New chair in Educational Theory and Law bridges the gap between research and child protection
Dr Anouk Goemans has been appointed professor by special appointment of Youth Services and child protection from an educational and legal perspective from 1 November 2024. This chair is funded by the Pro Juventute Support Fund Foundation and serves as a bridge between the Department of Child Law and Health Law and the Institute of Education and Child Studies.
Professor Mariëlle Bruning and Professor Lenneke Alink and their colleagues from Leiden Law School and the Faculty of Social Sciences, have already established a close collaboration in teaching and research over the past decade. They regularly carry out multidisciplinary research projects in the fields of youth services and child protection, child abuse and family law and also teach in the Leiden minor Child Abuse.
'We're very pleased with the new chair at the intersection of educational theory and law and look forward to working with Anouk Goemans. With this appointment, we can start paying even more attention to building bridges between research and practice and supporting professionals working in youth services and child protection by applying scientific insights.'
Bridging the gap between research and child protection
Anouk Goemans previously worked with a Rubicon grant from NWO for a year as a visiting researcher at University College London and as an associate professor at the Institute of Education and Child Studies on the topic of youth services, foster care, and decision making. In 2020, she made the transition to the field and joined a certified institution, Jeugdbescherming West, where she worked as a researcher and behavioural scientist. In her research, she pays close attention to the connection between science and practice. She will work one day a week at both the Department of Child Law and Health Law and the Institute of Education and Child Studies.
‘I see the chair as a fantastic opportunity to take the interaction between research and practice to the next level’
Goemans: ‘I am looking forward to exploring various issues in the field of youth aid and youth protection in more depth. Consider, for example, the topic of determining perspective. I'd like to study the question: how do we determine the perspective of children placed out of home in a valid, reliable, traceable and transparent way? And how do we do that together with the parents and young people involved? In addition, I see the chair as a fantastic opportunity to take the interaction between research and practice to the next level and support families and young people in the best possible way.'
Leiden University Fund
The chair Educational Theory and Law is funded through the Leiden University Fund.