social Care.
Halliwell, J., Wilkinson, S. (2021) 'Mobile phones, text messaging and social media.' Creative Methods for Human Geographers. Sage,
Wilkinson, S. (2020) 'Mobile Methods for Exploring Young People's Everynight Mobilities.' Mundane Methods. Manchester University Press.,
Wilkinson, S. (2020) 'Introduction: Power, Identity and place.' Routledge Handbook on Place. Routledge,
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2020) 'Place, age and identity.' The Routledge Handbook of Place. pp. 225-234.
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2019) 'All about that place: Tuning in to community radio-listener diary accounts.' Sounding Places: More-Than-Representational Geographies of Sound and Music. pp. 231-241.
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2019) 'Childhood disability and clothing: (Un)dressing debates.' Intersectionality and Difference in Childhood and Youth: Global Perspectives. pp. 15-29.
Wilkinson, S. (2018) 'Young People, Alcohol and Suburban Nightscapes.' In Mateo, J., Eldridge, A. (ed.) Exploring Nightlife: Space, Society and Governance. Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 114-128.
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2018) 'Principles of Participatory Research.' In Coyne, I., Carter, B. (ed.) Being Participatory: Researching with Children and Young People: Co-Constructing Knowledge Using Creative Techniques. Springer,
Wilkinson, S. (2018) 'Being Camilla: The Everyday Leisure Life of a Captive Chameleon.' In Carr, N., Young, J. (ed.) Wild Animals and Leisure: Rights and Wellbeing. Routledge,
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2018) 'Principles of participatory research.' Being Participatory: Researching with Children and Young People: Co-constructing Knowledge Using Creative Techniques. pp. 15-35.
Wilkinson, S. (2017) 'Young Women's Careful and Careless Drinking Geographies.' Children, Young People and Care. Routledge Spaces of Childhood and Youth Series,
Wilkinson, S. (2016) 'Young People's Drinking Geographies.' Geographies of Children and Young People.
Wilkinson, S. (2015) 'Young People’s Alcohol-Related Urban Im/Mobilities.' Drinking Dilemmas Space, Culture and Identity. Routledge,
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Journal articles
Wilkinson, S. (2024) 'Relational drinking geographies: towards vital flows and ‘open’ methods.' Dialogues in Human Geography, 14(1) pp. 117-120.
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2023) 'Pain, no gain? A joint-autoethnography of our working lives as academics with chronic illnesses.' International Journal of Changes in Education,
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2023) 'The role of positionality in research ‘gone wrong’: critical reflections on research involving young people.' Children's Geographies, 22(2) pp. 234-240.
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2022) 'Not a hair out of place? Embracing messy positionality when researching the geographies of hair in Greater Manchester.' North West Geography, 22(1) pp. 11-16.
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2022) 'Using Persona Dolls in research with children to combat the insider/outsider researcher status dilemma.' Children's Geographies, 20(3) pp. 375-380.
Pollock, K., Wilkinson, S., Perry-Young, L., Turner, N., Schneider, J. (2021) 'What do family care-givers want from domiciliary care for relatives living with dementia? A qualitative study.' Ageing and Society, 41(9) pp. 2060-2073.
Wilkinson, S., Badwan, K. (2021) 'Walk this way: the rhythmic mobilities of university students in Greater Manchester, UK.' Mobilities, 16(3) pp. 373-387.
Silverio, S.A., Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2021) 'The Male Gaze or Male Gays? From Romance to Bromance through Performances of Gender and Sexuality by two of Love Island's Favourite Characters.' Sexuality and Culture, 25(6) pp. 1990-2009.
Silverio, S.A., Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2020) 'The Powerful Student Consumer and the Commodified Academic: A Depiction of the Marketised UK Higher Education System through a Textual Analysis of the ITV Drama Cheat.' Sociological Research Online, 26(1) pp. 147-165.
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2020) 'Performing care: emotion work and ‘dignity work’ – a joint autoethnography of caring for our mum at the end of life.' Sociology of Health and Illness, 42(8) pp. 1888-1901.
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C., Silverio, S. (2020) 'Further uses for Grounded Theory: A methodology for psychological studies of the visual arts and written media.' Qualitative Methods in Psychology Bulletin, 29
Wilkinson, C., Silverio, S.A., Wilkinson, S. (2020) 'The neoliberal university and the neurotic academic: A textual analysis of ITV drama Cheat.' Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(2) pp. 257-269.
Badwan, K., Wilkinson, S. (2020) '‘Most of the people my age tend to move out’: Young men talking about place, community and belonging in Manchester.' Boyhood Studies, 12(2) pp. 29-50.
Travers, C., Schneider, J., Perry-Young, L., Wilkinson, S., Scales, K., Pollock, K. (2019) 'Using a Reflective Diary Method to Investigate the Experiences of Paid Home Care Workers Caring for People With Dementia.' Home Health Care Management and Practice, 32(1)
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2019) 'Young men's alcohol consumption experiences and performances of masculinity.' International Journal of Drug Policy, 81pp. 102550-102550.
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2019) 'Young people’s safety practices when drink walking in the suburbs of Manchester, UK.' The Scientific Papers of UNWE, 2019(1) pp. 199-217.
Wilkinson, S. (2019) '‘She was Like “Don’t Try This” and “Don’t Drink This” and “Don’t Mix These”’: Older Siblings and the Transmission of Embodied Knowledge Surrounding Alcohol Consumption.' Young, 28(3) pp. 242-258.
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S., Saron, H. (2019) '"Wearing Me Place on Me Face": Scousebrows, Placemaking and Everyday Creativity.' Fashion Theory - Journal of Dress Body and Culture, 25(3) pp. 395-418.
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2019) 'Towards a research emphasis on (un)hairiness and health.' Andrognyny, 3(2) pp. 27-31.
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2019) 'The only way is ethics? Applying for National Health Service ethical approval and governance for research with children.' Children's Geographies, 17(4) pp. 480-486.
Schneider, J., Pollock, K., Wilkinson, S., Perry-Young, L., Travers, C., Turner, N. (2019) 'The subjective world of home care workers in dementia: an “order of worth” analysis.' Home Health Care Services Quarterly, 38(2) pp. 96-109.
Turner, N., Schneider, J., Pollock, K., Travers, C., Perry-Young, L., Wilkinson, S. (2018) ''Going the extra mile' for older people with dementia: exploring the voluntary labour of homecare workers.' Dementia, 19(7) pp. 2220-2233.
Wilkinson, S. (2018) 'The story of Samantha: the teaching performances and inauthenticities of an early career human geography lecturer.' Higher Education Research and Development,
Wilkinson, S. (2018) 'Young People, Alcohol, and Urban Life.' Oxford Bibliographies,
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2018) ''Working From Home': Academics and Airbnb, An Autoethnographic Account.' North West Geography, 18(1) pp. 11-17.
Wilkinson, S., Wilkinson, C. (2018) 'Night-Life and Young People’s Atmospheric Mobilities.' Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal, 3(2017) pp. 77-96.
Wilkinson, S. (2018) 'Researching Drinking ‘with’ Young People: A Palette of Methods.' Drugs and Alcohol Today, 18(1) pp. 6-16.
Wilkinson, S. (2017) 'Young people’s drinking spaces and Im/Mobilities: a case of ‘hyper’-diversity.' Journal of Youth Studies, 21(6) pp. 799-815.
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. (2017) 'Doing It Write: Representation and Responsibility in Writing Up Participatory Research Involving Young People.' Social Inclusion, 5(3) pp. 219-227.
Wilkinson, S. (2016) 'Drinking in the dark: shedding light on young people’s alcohol consumption experiences.' Social and Cultural Geography, 18(6) pp. 739-757.
Wilkinson, S. (2016) 'Atmospheres: Aesthetics of Emotional Spaces.' Emotion, Space and Society, 20pp. 25-26.
Wilkinson, S. (2016) 'Hold the phone! Culturally credible research ‘with’ young people.' Children's Geographies, 14(2) pp. 232-238.
Wilkinson, S. (2015) 'Book review: Imagining Globalization: Language, Identities, and Boundaries.' Progress in Human Geography, 39(2) pp. 236-237.
Wilkinson, S. (2015) 'Alcohol, young people and urban life.' Geography Compass, 9(3) pp. 115-126.
Press and media
Media appearances or involvement
Wilkinson, S. and Dye-Stonebridge, L. (2022). Why we need to talk about fertility in Higher Education. WONKE. [Online], available: https://wonkhe.com/blogs/why-we-need-to-talk-about-fertility-in-higher-… [5/04/2022]
Wilkinson, C., Wilkinson, S. and Silverio, S.A. (2019). Love Island 2019 needs bromance as much as romance to win hearts of viewers. Available at: http://theconversation.com/love-island-2019-needs-bromance-as-much-as-r…. Over 12245 reads, predominantly in UK, Australia, US, and India.