Felicia Szloboda

Thesis title: Developing children's human rights indicators for Scotland

Biography

Background

I am an ECRC-funded PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education and Sport. My research focuses on developing a mixed-method, child-informed framework to monitor the implementation of children’s human rights in Scotland. Specifically, I aim to translate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into practical, measurable indicators, with a particular focus on housing and the experiences of children affected by domestic abuse.

At the university, I am actively involved in the Children and Young People (CYP) and Advanced Quantitative Research in Education (AQRiE) research hubs. These interdisciplinary communities provide a rich environment for collaboration, enabling me to combine quantitative data analysis with participatory research methods to improve human rights accountability and inform policy and practice.

I have presented my work at international conferences, including the CREAN Children’s Rights PhD Symposium in Stockholm, where I discussed the challenges of measuring the progressive realisation of children’s rights. 

I am also a Research Assistant on a project funded by the Principal's Teaching Award Scheme at the University of Edinburgh, which aims to strengthen professional programmes by embedding children’s rights into the curricula of education, social work, clinical psychology, and medicine. The project supports future professionals in meeting their legal duties under the recent incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots law.

My work is driven by a commitment to human rights and centring children’s experiences in research, policy, and public service design, with the goal of making human rights more accountable and responsive to those they are meant to serve.

Qualifications

MSc Human Rights and Diplomacy - University of Stirling and UNITAR

BAHons International Politics - University of Stirling 

Responsibilities & affiliations

I'm a member of the Children and Young People (CYP) and Advanced Quantitative Research in Education (AQRiE) research hubs at Moray House. These interdisciplinary communities provide a rich environment for collaboration, enabling me to combine quantitative data analysis with participatory research methods.

I'm also a member of the Research Network on Children's Human Rights and affiliated with the the Observatory of Children's Human Rights Scotland. 

Project activity

Embedding children’s rights in professional programmes – enhancing future duty bearers’ readiness to develop children's rights practices and uphold children's rights - Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme (PTAS), January 2025 - July 2026

Conference details

CREAN: Children's Rights Research PhD Symposium: Looking back and moving forward - challenges and opportunities for children’s rights research

Presentation Title: The Challenge of Accountability: How to measure the progressive realisation of children’s human rights?

 

Organiser

Stockholm Centre for the Rights of the Child

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