Exploring Childhood Studies in the Global South
Dr Afua Twum-Danso Imoh achieved a British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award (BARSEA) for early career researchers for her research exploring childhood and children’s lives in diverse contexts in the Global South.
The project, ‘Exploring Childhood Studies in the Global South’, facilitated ongoing discussions between researchers through workshops and the development of a virtual network of childhood scholars.
The project had a strong mentoring ethos as it sought to contribute to developing the capacity of early career researchers by encouraging their active participation in the project and facilitating their partnership with more established academics in its various activities.
Afua has previous experience of leading research projects around childhoods, including a research project on children’s perceptions of physical punishment in Ghana. She also led on a collaboration between the University of Sheffield and the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, which enabled early career academics and postgraduate students in both countries to develop their knowledge relating to the construction of sexual identities amongst children and young adults In Ghana and the implications of this for how they understand sexual violence and oppression.
Additionally, in 2012 Afua was awarded a University of Sheffield Collaborative Research and Development and Partnership Award for a project entitled ‘Facilitating Children’s Participation in the Niger Delta’, with a particular focus on children’s participation in non-governmental organisations. This project was carried out with Stepping Stones Nigeria, a UK-based organisation that works on children’s rights in the Niger Delta.
Much of Afua’s findings from these research studies have been published in a number of co-edited collections, as well as in peer-reviewed journals.