News and events

  • 2025 CHYS Spring/Summer Courses

    Saturday, March 01, 2025 | By

    Students walking outside on Brock University's main campus.

    Whether you want to jump on the fast track to graduation, reduce next year’s course load, satisfy a program requirement or pick up an elective, Brock’s Department of Child and Youth Studies is offering a wide array of Spring/Summer courses to help you advance your area of study and explore topics of interest.

    Course Spotlight: Children, Youth and the Law (CHYS 3P39)

    ASY – ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE

    Interested in working with justice-involved youth and learning more about the ways in which children and youth are regulated through the law in Canada? In this course, you’ll examine complex and controversial issues in youth justice from critical and multidisciplinary perspectives.

    • Study the various stages of the justice system including police, bail, diversion, trial, sentencing and restorative justice.
    • Explore how law and justice are legal, economic, human, social and cultural systems.
    • Watch interviews with justice professionals that highlight the strengths and challenges of the youth justice system from an insider’s perspective.

    Required for all Year 3 Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice students.

    Fulfills the CHYS Year 3 Cluster C requirement and/or a CHYS 300-389 requirement for CHYS 4 Year BA with Major students.

    Prerequisite(s): CHYS 1F90 and CHYS 2P38.

    Other Spring/Summer CHYS Courses

    Spring:

    • CHYS 3P10: Qualitative Research Methods in Child and Youth Studies
    • CHYS 3P15: Quantitative Research Methods in Child and Youth Studies
    • (Cluster B) CHYS 3P20: Learning Disabilities

    Cross-listed (Summer):

    • LABR/CHYS 3Q96: Children and Youth at Work

    Learn more about our Spring and Summer courses.

    Registration opens March 5!

    For more information or to register for Brock’s Spring/Summer courses, visit brocku.ca/springsummer

    Categories: News

  • Child & Youth Studies​ MA Candidates Panel​ – Feb. 28, 2025

    Tuesday, February 25, 2025 | By

    Please join us on Friday, Feb. 28th from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for The Marini Memorial Speaker Series with MA candidates Sydney Running, Kirsten MacAulay, Chae Lynn Bush and Jill Ludwig.

    The hybrid event will take place in CRN 336 and on Lifesize.

    All are welcome!

    Sydney Running“Who Dates Who? Using Latent Profiles to Characterize Adolescents’ Mate Value Profiles” ​

    Presented by Sydney Running

    High school isn’t just a social hierarchy —it’s a dating game. Who gets the most dates, and why? Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) and adolescent peer nomination data, my thesis explores how traits like attractiveness, popularity, and even controversial behaviors shape adolescent mate value. In this presentation, I’ll share early findings on the distinct profiles that emerge, from the ‘cool kids’ to the ‘wild cards,’ and discuss how these insights help shape our understanding of adolescent social behaviour. I will also welcome feedback on how to improve this project.

    Kirsten MacAulay“The Heterogeneity of Adolescent Friendships: Individual, Interpersonal, and Contextual Examples”​

    Presented by Kirsten MacAulay

    How do teens navigate an illness that is consistently misunderstood, invalidated, or completely unknown? Furthermore, how does it shape their identity and relationships to others? Using qualitative methodologies, my thesis explores the experiences of 9 Canadian youth who have been recently diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), specifically focusing on how this has impacted their sense of self and relationships. Using the data from 9 semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis, I will be discussing the 7 overarching themes that were identified.

    Chae Lynn Bush standing with a city in the background.“Inhibitory Control in the Anxious-Impulsive Subtype”​

    Presented by Chae Lynn Bush

    Anxiety is often linked to shyness and avoidance, but not all anxious individuals fit this mold. Past research has shown that trait impulsivity may play a role in anxiety’s heterogeneity as its presence is associated with risky behaviour and poor academic performance. Despite these concerns, little is known about the cognitive profile of the anxious-impulsive subtype. My research uses eye tracking and self-report measures to explore the role of inhibitory control in the relationship between anxiety and impulsivity.

    Jill Ludwig on a boat with a dog in her lap.

    “Exploring Pet Death In Emerging Adulthood: Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis”​

    Presented by Jill Ludwig​

    The death of a pet is an impactful event in the lives of many pet owners. Many young people, categorized in the time period of emerging adulthood, may find themselves losing beloved pets in the midst of various transitions that come with their time of life. My study explores this experience of pet death for people in emerging adulthood through semi-structured interviews where participants are asked to highlight the important elements of this event in terms of their grief and well-being. The study uses interpretive phenomenological analysis to emphasize participants lived experiences while also leaving space for the researcher’s interpretation of the participant’s “meaning-making”.

    Categories: Events

  • CHYS Colloquium – Nov. 29, 2024

    Wednesday, November 13, 2024 | By

    Evadne KellyPlease join us for our upcoming CHYS Colloquium, “Exposing and Countering Eugenics in Education with a Focus on Children and Youth: The Offerings of an Activist-Art Project Series Called Into the Light​” on Friday, Nov. 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with guest speaker Evadne Kelly.

    The hybrid event will take place in CRN 336 and on Lifesize.

    All are welcome!

    Speaker Bio:​

    Evadne Kelly is an Adjunct Professor at Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice, University of Guelph. She is a dance artist and interdisciplinary scholar who recently led and co-created two projects that expose and counter histories and legacies of eugenics in education. The projects, including an exhibition called Into the Light: Eugenics and Education in Southern Ontario (recipient of the 2019 Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Award for Excellence in Conservation) and an online knowledge platform called Into the Light: Living Histories of Oppression and Education in Ontario (intothelight.ca), formed collaborations with activists, scholars, and artists across various disciplines and sectors.​​

    Dr. Kelly completed her Honours BA in Equity Studies, Anthropology, and Women’s Studies at University of Toronto, her MA in Anthropology at McMaster University, and her SSHRC-funded Ph.D. in Dance Studies from York University, which culminated in her book Dancing Spirit, Love, and War: Performing the Trans-Local Realities of Contemporary Fiji (University of Wisconsin Press). She was a Postdoctoral Visitor in The Faculty of Health at York University before receiving subsequent Postdoctoral Fellowships at Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice. Building on her 25 years of professional dance experience, Dr. Kelly focuses her arts-based research and creation work on community-engaged and devised methodologies for social justice aims.​

    Categories: Events

  • CHYS Colloquium – Oct. 4, 2024

    Thursday, September 26, 2024 | By

    Cate Denial posing in front of a building.Please join us for our upcoming CHYS Colloquium, “What does it mean to practice a Pedagogy of Kindness?” on Friday, Oct. 4 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. with guest speaker Cate Denial. 

    The hybrid event will take place in CRN 207 and on Lifesize.

    This presentation will explore three tenets of compassionate teaching: justice, believing students, and believing in students. We’ll reflect together on what kindness (and its lack) has meant to us within academia, and how we can – piece by piece – assemble a kind approach to pedagogy that meets the needs of our students and ourselves in a time of great change.

    The faculty and staff will be putting on a potluck lunch with coffee and tea for those who attend in person.

    If you are attending in person, please be there for 11 a.m. to get your food and get seated. If you are attending virtually, please log on for 11:15 a.m.

    All are welcome!

    Speaker Bio:

    Cate Denial is the Bright Distinguished Professor of American History and Director of the Bright Institute at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. Her new book, A Pedagogy of Kindness, is now available from the University of Oklahoma Press. Her historical research has examined the early nineteenth-century experience of pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing in Upper Midwestern Ojibwe and missionary cultures, research that grew from Cate’s previous book, Making Marriage: Husbands, Wives, and the American State in Dakota and Ojibwe Country (2013). From July 2022 to December 2023, Cate was the PI on a $150,000 Mellon-funded grant bringing together thirty-six participants from across higher education in the United States to explore “Pedagogies, Communities, and Practices of Care in the Academy After COVID-19.” Cate consults on teaching in higher education with individuals, departments, and institutions in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, and Australia. 

    Categories: Events

  • PhD Defence – Lisa Whittingham – April 30, 2024

    Wednesday, April 24, 2024 | By

    Lisa Whittingham, PhD candidate, Child and Youth Studies, will defend their dissertation “Is It Better to Be Known?: Understanding the Vulnerability of Autistic Individuals in Registry-based Programs Used by Police Services in Ontario, Canada” on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at 10:00 am in person at Brock University.

    The examination committee includes Dr. Brian Roy, Chair; Dr. Voula Marinos, Supervisor; Dr. Roxanna Dehaghani, External Examiner (Professor, Cardiff University); Dr. Kimberley Zonneveld, Internal-External Examiner (Associate Professor, Applied Disability Studies, Brock University); Dr. Maureen Connolly and Dr. Jennifer Lavoie, Committee Members.

    Categories: News

  • PhD Defence – Abneet Atwal – April 16, 2024

    Tuesday, April 09, 2024 | By

    Abneet Atwal, PhD candidate, Child and Youth Studies, will defend their dissertation “Moving through the system: The ruling relations of migration, mobility, and childhood disability” on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 9:00 am in person at Brock University.

    The examination committee includes Dr. Elizabeth Vlossak, Chair; Dr. Donato Tarulli and Dr. Kathryn Underwood, Co-Supervisors; Dr. Jay Dolmage, External Examiner (Professor, Department of English, University of Waterloo); Dr. Sandra Della Porta, Internal-External Examiner (Associate Professor, Department of Educational Studies, Brock University); Dr. Dan Cui and Dr. Chelsea Jones, Committee Members.

    Categories: News

  • CHYS Colloquium – April 4, 2024

    Tuesday, April 02, 2024 | By

    Please join us on Thursday, April 4, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. for CHYS’ seventh and final colloquium event of the 2023-2024 school year! We have our faculty panel, Dr. Chelsea Jones, Dr. Kaitlin Fredericks, Dr. Hunter Knight and Dr. Shannon Moore, speaking about their research.

    This will be a hybrid event, held in room PLZ 600F and on Lifesize. The faculty and staff will be putting on a potluck lunch with also coffee and tea for those who are able to attend in person.

    If you are attending in person, please be there for 11 a.m. to get your food and get seated. If you are attending virtually, please log on for 11:15 a.m.

    We hope you all can make it whether it be in person or virtually.

    Categories: Events

  • CHYS Colloquium – March 28, 2024

    Tuesday, March 26, 2024 | By

    Please join us on Thursday, March 28, 2024, from 11:00am – 1:00pm for CHYS’ sixth colloquium event of the 2023-2024 school year! We have Lacey Bobier, Post-Doc from the University of Toronto, speaking about “Dealing with Dress Codes: Girls’ Bodies as Sites of Risk and Distraction”.

    This will be a hybrid event, held in room CRN 207 and on Lifesize. The faculty and staff will be putting on a potluck lunch with also coffee and tea for those that are able to attend in person.

    If you are attending in person, please be there for 11am to get your food and seated. If you are attending virtually, please log on for 11:15am.

    We hope you all can make it whether it be in person or virtually via Lifesize.

    Categories: Events

  • CHYS Colloquium Jan. 25

    Monday, January 22, 2024 | By

    Poster for Fallon Farinacci event

    Attend in person or join via Lifesize.

    Categories: Events

  • MA Defence – Sarah Epp – January 12, 2024

    Monday, January 08, 2024 | By

    Sarah Epp, Masters of Arts candidate, Child and Youth Studies, will defend their thesis “Moving forward: Perspectives of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities regarding the effectiveness of Individual Support Plans” on January 12, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. via video conference.

    The examination committee includes Dr. Dawn Zinga, Chair; Dr. Donato Tarulli , Supervisor; Dr. Heather Lawford , External Examiner (Department of Psychology, Bishop’s University); Dr. Maureen Connolly and Dr. Tricia Vause, Committee Members.

    Categories: News

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