Role
Dr Frances Howard is Senior Lecturer in Youth Work across BA and MA programmes. She teaches the following modules, alongside dissertation supervision:
- Perceptions of Youth (BA Youth Work)
- Youth Cultures and Lifestyles (BA Youth Work)
- Critical Issues in Contemporary Society (MA Youth Work Leadership and Practice)
She draws on creative approaches to teaching and learning and undertakes film making activities with students as a way to develop pedagogical resources. Frances is keen to support student-led research projects with Nottingham Youth Organisations.
She also undertakes evaluation and research for arts, youth and community projects and has recently supported Captivate - Nottinghamshire's Cultural Education Partnership and Nottinghamshire YMCA with the evaluation of their programmes.
Career overview
Frances' first monograph: Global Perspectives on Youth Arts Programs - how and why the arts can make a difference was published in September 2022 by Policy Press. This book draws from her PhD research on young people, youth work, the arts and extends this body of work to incorporate global comparative research on youth arts programmes. Frances has previously worked in local authorities, arts education and youth work. Alongside her role at NTU, she is an Advisory Board member for Nottingham's Community Artist Network, and a Moderator for the young people’s Arts Award.
Research areas
Frances is leader of the Youth Research Group within the School of Social Sciences. Her research interests include youth arts programmes, music-making, health and well-being, youth work and informal education, community engagement / development, youth participation / voice and activism. She is currently supervising Doctoral Candidates on these topics and would welcome any future approaches for postgraduate research towards in these areas.
External activity
In addition to working with the above external partners – Captivate, NottinghamCAN, YMCA and Arts Award, Frances is currently co-convenor of the BERA Youth Studies and Informal Education special interest group. She is also an active Member of the Professional Association of Lecturers in Youth and Community Work and has recently been appointed to the Editorial Board for the journal Youth & Policy.
Publications
- Howard, F., 2022. Global Perspectives on Youth Arts Programs: How and Why the Arts Can Make a Difference. Policy Press.
- Green, Ben, Andy Bennett, Paula Guerra, Frances Howard, Ana Oliveira, Sofia Sousa, and Ernesta Sofija. "How live is live?: COVID-19, live music, and online performances." In Remaking Culture and Music Spaces, pp. 34-46. Routledge, 2022.
- Howard, F., 2022. Artistic Production and (Re) production: Youth Arts Programmes as Enablers of Common Cultural Dispositions. Cultural Sociology, 16:4.
- Howard, F., 2022. Using and Abusing the Arts with ‘At-Risk’ Youth. Journal of Applied Youth Studies, pp.1-16.
- Howard, F. 2021. “It’s Like Being Back in GCSE Art”—Engaging with Music, Film-Making and Boardgames. Creative Pedagogies within Youth Work Education. Education Sciences, Educating Informal Educators special issue.
- Howard, F., Bennett, A., Green, B., Guerra, P., Sousa, S., & Sofija, E., 2021. ‘It’s Turned Me from a Professional to a “Bedroom DJ” Once Again’: COVID-19 and New Forms of Inequality for Young Music-Makers. YOUNG.
- Howard, F. 2021.Researching event-centred projects: Showcasing grounded aesthetics - Qualitative Research
- Howard, F. 2020. Planning and running an arts project with young people. Trinity College London and Arts Council England.
- Parry, R., Howard, F., & Penfold, L., 2020. Negotiated, contested and political: the disruptive Third Spaces of youth media production. Learning, Media and Technology.
- Howard, F., 2020. Pedagogies for the ‘Dis‐engaged’: Diverse Experiences of the Young People’s Arts Award Programme. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 39(3), pp.672-685.
- Howard, F., Brocken, S., & Sim, N., 2018. Youth Work, Arts Practice and Transdisciplinary Space, Chapter in The SAGE Handbook of Youth Work Practice (eds) Alldred, P., Cullen, F., Edwards, K. and Fusco, D.
- Coles, R., & Howard, F., 2018. Filmmaking education and enterprise culture: an ethnographic exploration of two filmmaking education contexts and their relation to bedroom culture and the creative workplace. Ethnography and Education, 13:3, 273-285.
- Howard, F., 2017. The arts in youth work: A spectrum of instrumentality. Youth & Policy.
Press expertise
Frances has press expertise in Youth Work, Youth Services and Arts Education. She contributed to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport's consultation on Youth Services in March 2021 and to the UK Parliament Inquiry on supporting Vulnerable Adolescents in November 2022. She has also been interviewed by NottinghamshireLive on youth club closures.