Dr Fiona Morrison

Programme Director for Childhood Practice / Lecturer in Childhood Studies

Biography

Background

I (re)joined the University of Edinburgh in 2022, having worked at the University of Stirling as a Senior Lecturer and the Deputy Director of the Centre for Child Wellbeing in Protection (2017-22). I held a variety of Research Fellow posts in Social Work at the University of Edinburgh and at the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (2014-2017). Before working in academia, I worked in the third sector in children's policy. 

My research and teaching is in childhood studies with a socio-legal focus on children’s human rights. My expertise lies in domestic abuse and participatory methodologies, and I contribute to influencing policy, research, and practice on an international level. My work aims to enhance public understanding of children’s human rights, ensuring that my academic efforts translate into real-world benefits for children.  I explore the implementation of children's rights across practice, policy, and legal frameworks, contributing to an interdisciplinary understanding that spans childhood studies (Morrison et al, 2020), social policy, social work (Morrison et al, 2020), and law (Tisdall, Morrison & Warburton, 2021). 

A key theme of my research is the meaningful participation of children in research, ensuring that their human rights are actively advanced through research. My commitment to  ethical research is demonstrated by my publications and diverse methodological expertise., including advanced skills in conducting research with children (Morrison, 2015), socio-legal methods (Morrison et al., 2020), participative approaches (Morrison 2024), and various qualitative methods such as ethnography (Winter, Morrison et al, 2019).

Qualifications

PhD Social Policy, University of Edinburgh

MSc Childhood Studies, University of Edinburgh

BA Community Learning and Development, University of Dundee

Responsibilities & affiliations

Programme Director BA Childhood Practice (2023- )

I am a member of MHSES’s Children and Young People Thematic Hub Leadership Group, with responsibility for ethics leadership (2024–). I also co-lead the CAHSS research theme on childhood and youth (2024–).

I am a core member of the action group steering the Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland, where I play a pivotal role in bridging academic research with key policy stakeholders to advance children's rights. As part of a three-member team responsible for implementing the Observatory’s strategy, my focus is on connecting policymakers, practitioners, and academics around issues related to children’s human rights. My work is dedicated to enhancing the implementation of children’s rights in Scotland by supporting policymakers, practitioners, and relevant organisations in addressing complex challenges. This includes integrating global insights to local applications in strategic activities such as children’s rights budgeting, as well as in specific policy areas like family law. Through the Observatory, I collaborate with cross-national partners—including children and young people, academics, and adult stakeholders—to influence policy and practice across various national and community contexts, covering areas like early years and domestic abuse. I have collaborated on significant projects such as Children’s Rights Impact Assessments for the Children’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland and the coordinating the Research Network on Children's Human Rights.

Undergraduate teaching

I am the Programme Director for the BA in Childhood Practice and teach across the programme.

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

I welcome PhD applications in the areas of children's rights and violence against children.

Current PhD students supervised

Gina Thacker - Implementing 'The Promise', University of Stirling

Joyce  Serwaa Oppong - tbc

Felicia Szloboda - Developing children's human rights indicators for Scotland

Yi Yan - tbc

Research summary

I am a researcher who tries to use research to advance children's human rights and to address violence against children. I mainly use qualitative methods to carry out research and am especially interested in using participative methods that support children (and adults) to take part in research in ways that they choose. An example of this is A Source of Strength, a photovoice project on children's relationships with mothers in the context of domestic abuse.  

Visit A Source of Strength's website

I carry out socio-legal research, driven by my interests on how people experience the implementation of law - for example, I have carried out research on children's experiences of family law and more recently research on victims and witnesses’ experiences of criminal law.  With colleagues, I am working to develop a research network on children’s human rights in Scotland.

Current research interests

I am undertaking a Personal Research Fellowship funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), focusing on children's rights accountability and legislative processes. I also lead an ESRC IAA grant project on implementing the UNCRC in Scotland, collaborating with the Children's Parliament, Together, and the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland. Additionally, I co-lead the CAHSS research theme on childhood and youth and serve on the leadership team for the MHSES Children and Young People Thematic Hub.

Knowledge exchange

I am passionate about developing research that makes a difference. I enjoy working with policy and practice colleagues to help do this. A recent example is my research with families who have experience of domestic abuse and the Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of Violence Against Women and Girls Services.  Another example involved the Children (Scotland) Act 2020. I worked with colleagues to use my research to help improve the legislation and its compliance with children's participation rights in parental disputes about child contact and residence. 

 

Other examples include:

  • Delivered two high-impact ESRC CAFADA webinars presenting research findings on innovations in social care for children and families affected by domestic abuse (100+ policy and practice participants). Sessions on children’s recovery and court advocacy in domestic abuse contexts (September 2024)
  • Providing expert written evidence to the Scottish Law Commission’s consultation on civil remedies and domestic abuse.
  • Published two policy blogs translating RSE Fellowship findings for impact: Children’s Rights, Accountability, and the Law and Realising Children's Rights in Cases of Child Contact and Domestic Abuse.
  • Co-led two international knowledge exchange events with CREAN (Children’s Rights European Academic Network) convening 70+ academics and policymakers:
    • International seminar on Children's Rights Research with Young Children, exploring the potential and challenges of participatory methods, engaging 50+ academic participants (December 2024).
    • Strategic policy dialogue on Children's Rights Indicators with Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland and Scottish Government, convening 20 senior policy and academic stakeholders (December 2024).

Affiliated research centres

Current project grants

PTAS cross-College initiative 'Embedding Children's Rights Teaching in Professional Programmes' (PI January 2025 - June 2026)
ESRC IAA Grant with cross-sector partners on implementing the UNCRC in Scotland (PI, September 2024 – March 2026)
Consultancy with the University of Strathclyde on Children's Rights Accountability funded by the Legal Empowerment Fund (April 2025 – December 2025)
Royal Society of Edinburgh Personal Research Fellowship on children’s rights accountability in law (PI September 2024 – September 2025)
CAHSS RKEI Grant to create a podcast with survivors of domestic abuse (CI, October 2024 – July 2025)
Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Network Grant: ‘Children’s Human Rights: Mobilising Expertise from Research, Policy and Practice’ (CI, September 2023 – March 2025)
SGSSS Studentship: ‘Developing Children’s Human Rights Indicators for Scotland’ (PI, SGSSS PhD award, September 2023)
SGSSS Studentship: ‘Implementing ‘The Promise’ with Care Experienced Children’ (CI, SGSSS PhD award, September 2021)

Past project grants

ESRC Innovation in Social Care Grant. ‘Developing the Evidence Base for Social Care Responses to Children and Families affected by Domestic Abuse’ (CI, 2019-2024).
Nuffield Foundation. ‘Children living with domestic violence – understanding the effects on children’s wellbeing using longitudinal data’ (CI, 2019-2023).
Scottish Government, ‘Domestic abuse court experiences - perspectives of victims and witnesses: research findings (CI, 2022-2023)
CAHSS RKEI Grant on accountability for children’s rights in policy (PI, September 2022 – August 2023)
ESRC Festival of Social Science Grant on public engagement on childhood domestic abuse (PI, September 2023)
SPARK Grant: ‘Responding to Domestic Abuse in the Context of Covid-19’ with the WAVE Network (June 2020 – March 2021)
Carnegie Research Incentive Grant. ‘Constructions of children and parents during the reform of family law in Scotland’ (PI, 2019-2020).
Scottish Government Grant. ‘Children's Participation In Family Actions-Probing Compliance With Children's Rights Research’ (PI, 2018-2019).
Froebel Research Grant. ‘Supporting Migrant and BME Children’s Transitions to Primary School’ (CI, April 2017 – March 2018)
ESRC Impact Accelerator Grant. ‘Changing Child Protection’ (CI, June 2016 – May 2017)
Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People. ‘Legal Review of Child Contact Proceedings for Children Affected by Domestic Abuse’ (CI, 2013).

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