Anna Ridgewellمشاهده پروفایل
پژوهشگر ارشد
Anna Ridgewell is a Research Fellow in Social Work (Social Work and Social Care) at the School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex, where she contributes to the Centre for Innovation and Research in Wellbeing (CIRW). Her research focuses on nature engagement in educational settings, childhood geographies, and the impact of neoliberal policies on access to outdoor spaces for children in early childhood education and care (ECEC). Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the SeNSS doctoral training partnership, her PhD explored how ideological and structural factors mediate children’s access to nature across state, private, and charitable educational institutions. Her educational background includes an MSc in Counselling Psychology from City, University of London, a Graduate Conversion Diploma in Psychology from London Metropolitan University, and a BA (Hons) in English Literature from the University of Sheffield. Anna’s research interests span environmental sociology, sociology of education, human geography, educational and social policy, childhood geographies, and participatory research methodologies. She employs mixed-method, multi-sited, and arts-based approaches to examine how children interact with nature and challenge adult-imposed boundaries in educational spaces. Her work highlights inequalities in nature access and critiques the commodification of nature in neoliberal educational frameworks. Her recent publications, including her 2025 PhD thesis Growing up green? and several reports and presentations, reflect a strong trend in critical educational research, environmental justice, and qualitative inquiry. These works analyze how institutional narratives, resource disparities, and policy landscapes shape children’s everyday experiences in outdoor environments, emphasizing the need for equitable access to nature as a matter of social justice rather than privilege. Section Editor, Sentio (SeNSS PGR Journal) Peer reviewer for Children & Society , International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care , and Sentio UKRI Policy Placement at Natural England (2022) Anna has taught on the MSc in Migrant and Refugee Wellbeing and the MRes in Wellbeing, focusing on interdisciplinary research into older adults. She is currently funded by an ESRC grant titled Connecting with the outdoors at school and nursery: narratives of nature and wellbeing (2020–2024), supporting collaborative research with Charles Watters. Her interdisciplinary collaborations include work with Pippa Langford, Louise Montgomery, Liam Berriman, and others. She has no formal advisees listed, but her mentorship is evident through editorial and peer-review roles. Anna is active in academic and public discourse, contributing blog posts, policy reports, and conference presentations that bridge research with practical and policy implications. Her work is grounded in new materialist and social constructionist theories, and she advocates for transformative, child-centered approaches to environmental education.
