This semester, I had the opportunity to work as a tutorial assistant for first-year undergraduates taking 'Introducing Criminology'. Over the course of 12 weeks, I facilitated two tutorial groups every Monday, each lasting an hour. It was a unique and rewarding experience, not least because I remember taking the very same module in my first year of undergraduate studies back in 2019. To return to it now, as a second-year PhD student, but from the other side of the classroom, has given me a fresh perspective on both teaching and learning. Structuring the Tutorials The role of the tutorials was to complement the weekly lectures delivered by their primary lecturer. Each week, I would prepare activities and discussions to build on what the students had learned from the lecture, aiming to help them critically engage with the material and apply it in new ways. I put a lot of thought into making the sessions as interactive and dynamic as possible, combining group discussions...
As I near the submission of my first-ever ethics form for my PhD research, I’m feeling a mixture of relief, excitement, and a fair amount of nerves. It’s been a long process of carefully crafting each element, from the design of consent forms to the creation of information sheets—each step making me more aware of the weight of responsibility that comes with working with children and young people. While I’m excited to finally get the ball rolling and begin my data collection, the journey to completing this form has been anything but straightforward. Fortunately, my supervisor has been an absolute rock, offering both guidance and encouragement when things felt overwhelming. The Challenge of Ethics: Why It Matters Before I can even think about collecting data, I need to gain ethical approval from my university. This might sound like a routine task, but completing the ethics form is a crucial part of any research process especially when your participants are children and young people. T...