Christine Smith

Christine Smith

Lecturer/ Professional Practice Co-ordinator

Faculty and Department

  • Faculty of Arts Cultures and Education
  • School of Education

Qualifications

  • MA
  • PhD / DPhil (University of Plymouth)

Summary

As an experienced practitioner, I have undertaken a range of lead roles across the voluntary, community, and statutory sectors, with a sustained focus on community and youth work education and community development as tools to promote social justice and challenge inequality. These experiences have allowed me to work directly with communities and continue to inform my academic and professional practice.

I am currently the Programme Director for the BA (Hons) Education Studies—offering pathways in TESOL, Youth and Community Work, and Special Educational Needs and Disability and Inclusion—as well as the BA (Hons) Working with Children, Young People and Families at the University of Hull. I work closely with students, colleagues, and external partners to ensure our programmes are inclusive, practice-focused, and responsive to the changing needs of the sector.

My research explores the role of higher education in the professional formation of youth and community work educators, with a particular interest in how academic and practice-based learning support the development of forward-thinking, critically reflective practitioners.

I have experience of working on policy and professional standards at a national level, including serving as National Chair of TAG: The Professional Association for Lecturers in Youth and Community Work, and as a member of the Education Training and Standards Committee for youth work. I am currently a trustee of the Regional Youth Work Unit in Yorkshire, supporting the development of youth work across the region.

I also contribute to academic quality and professional development through external examining roles, including for the MA in Youth Work and Community Development at Liverpool Hope University and the BA (Hons) Youth Work at the University of the West of Scotland.

I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, reflecting my ongoing commitment to inclusive and practice-rooted approaches to community and youth work education.

Recent outputs

View more outputs

Book Chapter

Preparing for an unexpected Journey: Exploring the Experience of Teaching Critical Pedagogy through Critical Pedagogy

Gilsenan, M., Bardy, H., & Smith, C. (2021). Preparing for an unexpected Journey: Exploring the Experience of Teaching Critical Pedagogy through Critical Pedagogy. In Hopeful Pedagogies in Higher Education (97-108). Bloomsbury Publishing

CULTIVATING YOUTH WORK STUDENTS AS AGENTIC RESEARCH PRACTITIONERS – A WHOLE PROGRAMME APPROACH

Rippingale, J., Smith, C., & Hughes, G. (2019). CULTIVATING YOUTH WORK STUDENTS AS AGENTIC RESEARCH PRACTITIONERS – A WHOLE PROGRAMME APPROACH. In M. Seal (Ed.), TEACHING YOUTH WORK IN HIGHER EDUCATION TENSIONS, CONNECTIONS, CONTINUITIES AND CONTRADICTIONS (230- 242). Tartu

Journal Article

Young people's right to flourish: A 21st century social justice issue for youth and community work

Christtmass, R., Hughes, G., Marley, J., Mckinney, S., Spencer, Z., & Smith, C. (2024). Young people's right to flourish: A 21st century social justice issue for youth and community work. Support for Learning, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12499

Re-imagining approaches to learning and teaching: Youth and Community work education post Covid-19

Curran, S., Gormally, S., & Smith, C. (2022). Re-imagining approaches to learning and teaching: Youth and Community work education post Covid-19. Education Sciences, 12(3), Article 201. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12030201

(Re)Assembling Anti-Oppressive Practice Teachings in Youth and Community Work through Collective Biography (2)

Bowler, R., Green, S., Smith, C., & Woolley, L. (2021). (Re)Assembling Anti-Oppressive Practice Teachings in Youth and Community Work through Collective Biography (2). Education Sciences, 11(9), Article 497. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090497

Charity role

Professional Association of Lecturers in Youth and Community Work

2018 - 2022

A membership organisation working with sector colleagues to represent the interests of academics educators and researchers in the field of youth and community work. The Association represents in excess of 250 educators at over 50 institutions and agencies in the UK.

Yorkshire and Humber Regional Youth Work Unit

2018

Committee/Steering group role

University of Hull Enactus Adviser

2019

English Training Standards Committee

2017 - 2021

External examiner role

Liverpool Hope University

2024

University West Of Scotland

2022

Ulster University

2018 - 2022

Open University

2017 - 2021

Membership/Fellowship of professional body

Senior Fellow Higher Education Association

2025

FRSA

2018

Fellow of Higher Education Association

2014

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