Dr Marlies Kustatscher

Senior Lecturer in Childhood Studies / Director of Ethics

Biography

Background

I am a Senior Lecturer in Childhood Studies at the Moray House School of Education and Sport.

My research focuses on children and young people’s lived experiences across educational and community contexts. I adopt an intersectional and children’s human rights framework in my work and am interested in how ambivalent emotional configurations of childhood come to shape children’s lives. I utilise qualitative, arts-based and participatory methods and enjoy working with children and young people, artists and partners outside academia to co-produce research together.

My current research follows two lines of interest. First, I am exploring children and young people’s activism and participation in local governance. I have led a series of projects with young people, artists and researchers about centering the views of minoritised young people in local climate action politics in Colombia through sound- and arts-based methodologies and have recently co-edited a Special Issue on Conceptualising and Researching Child and Youth Activism. With my colleagues Akwugo Emejulu, Callum McGregor and Nat Arias, I am working on a project called “Race against time: Young people of colour and climate justice activism” and we recently published our book Ambivalent Activism: Working with Contradiction, Hesitation and Doubt for Social Change.

Second, I am interested in intersectional approaches to understanding and improving children’s experiences within formal education. Leading on from research commissioned by the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry into young children’s unequal educational experiences and outcomes in the aftermath of the pandemic, I am currently exploring how young children’s learning and development is conceptualised and assessed against universalised childhood ideals. My recent co-edited books include Critical Childhood Studies: Global Perspectives and the BERA Guide to Decolonising the Curriculum.

Qualifications

  • PhD (University of Edinburgh)
  • MSc (University of Edinburgh), Counselling Studies
  • BA (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy), Social Work

Responsibilities & affiliations

I am currently our School’s Director of Ethics and chair our School Research Ethics Committee and the Childlight Research Ethics Sub-Committee.

I am a member of

  • Childhood and Youth Studies Research Group
  • Children and Young People Thematic Hub
  • RACE.ED Steering Group
  • Race and Inclusivity in Global Education Network (RIGEN)

I am also an affiliate of the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) and an associate researcher at the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships.

From 2016 - 2021, I have been the Programme Director of the BA Childhood Practice.

Undergraduate teaching

I teach in the areas of

  • children's health and well-being, social determinants of health
  • children, education and social justice 
  • child and family sociology 
  • childhood practice research and ethics 

Postgraduate teaching

I teach in the areas of 

  • research with children, methods and epistemologies
  • social justice and intersectionality

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

I would be happy to supervise students in the areas of my research interests (please see below). 

Current PhD students supervised

Fatemeh Sadeghi: Children's spaces and environments in early childhood settings

Xuanyi Ren: The understandings and practices of Chinese young people's participation in the context of boarding schools

Tao Liu: Children's rights education in and through Forest Schools in Scotland

Priyambada Seal: How the climate crisis affects Adivasi girls' right to education in India

Fanshu Huang: Quality and Professionalism in Early Childhood Education in China

Qirong Luo: Young People's Experiences in Chinese High Schools

 

Past PhD students supervised

Serif Ali Cakiray: The experiences of disabled refugee children in Scottish mainstream education

Gizem Silistire: Constructions of childhood during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland

Brendan Kwaitkowski: Healthy Masculinity and Adolescence: Resilience to Restrictive Masculinity

Fatma Büşra Aksoy Kumru:  Active citizenship in the early years: listening to children on decision-making

Min Kyung Kwon:  What are the perspectives of South Korean secondary school students on  current sex education?

Liz Latto: Professional Working Relationships within Local Authority Early Learning and Childcare settings during the Expansion Process

George Low: Where Are All the Disabled Musicians? An Exploration of the Attitudinal and Physical Barriers that Impact on the Identities and Lived Experiences of Musicians With a Physical Impairment

Jane Malcolm: Love, Passion and Professionalism: The Early Years Lead Professional (MPhil)

Shu Li:  Chinese Parents’ Effective Involvement in Early Childhood Education – A Comparative Study (MRes) 

Research summary

My research interests span the following areas:

  • Intersectionality and childhood and youth
  • Participatory, arts-based and interdisciplinary methodologies with children and young people
  • Children and young people’s activism and social change
  • Emotional configurations of childhood in research, policy and practice
  • Ethical complexities in research with children
  • Children’s human rights and participation in educational and community settings

Knowledge exchange

I am passionate about bringing children and young people’s views into policy and practice and have been part of several knowledge exchange projects, such as Amplificando las Voces (Latin America), Education for climate justice: Centring social justice amidst demands to prioritise the climate crisis in education and Children's rights, social justice and social identities: Intersections in research, policy and practice.

I enjoy bringing together children and young people, practitioners, policymakers and researchers, and have been awarded a 'College Recognition Award for Excellence in External Engagement' for engaging with external stakeholders in the field of childhood and youth inequalities (2016).

I have written several research briefings and blogs to share research findings beyond academic audiences (e.g. on digital participatory methods with children, promoting youth entrepreneurship, ethical dilemmas in research with children, or disrupting power in the higher education classroom).

Project activity

Current grants held

Race against time: Young people of colour and climate justice activism (2025-26) (Co-I), Flax Foundation (£23,992), with Professor Akwugo Emejulu, (PI, University of Sheffield) and Dr Callum McGregor (Co-I, University of Edinburgh)

Sonic art for climate justice: the potential of music and arts for centering the voices of Afrocolombian, displaced and Indigenous young people in climate action (2024-25) (PI) UoE/Scottish Funding Council ISPF Grant (£24,948.70). Co-Is Kay Tisdall, Edwar Calderon (QUB), Juan Manuel Gomez (Innovaser/Mr Klaje Collective)

Previous grants held

Sonic Engagement: Connecting with Research Audiences Through Sound Art (2024) (PI). MHSES Innovation Fund. With Alan Brown (artist), Dr Edwar Calderon (Queens University Belfast), Juan Manuel Gomez (Innovaser / Mr Klaje Innovaser Collective).  

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Delivery of Education to Children Under Five (PI).  Desk-based research commissioned by the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry.  Co-Is Juliet Hancock, Annie Taylor, Gillean McCluskey, Kay Tisdall.

Turning the page: youth engagement and policy impact through arts and music with public libraries in Cali (2023) (PI). UoE ODA Impact and Development Funding (£29,980). Co-Is: Professor Kay Tisdall, Dr Edwar Calderon (QUB), Juan Manuel Gomez (Innovaser/ Mr Klaje Collective).  

Towards sustainable futures: developing social entrepreneurship with Afrocolombian and indigenous young people in Colombia (2022) (PI). University of Edinburgh CAHSS KEI Fund (£4,970). Co-Is: Professor Kay Tisdall, Dr Edwar Calderon, Tony Evanko (Fundación Casa Tres Patios), Juan Manuel Gomez (Mr Klaje Collective).  

Promoting youth-led social entrepreneurship in partnership with communities and civil society organisations (2022) (PI). Changing the Story Follow-on Funding (£25,000). Co-Is: Dr Edwar Alexis Calderon, Professor Kay Tisdall, Tony Evanko (Fundación Casa Tres Patios), Juan Manuel Gomez (Mr Klaje Collective). 

Co-creating a social enterprise pilot with marginalised Afrocolombian and Indigenous young people in the Colombian Pacific (2021) (PI). University's Scottish Funding Council GCRF Global Impact Accelerator (£32,000). Co-Is: Dr Edwar Alexis Calderon, Professor Kay Tisdall, Tony Evanko (Fundación Casa Tres Patios), Juan Manuel Gomez (Mr Klaje Collective). 

Amplificando las Voces: Consolidation of Changing the Story Projects in Latin America (2020-21) (Co-I). GCRF AHRC Changing the Story Learning Consolidation Grant. PI Dr Laura Taylor, Queens University Belfast. Knowledge exchange project bringing together learning from all Changing the Story LatAm projects. Project website: https://changingthestory.leeds.ac.uk/amplificando-las-voces-latin-america/ 

Cuál es la verdad? (What is the Truth?) De-constructing collective memories and imagining alternative futures with young people in Chocó through music and arts (2019-21) (PI).  GCRF AHRC Changing the Story Large Grant (£94,000).  Co-Is: Dr Edwar Alexis Calderon (Universidad Claretiana), Professor Kay Tisdall, Tony Evanko and Carolina Aristizabal (Fundación Casa Tres Patios), Juan Manuel Gomez (Mr Klaje Collective).  Project website: https://changingthestory.leeds.ac.uk/cual-es-la-verdad-colombia/

Education for climate justice: Centring social justice amidst demands to prioritise the climate crisis in education (2021) (Co-I). Scottish Universities Insight Institute Knowledge Exchange Funding (£15,000).  PI Callum McGregor with partners from University of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews/ Third Generation Project, Glasgow Caledonian University/ Centre for Climate Justice, SCOREscotland, Teach the Future Scotland, Learning for Sustainability Scotland. Project website:  https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/UNGlobalGoals/EducationforClimateJustice.aspx 

Froebel Trust Hub and Spoke Froebelian Futures Programme (2021-2024) (Co-I). Funded by Froebel Trust (£450,000). PI Dr Lynn McNair.  This international project sparks a long-term, national and international learning journey, spearheaded by early learning and childcare educators/practitioners as researchers and change-makers, to mainstream participatory and child-centred policies and practices, both locally and globally. The project focused on Scotland, Greece and the Czech Republic. 

Safe, Inclusive, Participative Pedagogy: Improving Early Childhood Education in Fragile Contexts (2020-2024) (Co-I).  Funded by UKRI ESRC GCRF (£1.8 mio). PI Prof Kay Tisdall, with partners from Brazil, Eswatini, South Africa, Palestine, an international research project which aims to identify and develop safe, inclusive participative pedagogy that is implementable in fragile contexts and sustainable for governments, communities and families. The project is undertaken with partners in Brazil, Eswatini, Palestine, South Africa, and Scotland using a mixed-method approach. This includes: qualitative community case studies in each country; policy and systems analysis at country and community levels; and developing the economic case for safe inclusive pedagogy. Community engagement and participation underpin the project, where children and their families play an integral role and there is a strong focus on knowledge exchange and collaborative learning. Project website: https://www.sipp.education.ed.ac.uk

The play-café project: What would Froebelian play cafés look like?(2021-2023)  (Co-I). Funded by the The Froebel Trust (£43,300). PI Dr Kristina  Konstantoni, Co-I Dr Lynn McNair and The Network for Children’s Rights (NGO, Greece).

Mentoring for success: Co-producing a meaningful workplace mentoring scheme with students and employers (2020-21) (PI). University of Edinburgh Principal's Teaching Award Scheme (PTAS) (£1,500). Co-Is Luke Addison, Kristina Konstantoni, Liz Latto, Lynn McNair, Maggie Morrison, Kay Tisdall and BA Childhood Practice student researchers Scott Craig, Ruta Kiaukaraite, Gillian Newall. 

‘Nosotros Chocó: Pasado y Futuro’ – Young people’s imagined futures in the Colombian Pacific.  (2019)  (PI).  Co-Is: Edwar Alexis Calderon, Juan Manuel Gomez, Manuel Beltran, Tony Evanko. University of Edinburgh Global Challenges Research Fund Travel & Partnerships Grant (£3,000). This project brought together researchers from three academic institutions (University of Edinburgh, Universidad EAFIT, Universidad Claretiana) and artists/educators from Fundación Casa Tres Patios and Mr Klaje Collective for research and partnership meetings and exploratory research workshops with approx. 20 young people from Afrocolombian and indigenous backgrounds in Quibdo, Choco, on their experiences and aspirations for their futures. 

'Activist arts and youth inequalities – exploring the potential of contemporary art for research impact and transformative change' (2017). (PI). Co-Is: Dr Jen Ross, Alan Brown (artist).  Seedcorn Funding (£1,468), Moray House School of Education. This project explored the potential of contemporary art (including conceptual or performance art) to disseminate research on children and young people’s experiences of inequalities, explore new practices of audience engagement and impact, and inspire transformative change. A one-day workshop brought together researchers, young people, Investing in Children (a children's human rights organisation), contemporary artists, and experts from arts organisations (Talbot Rice Gallery, National Galleries of Scotland, Collective Gallery) to discuss these questions.

'Creating transformative partnerships: Making spaces for tackling childhood and youth inequalities' (2015-17) (Co-PI). A participatory action research project with young people supported by Investing in Children. Funded by a Carnegie Research Incentive Grant (£7,500) and a University of Edinburgh CHSS Challenge Investment Fund (£13,785).  With Dr Kristina Konstantoni (Co-PI) and Co-Is and academic advisors Dr Akwugo Emejulu, Prof John Davis, and Liam Cairns.

'The World As We Feel It: Talking about emotions across the disciplines'  (2015-16) (Co-PI). Funded by a University of Edinburgh Academic Networking Fund (£3,140).  Dr Jessica MacLaren (Co-PI) and Professor Pam Smith (Co-PI)

'What next for Childhood Studies? Pushing boundaries' (2015-16) (Co-PI).  Funded by a BSA Early Career Forum Grant (£1,000).  Dr Kristina Konstantoni (Co-PI)

'Children's rights, social justice and social identities: intersections in research, policy and practice' (2013-15) (Co-I). Funded by the Scottish Universities Insight Institute (£20,000). Dr Kristina Konstantoni (PI), Co-Is: Prof. John Davis, University of Edinburgh, Dr Akwugo Emejulu, University of Edinburgh, Prof. Geri Smyth and Dr Daniela Sime, University of Strathclyde, Sheila Hamilton, Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People and Alison Hosie, Scottish Human Rights Commission). This seminar series brought together children and young people, children's rights policymakers, practitioners and academics to develop new approaches to tackle children's intersecting inequalities in Scotland and beyond.

Storytelling and Narrative Well-being Workshop Series (£1,000) (2012-13) (Co-PI). Funded by an Innovation Initiative Grant from the University of Edinburgh. With Jessica MacLaren (Co-PI)  This collaboration with the Scottish Storytelling Centre sought to explore the use of storytelling in academia.  The aims of the project were to explore the interfaces of storytelling, research and practice and to encourage creative ways of doing research and communicating with audiences within and outwith academia.

Conference details

You can find details about my talks and presentations here: https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/marlies-kustatscher/activities/

In the press

Interview with BBC Scotland for Reporting Scotland special edition on COVID-19 lockdown anniversary and longterm implications for young children's learning (2025): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0029dc1

Interview about Critical Childhood Studies, with the Childhood, Law and Policy Network (2023): https://www.qmul.ac.uk/clpn/news-views/book-interviews/items/interview-with-tisdall-davis-fry-konstantoni-kustatscher-maternowska-and-weiner-about-their-edited-textbook-critical-childhood-studies-global-perspectives.html

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