Jack Aldridge Deacon

Contact

• workRoom A35 Law and Social Sciences Building
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• Jack.AldridgeDeacon@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

I am currently undertaking an ESRC-funded PhD in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham. I hold a BA (Hons) degree in Health and Social Care from Nottingham Trent University, and an MA in Research Methods (Social Policy) from the University of Nottingham.

Prior to beginning my PhD, I worked as a researcher for a charitable organisation offering services and support for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) in the UK. The experiences and insights gained during my tenure as an organisational researcher - as well as subsequent time spent volunteering with UASC from a variety of national, cultural and experiential backgrounds - made me acutely aware of the challenging circumstances experienced by these young people, and led me to pursue a PhD focused on the nature of unaccompanied children's asylum experiences.

Research Summary

My PhD is an ethnographic study of unaccompanied asylum seeking children's experiences of the asylum application process in the UK. My ethnographic work utilises an array of methods - including semi-… read more

Current Research

My PhD is an ethnographic study of unaccompanied asylum seeking children's experiences of the asylum application process in the UK. My ethnographic work utilises an array of methods - including semi- and unstructured-interviews, as well as 'deep hanging out' - to unpack and understand the nature of children's encounters with the asylum system, as well as the challenges associated with seeking asylum in a UK context that has become increasingly hostile to migrants of all backgrounds and ages. My project is premised upon the notion that academic knowledge and evidence-based policy pertaining to UASC should be influenced and informed by the views, opinions and insights of children themselves. As such, children's voices are at the very heart of my project, and my research activities are geared towards the ethical and sensitive elicitation of unaccompanied children's perspectives, that these might be used to inform more humane asylum policies and practices enacted by the state.