Dr Anne-Marie Smith
School of Education
Faculty of Arts Professional and Social Studies
Email: A.Smith3@ljmu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0151 904 6991
I joined the School of Education at JMU in 2021, as senior lecturer in Education and Early Childhood Studies, having previously held the post of course director in Childhood and Youth Studies at Bangor University. Prior to beginning a career in higher education, I worked as a translator, a language teacher (French, Spanish and EFL) in London and Mauritius, and as a children’s participation project worker in Liverpool.
My main research and teaching expertise centres around socio-cultural ideas of childhood and children’s participation rights, developed from my doctoral ethnographic fieldwork with street children in southern Mexico, as well as study trips with students to Romania and Uganda. As a researcher and writer, I am interested in autoethnography and methodologies that are creative and participatory. I have written about the emotional experiences of doing fieldwork, published in Qualitative Inquiry, and have supervised doctoral students carrying out fieldwork in different countries.
More recently I have developed an interest in writing for personal and professional development in education. As a qualified Poetry Therapy Practitioner, I lead workshops for students and staff in schools and higher education contexts.
I welcome informal enquiries from prospective doctoral students in any of the areas described here.
Languages
French
Spanish - Latin American
Creoles and pidgins French based
Degrees
2005, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, PhD
2000, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, MA
1991, Thames Valley University, United Kingdom, BA (Hons)
Certifications
The International Academy for Poetry Therapy, United Kingdom, Poetry Therapy Practitioner
Academic appointments
Senior Lecturer, Education and Early Childhood Studies, Education, Liverpool John Moores University, 2021 - present
Lecturer and Course Director, Childhood and Youth Studies, Education, Bangor University, 2011 - 2021
Lecturer, Childhood and Youth Studies, Education, Liverpool Hope University, 2009 - 2011
Postdoctoral Fellow (Childhood and Youth Studies), Education, Liverpool Hope University, 2008 - 2009
Postgraduate training
Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, United Kingdom, Liverpool Hope University, 2009 - 2010
PGCE (Modern Foreign Languages, French & Spanish), United Kingdom, University of Greenwich, 1992 - 1993
Conference publication
Garden A, Hirst N, Hennessy C, Smith A, Burns D, Turnbull Y. 2023. Storying the [ongoing] journey of the LJMU Wellbeing Journal: making molehills out of mountains by listening to student voices https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/studentexp/article/view/1419, LJMU Students at the Heart Conference DOI Publisher Url
Journal article
Smith AM. 2014. Old Fieldwork, New Ethnography: Taking the Stories Out of the Bag Qualitative Inquiry, 20 :699-708 DOI Publisher Url
Smith A-M. 2007. The children of Loxicha: Exploring Ideas of Childhood and the Rules of Participation Children, Youth and Environments, 17 :33-55
Chapters
Smith A-M. 2010. Paving the way for pupil voice: school councils campaigning for fair trade in Liverpool Cox S, Robinson-Pant A, Dyer C, Schweisfurth M. Children as Decision Makers in Education: Sharing Experiences across cultures Continuum Press 978-1-4411-2207-0 DOI Publisher Url
Smith A-M. 2009. The children of Loxicha: Participation beyond the UNCRC rhetoric? Thomas N. Children, Politics and Communication – Participation at the Margins Policy Press. Bristol 978-1847421838 Publisher Url
Book review
Smith A-M. Creative Universities: Reimagining Education for Global Challenges and Alternative Futures (2021) DOI
Conference presentation:
Creative Approaches to Student Research into Local/Global Issues, Re-Imagining Teacher Education: Transforming Learning for a Just and Sustainable World. TEESNet, Teacher Education, Equality and Sustainability Network (TEESNet) at Liverpool Hope University, Oral presentation. 2022
It feels good to unload on the page”: Writing as a Portal into Wellbeing for Staff and Students in Education Contexts, Advance HE Student Retention and Success Symposium, York (virtual), Oral presentation. 2020
The Notebox Project: Writing as a Route to Wellbeing, Educating Creatively Conference, Storyhouse, Chester, Oral presentation. 2019
Writing for wellbeing (W4W) in Higher Education: Process v Prescription, National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) annual conference, Oral presentation. 2017
Autoethnographic writing as research and therapy, National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) Annual conference, Stratford, workshop. 2016
Different Languages, Different Education: Pedagogical Reflections on Teaching and Learning in a Bilingual Environment, International Conference on Bilingualism in Education, Bangor University, Oral presentation. 2016
Shifting attitudes and critical thinking in students of Childhood Studies, British Education Studies Association (BESA), Glasgow, Oral presentation. 2014
Research Grants Awarded:
Liverpool John Moores University QR Funding, Educators’ Views, Experiences and Preferences for Continuing Professional Development in a Post-COVID Environment, Dr Fran Tracy, Matt McLain, Dr Craig Hammond, Dr Avril Rowley, Angela Garden, Dr Anne-Marie Smith, Dr Helen Poole, Dr Kaye Richards., Grant value (£): 1,500, Duration of research project: 6 months. 2022
Other Professional Activity:
External Examiner, BA Childhood, Youth and Education Studies, Coventry University, Oct 2020 - present.
Membership of professional bodies:
Member and Poetry Therapy Practitioner, iaPOETRY, https://iapoetry.org/.
Member, Lapidus International - the writing for wellbeing community, https://lapidus.org.uk/.
Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy.