Engaging diversities in a changing world: welcome to the new editors of Children & Society

Children & Society welcomes a new dynamic and diverse editorial team in 2021, bringing together international, interdisciplinary and cross‐generational perspectives on children and childhood studies. The team comprises Sarah Crafter and Martin Robb from The Open University, Deevia Bhana from the University of KwaZulu‐Natal, Yuwei Xu from the UCL Institute of Education and Liam Berriman from the University of Sussex. Their interdisciplinary backgrounds cover a range of fields of study, including: cultural studies and digital childhoods (Berriman); gender and sexuality studies (Bhana); critical‐developmental psychology and children’s migration/immigration (Crafter); social care and childhood and youth studies (Robb) and early childhood studies (Xu).

“Both personally and on behalf of the Editorial Board, I am delighted to welcome Martin, Sarah, Deevia, Liam and Yuwei as the new editors of Children & Society. They bring to the journal a range and depth of expertise, together with a strong and clear vision, that I know means the journal will continue to thrive. I also want to pay tribute to their predecessors Janet, Wendy, Sara and Rachael, who have made such a resounding success of their tenure. Thank you all, and good luck!” – Patrick Thomas, Editorial Board Chair

“We are committed to the idea that this is a journal that links both academic scholarship and practitioners. Academia can be very removed from those working in real settings, and we hope to continue the idea that C&S will not be an inaccessible journal. We want to bring academic scholarship into dialogue with practitioners both in the UK and around the world. C&S also hopes to be a forum for dialogue around policy  initiatives. The journal has always been strong in addressing the UK policy context, and it would be nice to see that complemented by bringing in the exciting developments and practice in other parts of the world, particularly in the Global South. We are looking forward to expanding the international scope of the journal.” – The Children & Society Editors

How do the editors plan to develop Children & Society in the future?

First and foremost the editorial team are committed to quality and the maintaining the journal’s international reputation, building on the excellent work of the previous editors: Janet Boddy, Sara Bragg, Wendy Sims‐Schouten and Rachael Stryker. They also have exciting plans to both further internationalise and diversify voices within the journal. The editors plan to promote diverse representation of scholarship and knowledge from different parts of the world and especially in underrepresented regions, such as the Global South. In response to global issues, such as climate change and COVID-19, the editors plan to develop new ways of engaging with the journal’s audiences, responding rapidly through podcasts, blogs and social media, providing a stepping stone to peer-reviewed articles and special issues published in Children & Society.

Tune in to a podcast with the Children & Society editors

To learn more about their exciting vision, tune in to the editors’ first podcast, which is already live. Hear from the editors as they introduce themselves, share their research interests, and discuss their plans for the journal. They talk about how they came to work together and their strengths as a team.

You can also read their first editorial published in Children & Society, outlining their goals for the coming few years.

Keep in touch

We would love to hear from you with your thoughts and feedback on the future vision for Children & Society. Keep up to date with @SarahCrafter, @MartinRobbOU, @Dr_YuweiXu and @liamberriman on Twitter and follow @CandS_Journal and  @SociologyLens for the latest updates.