Professor Jackie Sanders MA, PhD

Jackie Sanders is the Director of the Children, Youth and Families Research Project. This is a research programme that focuses upon identifying changing patterns of family life and the different ways in which parents and children/young people respond to change. It is particularly interested in identifying matters that impact upon wellbeing of parents and children, and developing new models of family work practice that take account of these matters. The programme works from a strengths-based philosophy and all the research programmes are multi-disciplinary in nature. The project has already undertaken several long term pieces of research that have had both a social service organisation and a community development focus. The project works collaboratively and we are keen to develop research and practice partnerships with a range of other individuals and organisations. Jackie comes to Massey with twenty years experience in health and social service planning and management. She has worked on a number of school research projects over the past seven years and is also contributing to the development of new teaching programmes, particularly those with a focus on research. Her interests are the study of children and families, evaluation and planning for social service delivery and the development of new models of practice.

Key Research Relationships:

The International Resilience Project (IRP): http://www.resilienceproject.org/

The Donald Beasley Institute: http://www.donaldbeasley.org.nz/

Youthline: http://youthline.co.nz/services/research-and-advocacy.html

Te Aroha Noa Community Services http://www.tearohanoa.org.nz/

National University of Ireland, Galway http://www.nuigalway.ie/childandfamilyresearch/international_advisory.php

International Association for Outcomes-based Research in Child and Family Services (IAOBERfcs) and Foundazione Zancan (Italy) http://fondazionezancan.it/en/fondazione

UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth & Civic Engagement: Resilience and Civic Engagement Network Agreement

At a meeting in Singapore in October 2009, the UNESCO Chair formed an alliance with the Resilience Research Centre at Dalhousie University in Canada (Professor Michael Ungar and Dr Linda Liebenberg) and the resilience research team at Massey University in New Zealand (Professor Robyn Munford and Associate Professor Jackie Sanders). An MOU between these institutions was signed in 2010. Civic engagement as a means of enabling resilience and social support capacity represents one of the core domains of interest of the Chair. This alliance intends to contribute to improving children and young people's outcomes globally by building knowledge regarding the role of resilience in wellbeing. This knowledge will inform the development of policy and child and family services that are sensitive to cultural difference. The research activities that will be undertaken by the alliance partners has significant potential to contribute to knowledge concerning building resilience among children and young people in post conflict and fragile states and countries in development and/or transition. The partners are committed to capacity building in these nations.

Research Funding:

Funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology

Pathways to Resilience

This five-year research programme offers a unique opportunity to generate policy and practice-relevant evidence concerning the pathways that children and young people travel leading to involvement with the youth justice, child protection, specialist educational and community support systems. It will also study the factors that protect them from such involvement and the characteristics of the most effective interventions. The children and young people who are the focus of this research experience severe and persistent disadvantage throughout their early lives; they are least likely to participate and succeed in society. The Pathways to Resilience Programme will inform development of policy and practice concerning key individual and ecological differences between those who overcome adversity (resilient) those who do not (non-resilient), and the types of service configurations that most enhance their resilience.

Leaders for both projects are: Professor Robyn Munford and Dr Jackie Sanders

Long-term Successful Youth Transitions

Long-term Successful Youth Transitions - this longitudinal research project builds on the Pathways to Resilience project and explores the transitions made by young people focusing on their work, education and life projects.

Lotteries Commission

In Association with Te Aroha Noa Community Services - Community Responses to Violence

This project examines proximal and distal changes in family violence after participation in a community-based family violence prevention initiative

Previous Research

The Johns Hopkins Comparative Study of the Non-profit Sector

Partners/funders:

Ministry of Social Development

Johns Hopkins University

Youth Wellbeing

Partners/funders:

Foundation for Research Science and Technology

The International Resilience Project

Parenting

Partners/funders:

The Donald Beasley Institute

The Health Research Council

Community Centre Practice

Partners/funders:

Te Aroha Noa Community Services

The Families Commission

The International Association for Outcome-based Research in Child and Family Services (IAOBERfcs)

NGO Social Services

Partners/funders:

Presbyterian Support Services, Upper South Island

Whanganui Community Foundation.

News

Supporting Families. 2010 Dunmore Press. J Sanders and R Munford

Working with Families: Strengths-based approaches by Jackie Sanders and Robyn Munford is written with both the student of social and community work and the practising social and community worker in mind. All aspects of social and community work are covered in this book that builds on and substantially extends the authors' earlier work 'Supporting Families (1999)'.

This edition continues a strong emphasis upon context, the cornerstone of effective social and community work practice. It covers the key areas of reflective practice, policy, management and leadership, approaches to support and diversity.

Each chapter contains questions that can be used as teaching aids or reflection prompters in practice.

The book includes a new chapter which provides a detailed examination of current 'stengths-based' thinking internationally.