James McKechnie

I am a Developmental Psychologist with specialist experience in the areas of infant and adolescent development. I have a number of aeas of expertise which include (i) the nature, and construction, of childhood (ii) cultural influences on childhood experiences (iii) adolescent trantistions (iv) early work experiences and (v) the relatiopnship between learning experiences and school environments.

I have extensive experience of project management having been the principal investigator on a number of externally funded projects. Research experience includes quantitative and qualitative data analysis.

I am a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

At present I am working in two main areas. First, adolescent transitions into employment with a particular focus on 'child employment', sometimes referred to as 'child labour'. This research has focused on evaluating the potential costs and benefits of early work experience, exploring the school-work relationship and evaluating the policy and practice surrounding the regulation of child employment. This work has been been carried out with colleagues in the Child Employment Research Group.

The second area of work concentrates on evalutaing the impact of the school environment on student and staff experiences. This work focuses on a large scale longitudinal study of the impact of new secondary school buildings on student and staff experiences.

With respect to both areas of current research work the goal is to inform and influence educational professionals and policy makers. In the area of child employment this relates to the need to review the nature of the school-work relationship and to update child employment legislation to reflect contemporary childhood.

In the context of the educational environment research the goal is to encourage systematic evlauations of the impact of new educational environments on student learning and teaching practices.

Local and National government

NGO's interested in childhood issues

Trade Unions

National Network of Children in Employment and Entertainment