Children, Youth and their Environments: The Past, Present and Future of CYE Research

Janet Loebach (Thrive Design Consulting, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)
Kate Bishop (University of New South Wales)

‘Children, Youth and Environments’ has been a consistent and prolific stream of research within the EDRA conference since its inception. Many EDRA members have been instrumental in moving this area of research, and it remains a vital area of interest to researchers and practitioners around the world. Whilst some current themes in children/youth environments research have remained constant in their relevance over the past 50 years, others have been more dynamic, reflecting the contemporary social and environmental challenges of our times such as climate change, rapid urbanization, increased urban density, reduced access to nature, changing family structures, and falling birthrates. This workshop will draw together a slate of invited panelists who have been leading thinkers key to the continued development of the field of children and youth environments to help lead participants through an examination of the past, present and future of this area of research. This interactive session, facilitated by the co-chairs of the CYE Network, will be structured around 3 exercises:

Past: We will begin by inviting panel members to individually and collectively reflect on the CYE journey to date and the significant contributions to research, policy and practice that it has made. A facilitated discussion with panelists will focus on the major themes and contributions of CYE research over the last 50 years.

Present: We will then initiate roundtable discussions with all participants to workshop current CYE research themes, establishing the nature of contemporary CYE research and its challenges, as well as potential emerging areas for research.

Future: After sharing of the roundtable discussions, the workshop will conclude with a facilitated ‘Looking Forward’ session with the panel and the participants to solidify emerging and relevant research themes and directions which could guide the next 50 years of CYE research.

Confirmed panelists:
Roger Hart Professor, City University of New York
Louise Chawla Emeritus Professor, University of Colorado
Patsy Eubanks Owens Professor, University of California-Davis
Robin Moore Professor, North Carolina State University
Lorraine Maxwell Associate Professor, Cornell University
Willem van Vliet Emeritus Professor, University of Colorado
Helen Woolley Professor, University of Sheffield
Gary Evans Professor, Cornell University
Kate Bishop Associate Professor, University of New South Wales