Academic research is
normally advanced by researchers performing a systematic review of existing
literature, identifying gaps, or questions still unanswered, and then designing
new research studies to fill those gaps.
At CSEL we want to go further. We
need to know that our research is not just interesting academically, but useful
in practice.
To this end, CSEL and the Migrant &
Refugee Children’s Legal Unit (MiCLU), based at Islington Law Centre co-hosted an
exciting, innovative roundtable with the aim of identifying key research
questions about child psychology in asylum and immigration cases. We wanted to consult practitioners and
decision makers working daily with young immigrants in the UK. The event was
attended - by invitation - by experts working with migrant and asylum seeking
children and adolescents, presenting an unprecedented opportunity for academic
researchers to climb down from their ivory towers and collaborate with practitioners
from a range of fields.
The event took the form of a
series of panels throughout the day, aimed at igniting cross-disciplinary
discussions to help shape future questions for researchers working in the
domain of child psychology, ultimately improving the use of psychological
evidence in children’s immigration cases to ensure fairer outcomes. Director of
MiCLU, Baljeet
Sandhu opened the discussion with an overview of the current
difficulties faced by lawyers representing young people in the immigration
system, and the role of government policy within this. Baljeet was followed by
CSEL’s Jane
Herlihy, who gave participants a brief but informative introduction
to psychological research methods, and valuable insight into CSEL’s work to
develop a breadth of psychological evidence in legal decision making. CSEL’s
post-doctoral child psychology researcher, Zoe Given-Wilson
rounded off the discussion before lunch by presenting a recent CSEL review of psychological
literature relating to child psychology and asylum, and the gaps and unanswered
questions that remain uninvestigated by current studies.
The afternoon panel began
with a presentation by Ravi
Kohli, who explored the discourses within professionals are
responsible for the care, protection and support of young migrants and the ways
in which these all interact in the complex context of the young person’s life
and development. Amanda
Weston reflected further on the nature of research in practice
with an engaging presentation on the treatment of medical evidence and research
in legal proceedings. Each of the presentations was followed by lively
discussion and the final session was chaired by Matthew
Hodes, who guided us towards the development of research
questions that ‘make the difference’.
Zoe will be working hard
over the next few weeks and months to clarify the research areas we identified,
designing methodologically rigorous studies and applying for grant funding in
order that CSEL can bring research findings that will complement the incredibly
difficult work being done for migrant and asylum seeking children and help to
further inform the process and support high quality decision making for young
people seeking safety and the chance to rebuild their lives.
