Dr Jen Skattebol

Overview

Jen Skattebol, Dip Ed (EC), B.Ed., PhD, Research Fellow SPRC, conducts policy relevant research related to the lives of children, young people and their families. She has expertise in the design of methodologies which are sensitive to the politics of marginalisation, and in incorporating educational and capacity building elements in research design. Dr Skattebol has experience teaching in early childhood and primary settings and spent 10 years as a teaching academic in the School of Education at the University of Western Sydney. In 2008, she was awarded a Creswick Foundation Scholarship to investigate the leadership challenges in integrated service provision. She has recently completed a major project Making a Difference: Young people's experiences of economic adversity.

Research Summary

Current projects
2011-2015 Are the kids alright? Understanding the wellbeing of Australian children in their middle years - with Dr Gerry Redmond and Professor Peter Saunders. (ARC Linkage Program - $412,311.00)
The 'middle years' of ages 8-14 are now recognised as crucial years for children's development. This project will address a gap in knowledge about Australian children's wellbeing through developing a survey and analysis of wellbeing among 8-14 year olds in Australia. It will focus on how both disadvantaged and advantaged children understand their wellbeing. It will pay attention to the whole child through examination of relationships between different dimensions of wellbeing. And it will contribute to the development of a new internationally comparative study of child wellbeing in the middle years. Findings will inform policy on the effectiveness of early childhood policies and on improving wellbeing, especially among children who experience disadvantage.

2010-2014 Families at the Centre: Negotiating Australia's Mixed Market in Early Education and Care - with Professor Deborah Brennan . (ARC Linkage Program - $359,390)
Despite a surge of policy reforms and Australian government investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC), little is known in Australia about how local ECEC markets function and how low-income families make decisions about the use or non-use of child care services. This project will provide evidence for policy-making and service provision that aims to encourage child care use by low-income families. The direct involvement of child care providers in the research will strengthen its relevance and impact. This research will place Australia at the forefront of international research on local child care markets, and resulting improvements.

Evaluation of the Impact: Make your Mark Program. (The Smith Family, 2013)
Evaluation of Glebe Pathways Project (2013)
Evaluation of Youth Housing and Reintegration Scheme (Queensland Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability, 2012-2013)

Completed Projects
Body image? What do young Indigenous Australians and young people in insecure housing think? (DEEWR - NYARS 2011 - 2012).
Long term unemployed and Jobless people (2012). Report for Campbell Page.
Because children and families matter: Delivering on the National Reform Agenda Uniting care 2009

Teaching

HDR Supervision
Jen Skattebol welcomes enquires from prospective Higher Research Candidates interested in children and young people’s experiences, families with young children, services for low income and/or culturally diverse communities, practitioner or participatory research methods.

Dr Skattebol is currently supervising Inara Walden, Jan Idle and Kabir Islam

Publications

Recent publications

Book
Skattebol, J. (2010), (re)searching shared meanings between teachers and children; identities, being and belonging. VDM Verlag, Saabrucken.

Reports
Skattebol, J., Hamilton, M., Brennan, D., (2012) Long term unemployed and Jobless people. Report for Campbell Page.

Flaxman, S., Skattebol, J., Bedford, M., & valentine. (2012) Body Image and Disadvantaged / Vulnerable Youth. NYARS Scheme. DEEWR Office for Youth.

Adamson, E., Skattebol, J., valentine, k., Brennan, D., Katz, I., Helyar, S., Woodruff, J. and Bevan, K. (2009), 'Because children and families matter: Delivering on the National Reform Agenda'', report prepared for Uniting Care Australia.

Dockett, S., Perry, B., Mason, T., Simpson, T., Howard, P., Whitton, D., Gilbert ,S., Pearce, S., Sanagavarapu, P., Skattebol, J., Woodrow, C. (2007) Successful transition programs from prior-to-school to school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.Report to NSW Department of Education and Training.

Recent reports
Skattebol, J., Saunders, P., Redmond, Bedford, M. and Cass, B. (2012), ‘Making a Difference: Building on Young People's Experiences of Economic Adversity (PDF) (2 Mb)’, Final report prepared from the ARC Linkage Project, 'Making a Difference: Building on Children’s Perspectives on Economic Adversity', Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney.

Recent journal articles
Skattebol, J .,& Arthur, L (2013) >Collaborative practitioner research: Opening a third space for local knowledge production.', Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education ,

Skattebol, J., '"When the money's low": economic participation among disadvantaged young Australians', Children and Youth Services Review, available online 2 June 2010, DOI:10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.05.007.

Skattebol, J., (2010) 'Affect: a tool to politicise pedagogy', Discourse. Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 31 (1), 75-91.

Skattebol, J ., and Michail, S. (2008), 'Research on and with children and young people at the SPRC', SPRC Newsletter Issue 100 (PDF), Dec. 2008, 8-9.

Skattebol, J., and Griffiths, M., (2008), 'Making a difference: young people's perspectives of economic adversity', Association of Children's Welfare Agencies News,Oct/Nov, 6.

Press, F., and Skattebol, J. (2007), 'Early childhood activism, minor politics and resuscitating vision: a tentative foray into the use of "intersections" to influence early childhood policy', Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, (8) 3, 180-191.

Skattebol, J. and Ferfolja, T. (2007), 'Voices from an enclave: Lesbian mothers' experiences of child care, Australian Journal of Early Childhood, (32) 1, 10-18.

Skattebol, J., (2007), 'Through their mother's eyes: the impact of heteronormative paradigms in child care on lesbian- and gay- headed families', International Journal of Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood, (5) 2, 47-63.

Skattebol, J. (2006), 'Playing boys: identity and belonging in the early years', Gender and Education, 18 (5), 507- 522.

Skattebol, J. (2005), 'Insider/outsider belongings: traversing the borders of whiteness',Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 6 (2), 189-203.

Gilbert, S. and Skattebol, J. (2004), 'Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families', in Johnston C. ed, Does this Child Need Help? Identification and Early Intervention, Australian Early Intervention Association, NSW Chapter, 24-30.

Skattebol, J. (2003), 'Dark, dark and darker: Children's negotiations of identity', Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 4 (2), 149-166.

Awards and Fellowships

2008 Creswick Foundation for Child and Family Development: Workforce
development in integrated early childhood services.
2005 UWS Vice Chancellors Award for Social Justice.

Contributions

Dr Skattebol is a member of the UNSW Human Research Ethics Committee.

Jennifer is also a regular reviewer for academic journals including Discourse: Cultural Studies in the politics of Education; Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, Australian Educational Researcher, Qualitative Studies in Education, Child Indicators Research.

Other Information

Memberships:
TASA
ARACY
ISCI
KU Children's Services Board