John Barker is a Senior Lecturer in Education Studies/ Early Childhood Studies in the Department of Education at Middlesex University. John is an established and experienced mid-career academic with an international reputation for delivering high quality research and consultancy for a diverse range of organisations, including UK central government, local authorities, other government agencies and the voluntary sector. His research track record has generated over £300,000 external grant income across more than a dozen funded research projects. John has an impressive range of individual and joint authored publications in high quality Social Science journals.
John has specialisms in:
English
John currently teaches on the BA Education Studies and BA Early Childhood Studies programmes, including:
EDU1201 Historical, Sociological and Political Perspectives on Education
EDU2201 Researching Lives: Social Investigation in the Contemporary World
EDU2206 Social Perspectives on Childhood and Education For Early Years
EDU3208 Being Young: Issues and Perspectives in Youth Studies
John also teaches on the MA Childhood and Education in Diverse Societies programme, including:
EDU6002 Dangerous Ideas: Thinking with Theory to Problematise Childhood and Education
EDU6006 Researching with Children and Young People
Doctoral candidates wishing to do research in the following areas are particularly welcome to contact John:
Publications:
Barker J and Wainwright E 2015 Outside Edge. Geographical: the Magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) 87 (3) p21
Wainwright E, Barker J, Ansell N, Buckingham S, Hemming P and Smith F 2014 Geographers out of place: Institutions, (inter)disciplinarity and identity, Area 46 (4) 410-417
Barker J and Smith F 2012 Photography, school spaces and school lives: Using visual methods in schools to map the geographies of children and youth, in: Rizvi S (ed) Multidisciplinary approaches in educational research: Case studies from Europe and the Developing World Routledge p15-35
Barker J, Alldred P, Watts M, Dodman H 2010 Pupils or Prisoners? Institutional Geographies and Internal Exclusion in UK Secondary Schools Area 42(3) 378–386
Smith F, Barker J, Wainwright E, Marandet E and Buckingham S 2008 A New Deal for Lone Parents? Training lone parents for work in West London Area 40 (2) p237-44
Madge N and Barker J 2007 Children and Risk London: RSA
Ansell N, Barker J and Smith F 2007 UNICEF Child Poverty in Perspective Report: a view from the UK Children's Geographies 5(3)
Barker J, Ademolu E, Bowlby S & Musson S 2019 Youth transitions: mobility and the travel intentions of 12–20 year olds, Reading, UK, Children's Geographies 17 (4) p442-453 DOI: 10.1080/14733285.2018.1543853
Barker J, Ademolu E, Bowlby S, Musson S 2015, Evaluating Solo. Reading Buses/ Reading Borough Council
Barker J 2012 A free for all? Scale and young people’s participation in UK transport planning, in Kraftl P, Horton J, Tucker F (eds) Critical geographies of childhood and youth: contemporary policy and practice Bristol: Policy Press p169-184
Barker J 2014 Aspirations for automobility: Family geographies and the production of young people’s aspirations for cars Families, Relationships, Societies 3 (2) p167-183
Barker J 2011 ‘Manic Mums’ and ‘Distant Dads’? Gendered geographies of care and the journey to school, Health and Place 17 (2) 413-421
Barker J, Kraftl P, Horton J, Tucker, F 2009 The Road Less Travelled: Children and Young People’s Mobility, Mobilities 4 (1) p1-10
Barker J 2009 Driven to distraction: Children’s experiences of cars Mobilities 4 (1) 59-76
Barker J 2009 Accessing Positive Activities: Innovative solutions for young people’s bus travel Leicester: National Youth Agency
Barker J 2008 Scoping report on Young People and Public Transport Leicester: National Youth Agency
Barker J 2008 Men and motors: fathers’ involvement in children’s travel Early Child Development and Care 178 (7-8) p853-866
Barker J and Wainwright E 2020 Section introduction: Geography matters; Spatiality and auto/biography, in Parsons J and Chappell A (eds) The Palgrave MacMillan Handbook of Auto/Biography London Palgrave MacMillan
Barker J and Alldred P 2011 Documentary research and Secondary data, in Cullen F and Bradford S (eds) Research Methods for Youth Practitioners London: Routledge p140-161
van Blerk L, Barker J, Kesby M, Ansell N, Smith F 2008 Researching children's geographies, in van Blerk L and Kesby M (eds) Doing children's geographies London: Routledge p1-8
Kesby M, Ansell N, van Blerk L, Barker J and Smith F 2008 'Moving forward: contributions to methodological innovation' in van Blerk L and Kesby M (eds) Doing children's geographies London: Routledge p213-222
Barker J and Smith F 2012 What’s in focus? A critical discussion of photography, children and young people International Journal of Social Research Methods 15 (2) 91-104
Barker J 2008 Methodologies for Change? A critique of applied research with children, Children’s Geographies 6(1) p183-194
Van Blerk L and Barker J 2008 Editorial: Learning from children: the wider relevance of undertaking research with children Children’s Geographies 6(1) p117-9
John is currently working on:
Fighting for the Future: Parental Activism and the Grassroots Struggle over Education (with Nathan Fretwell, Middlesex University)
Childhood, parenting and the commodification of education: the growth and role of tuition centres in the UK (with Emma Wainwright, Anne Chappell and Ellen McHugh, Brunel University London)
Outputs from previously funded work include:
Barker J, Ademolu E, Bowlby S, Musson S 2015, Evaluating Solo. Reading Buses/ Reading Borough Council
Barker J 2009 Accessing Positive Activities: Innovative solutions for young people’s bus travel Leicester: National Youth Agency
Barker J 2008 Scoping report on Young People and Public Transport Leicester: National Youth Agency
Madge N and Barker J 2007 Children and Risk London: RSA
McCrindle L and Barker J 2006 Evaluating the Big Lottery Fund's Third Round Childcare Programme London: Big Lottery Fund
Armstrong S, Barker J, Diosi M, Horton J, Kraftl P, Lumsden E, Marandet E, Matthews H, Murray J and Smith F 2005 An audit of children’s play provision in Redbridge (Brunel University/ University College Northampton/ LB Redbridge)
Barker J, Ireland J, Morrow V, Smith F, Hey V and Harwin J 2004 Evaluation of the Childcare Partnership Manager Role London: Department for Work and Pensions
Barker J, Smith F, Morrow V, Weller S, Hey V and Harwin J 2003 The Impact of Out of School Care on Children and Families Department for Education and Skills Research Report No 446 London: The Stationery Office
Thom G, Hutchinson J and Barker J 2003 Evaluating the New Opportunities Fund’s Out of School Hours Childcare Programme London: New Opportunities Fund
John has also organised (including securing funding for) a number of conferences:
Family Geographies: Health, Care and Well Being: two one-day workshops at the Royal Geographical Society (Jan and May 2015) (with Dr Wainwright, Brunel University London)
-Family Geographies- one day conference, Royal Geographical Society, April 2014 (with Dr Wainwright, Brunel University London)
-Family Geographies: Security, Stability and change- three sessions at the Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference, Edinburgh, 2012 (with Dr Collins, UCL and Dr Wainwright, Brunel University)
-Gendered spaces of Further and Higher Education- one day conference, Brunel University, 2007 (with colleagues)
-Emerging issues in the Geographies of Children and Youth, two day, Children’s Geographies Annual International Conference Brunel University, 2005, with colleagues)
John has been a committee member of the Royal Geographical Society’s Geographies of Children, Youth and Families Research Group. John is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Playwork Practice.
John has undertaken consultancy and research work for a number of UK central government departments, including the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions. He has also undertaken applied research for the National Youth Agency, The Big Lottery Fund, local authorities (across London and the UK) and voluntary organisations.
