Professor Karen Nairn, Our People, College of Education

Assoc Prof Karen Nairn Professor MA(Cant) PhD(Waik) DipTchg

Dunedin Campus
Tel +64 3 479 8619
Email karen.nairn@otago.ac.nz

Biography

Karen Nairn is based in Ōtepoti/Dunedin in the south of Aotearoa. As a former high school geography teacher with a passion for environmental issues, her research path has evolved from working with high school students to her current project with activists in their 20s/early 30s, documenting their visions for change in Aotearoa. She has been employed at the University of Otago for the past 22 years, currently based at the University of Otago College of Education where she is a Professor.

Watch the Inaugural Professorial Lecture

Teaching areas

Gender Issues in Education
Youth Studies
Qualitative Research
Writing for Publication

Papers

EDUC 464 Writing Journal Articles for Publication
EDUC 434 Youth Studies
EDUC 318 Gender Issues in Education

Research interests

Fierce Hope. Youth Activism in Aotearoa (Bridget Williams Books)

Karen's research is youth-focused. The book Fierce Hope. Youth Activism in Aotearoa (Bridget Williams Books) reports her recent Marsden-funded research about what inspires young people to join others to create social change. The book is about six youth-led groups working on a range of fronts: honouring indigenous land rights, progressing policies for a zero carbon future, challenging sexual violence and gender-based harassment, rethinking gender and sexuality and what counts as 'justice', and addressing social inequalities in Aotearoa.
Watch video describing Fierce Hope

An earlier Marsden-funded project culminated in the book Children of Rogernomics: A neoliberal generation leaves school. That book was about young people coming to adulthood in the wake of New Zealand's neoliberal reforms, connecting their accounts with the wider social and economic story.
Find out more about Children of Rogernomics

Karen introduced a Young women in leadership programme for year 12 and is currently researching the programme's influence on young women.

Research interests include:

Youth-led activism
Post-school transitions and young people's identities
Neoliberal policies and their impacts on young people
Academic writing for publication
Gender, sexuality, 'race' and youth cultures
The politics of voice
Feminist issues in education
Critical theories
Qualitative research methods, including visual methods
Secondary and tertiary education practices

Young Activists Research Project

What inspires young people (aged 18–29+) to join others to create social change?

Karen is Principal Investigator with this project.

Find out about the Young Activists Research Project

Publications

Nairn, K., Showden, C. R., Matthews, K. R., Kidman, J., & Sligo, J. (2025). Scaffolding collective hope and agency in youth activist groups: ‘I get hope through action’. Sociological Review, 73(2), 431-448. doi: 10.1177/00380261241245546 Journal - Research Article

Showden, C. R., Barker-Clarke, E., Sligo, J., & Nairn, K. (2025). The connective is communal: Hybrid activism in online and offline spaces. Social Movement Studies, 24(2), 139-158. doi: 10.1080/14742837.2023.2171387 Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K., & Showden, C. (2024). Doing gender in activist spaces: Intersectionality and the limits of change. Proceedings of the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (SAANZ) Conference: The Sociology to Come. Retrieved from https://www.saanz.net/saanz2024/ Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Nairn, K. (2024). Disrupting the chrononormativity of geographies of youth and youth studies: Learning from infractions at the border. Geography Compass, 18, e70010. doi: 10.1111/gec3.70010 Journal - Research Other

McNatty, S., Nairn, K., Campbell-Price, M., & Boyes, M. (2024). Looking back: The lasting impact of outdoor education for adolescent girls. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2024.2399254 Journal - Research Article

2025

Journal - Research Article

2024

Journal - Research Article

Journal - Research Other

Nairn, K. (2024). Disrupting the chrononormativity of geographies of youth and youth studies: Learning from infractions at the border. Geography Compass, 18, e70010. doi: 10.1111/gec3.70010

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

2023

Journal - Research Article

Sligo, J., Besley, T., Ker, A., & Nairn, K. (2023). Creating a culture of care to support rainbow activists’ well-being: An exemplar from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Journal of LGBT Youth, 20(3), 502-523. doi: 10.1080/19361653.2022.2077274

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Showden, C. R., & Nairn, K. (2023). Family, friends, and climate change: What drives young New Zealanders into activism. Proceedings of the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (SAANZ) Conference: Global Challenges, Local Responses. Retrieved from https://www.saanz.net/saanz2023

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Blake, V., O'Brien, R., McLaren, L., & Nairn, K. (2023, June). Opportunities. Panel discussion at the Science-based Policy School for Climate Change, [Hybrid].

Other Research Output

Matata-Sipu, Q. & Nairn, K. (2023, October). Fierce hope: The Ihumātao Chapter. Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Public Discussion].

2022

Authored Book - Research

Nairn, K., Sligo, J., Showden, C. R., Matthews, K. R., & Kidman, J. (2022). Fierce hope: Youth activism in Aotearoa. Wellington, New Zealand: Bridget Williams Books, 300p. doi: 10.7810/9781990046681

Journal - Research Article

Graham, K., Nairn, K., & Treharne, G. J. (2022). Teaching gender and sexual diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand: How hierarchies and surveillance shape what is possible. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 57(2), 351-365. doi: 10.1007/s40841-022-00259-y

Showden, C. R., Nairn, K., & Matthews, K. R. (2022). ‘So people wake up, what are we gonna do?': From paralysis to action in decolonizing activism. Ethnicities, 22(5), 663-684. doi: 10.1177/14687968211062916

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Showden, C., & Nairn, K. (2022). Activist hope: Rejecting naivete, refusing despair. Proceedings of the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (SAANZ) Conference: Now what? Reimagining hope, 'truth' and equality. Retrieved from https://www.saanz.net/saanz2022

Other Research Output

Nairn, K. (2022, September). Fierce hope and research with young people. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Inaugural Professorial Lecture].

2021

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K., Kidman, J., Matthews, K. R., Showden, C. R., & Parker, A. (2021). Living in and out of time: Youth-led activism in Aotearoa New Zealand. Time & Society, 30(2), 247-269. doi: 10.1177/0961463X21989858

Rogers, T. L., & Nairn, K. (2021). Cambodian schoolgirls’ negotiation of discursive constraints within and beyond the school context. Gender & Education, 33(6), 737-756. doi: 10.1080/09540253.2020.1849571

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Nairn, K., & Kidman, J. (2021). Living in and out of time: Youth-led activism in Aotearoa New Zealand. Proceedings of The Material Life of Time: The Second International Temporal Belongings Conference. Retrieved from https://www.temporalbelongings.org/programme1.html

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Nairn, K. (2021, November). The emotional work of youth-led activism in Aotearoa. Verbal presentation at the Performing Childhoods Conference, [Online].

2020

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K., Showden, C. R., Sligo, J., Matthews, K. R., & Kidman, J. (2020). Consent requires a relationship: Rethinking group consent and its timing in ethnographic research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 23(6), 719-731. doi: 10.1080/13645579.2020.1760562

Nairn, K. (2020). Learning through doing: The potential of a collective editing pedagogy. Teaching in Higher Education, 25(7), 888-901. doi: 10.1080/13562517.2019.1632827

2019

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K. (2019). Learning from young people engaged in climate activism: The potential of collectivizing despair and hope. YOUNG, 27(5), 435-450. doi: 10.1177/1103308818817603

Sandretto, S., & Nairn, K. (2019). Do parenting advice books help or harm? Critiquing ‘common-sense’ advice for mothers raising boys. Gender & Education, 31(3), 327-343. doi: 10.1080/09540253.2018.1533919

Costa Camoes Rabello, R., Nairn, K., & Anderson, V. (2019). Working within/against institutional expectations: Exploring recommendations for social investment in the oil and gas sector. Extractive Industries & Society, 6(1), 103-109. doi: 10.1016/j.exis.2018.06.007

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Matthews, K., Nairn, K., & Bond, S. (2019, August). Youth activism in Aotearoa New Zealand: Militant ethnography and the ethical boundaries of the field. Verbal presentation at the School of Geography Postgraduate Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand.

2018

Chapter in Book - Research

Costa Camoes Rabello, R., Anderson, V., & Nairn, K. (2018). An exploration of social investment discourses in the oil and gas sector. In D. Crowther, S. Seifi & A. Moyeen (Eds.), The goals of sustainable development: Responsibility and governance. (pp. 139-154). Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-5047-3_9

Costa Camoes Rabello, R., Nairn, K., & Anderson, V. (2018). Rethinking corporate social responsibility in capitalist neoliberal times. In D. Crowther & S. Seifi (Eds.), Redefining corporate social responsibility. (pp. 27-41). Bingley, UK: Emerald. doi: 10.1108/S2043-052320180000013005

Journal - Research Article

Bäckström, A., & Nairn, K. (2018). Skateboarding beyond the limits of gender? Strategic interventions in Sweden. Leisure Studies, 37(4), 424-439. doi: 10.1080/02614367.2018.1462397

Sligo, J. L., Nairn, K. M., & McGee, R. O. (2018). Rethinking integration in mixed methods research using data from different eras: Lessons from a project about teenage vocational behaviour. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 21(1), 63-75. doi: 10.1080/13645579.2017.1321868

Nairn, K., Anderson, V., & Blanch, K. (2018). Future teachers debate charter schools on Facebook: Analysing their political subjectivities. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 39(1), 41-52. doi: 10.1080/01596306.2016.1228045

2017

Journal - Research Article

Graham, K., Treharne, G. J., & Nairn, K. (2017). Using Foucault's theory of disciplinary power to critically examine the construction of gender in secondary schools. Social & Personality Psychology Compass, 11(2), e12302. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12302

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Graham, K., Treharne, G., & Nairn, K. (2017, July). Student educators' understandings of gender: A qualitative exploration of secondary and tertiary education settings in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Verbal presentation at the British Psychology Society (BPS) Psychology of Women Section 30th Anniversary Annual Conference, Windsor, UK.

Graham, K., Treharne, G., & Nairn, K. (2017, July). Using discourse analysis to explore secondary and tertiary educators' conceptualisation of their role. Verbal presentation at the Qualitative Methods in Psychology Conference, Aberystwyth, UK.

Other Research Output

Sandretto, S. & Nairn, K. (2018, October). Do parenting advice books help or harm? Critiquing 'common-sense' advice for mothers raising boys. College of Education Research Seminar Series, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Department Seminar].

2016

Edited Book - Research

Nairn, K., Kraftl, P., & Skelton, T. (Eds.). (2016). Space, place, and environment. Singapore: Springer, 566p.

Chapter in Book - Research

Nairn, K., & Kraftl, P. (2016). Introduction to children and young people, space, place, and environment. In K. Nairn, P. Kraftl & T. Skelton (Eds.), Space, place, and environment. (pp. 1-24). Singapore: Springer.

Freeman, C., Gollop, M., & Nairn, K. (2016). Disasters, displacement, and disruption: Children and young people's experience of spatial change following disasters. In N. Ansell, N. Klocker & T. Skelton (Eds.), Geographies of global issues: Change and threat. (pp. 375-399). Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-4585-54-5_11

Journal - Research Article

Smith, L., Nairn, K., & Sandretto, S. (2016). Complicating hetero-normative spaces at school formals in New Zealand. Gender, Place & Culture, 23(5), 589-606. doi: 10.1080/0966369X.2015.1034245

Other Research Output

Nairn, K. (2016, September). Sustaining academic writing: How did a new postgraduate course "Writing for publication in the social sciences" work?. College of Education, Research Seminar Series, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Department Seminar].

2015

Journal - Research Article

Freeman, C., Nairn, K., & Gollop, M. (2015). Disaster impact and recovery: What children and young people can tell us. Kōtuitui, 10(2), 103-115. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2015.1066400

Nairn, K., & Wyn, J. (2015). New girlhood and lost boys: Analysing the cultural politics of gender and education through film. Discourse, 36(6), 821-832. doi: 10.1080/01596306.2014.973372

Nairn, K., Cameron, J., Anakin, M., Juntrasook, A., Wass, R., Sligo, J., & Morrison, C. (2015). Negotiating the challenge of collaborative writing: Learning from one writing group's mutiny. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(3), 596-608. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2014.973383

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Nairn, K. (2015, November). 'Out of sight, out of mind' Education provision for learners disengaged from school. Verbal presentation at the New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE) Conference: Emancipation Through Education, Whakatāne, New Zealand.

Nairn, K. (2015, November). Creatively researching with young adults who are encountering uncertain futures. Verbal presentation at the New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE) Conference: Emancipation Through Education, Whakatāne, New Zealand.

2014

Chapter in Book - Research

Higgins, J., & Nairn, K. (2014). "Out of sight, out of mind?" Education provision for learners disengaged from school. In V. M. Carpenter & S. Osborne (Eds.), Twelve thousand hours: Education and poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand. (pp. 145-164). Auckland, New Zealand: Dunmore.

Nairn, K., & Higgins, J. (2014). Stay or go? Reading identity through young people’s lives in rural places. In J. Wyn & H. Cahill (Eds.), Handbook of children and youth studies. (pp. 1-11). Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-4451-96-3_9-1

Journal - Research Article

Brown, K., Nairn, K., & Sandretto, S. (2014). Learners' experiences in negotiating excellence. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 49(1), 87-100.

Spowart, L., & Nairn, K. (2014). (Re)performing emotions in diary-interviews. Qualitative Research, 14(3), 327-340. doi: 10.1177/1468794112473498

Brown, K., Nairn, K., van der Meer, J., & Scott, C. (2014). "We were told we’re not teachers ... It gets difficult to draw the line": Negotiating roles in Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS). Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 22(2), 146-161. doi: 10.1080/13611267.2014.902559

Blanch, K., Nairn, K., & Sandretto, S. (2014). Facebook in the classroom: Blended audiences and multiple front-stages. International Journal of Social Media & Interactive Learning Environments, 2(1), 70-84. doi: 10.1504/IJSMILE.2014.059693

Journal - Research Other

Nairn, K. (2014). [Review of the book Henri Lefebvre and education. space, history, theory]. New Zealand Geographer, 70(3), 211-212. doi: 10.1111/nzg.12065

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Fielding, K., Smith, L. F., & Nairn, K. M. (2014). What can secondary initial education students learn from observing in a primary classroom? Proceedings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference. Retrieved from http://www.aera.net

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Nairn, K. (2014, October). Experimenting with our academic writing. Verbal presentation at the New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE) Student Caucus Workshops, Dunedin, New Zealand.

2013

Chapter in Book - Research

Sligo, J., & Nairn, K. (2013). Children's understandings of success. In N. Higgins & C. Freeman (Eds.), Childhoods: Growing up in Aotearoa New Zealand. (pp. 235-248). Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Press.

Journal - Research Article

Juntrasook, A., Nairn, K., Bond, C., & Spronken-Smith, R. (2013). Unpacking the narrative of non-positional leadership in academia: Hero and/or victim? Higher Education Research & Development, 32(2), 201-213. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2011.643858

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Nairn, K. (2013). Children of Rogernomics: How does this neoliberal "do" gender? In E. C. M. Grant, A. Alfaro & H. Radner (Eds.), At a Crossroads: Reconsidering Gender and Identity Research Colloquium: Refereed Abstracts. (pp. 12-13). Dunedin, New Zealand: Department of History and Art History, University of Otago. [Abstract]

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Anderson, V., Nairn, K., & Blanch, K. (2013, November). 'I'm trying to understand opposition to partnership schools': Facebook as a forum for examining pre-service teachers' views on educational issues. Verbal presentation at the New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE) National Conference: Creativity in Research: Generative Inquiries for Educational Futures, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Adam, L., Casey, B., Cross, D., Nairn, K., & Stein, S. (2013, August). What do we do about unintentional plagiarism? Panel discussion at the Spotlight on Teaching and Learning Colloquium, Dunedin, New Zealand.

2012

Authored Book - Research

Nairn, K., Higgins, J., & Sligo, J. (2012). Children of Rogernomics: A neoliberal generation leaves school. Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Press, 198p.

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Cameron, J., Juntrasook, A., Morrison, C., Nairn, K., Renner, S., Sligo, J., Tilson, J., Trevethan, H., Wass, R., & Anakin, M. (2012). Negotiating and sustaining academic writing groups. Proceedings of the Joint International Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) and the Asia Pacific Educational Research Association (APERA). Retrieved from http://aare-apera2012.com.au/

Freeman, C., Gollop, M., Taylor, N., & Nairn, K. (2012). Children and young people's voices in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake. Proceedings of the 6th Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference. (pp. 10). Retrieved from http://www.hazardseducation.org/conference/

2011

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K., & Higgins, J. (2011). The emotional geographies of neoliberal school reforms: Spaces of refuge and containment. Emotion, Space & Society, 4(3), 180-186. doi: 10.1016/j.emospa.2010.10.001

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Anakin, M., Morrison, C., Nairn, K., Tilson, J., Trevethan, H., Cameron, J., Juntrasook, A., Wass, R., & Sligo, J. (2011). Collaborative academic writing group [Panel discussion]. In K. Shephard, T. Harland & A. Cohen (Eds.), Proceedings of the Spotlight on Teaching and Learning Colloquium. (pp. 18). Dunedin, New Zealand: HEDC, University of Otago. [Abstract]

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Nairn, K. (2011, September). Education and employment interrupted: Young motherhood in neoliberal times. Verbal presentation at the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Annual Conference, London, UK.

2010

Chapter in Book - Research

Nairn, K., & Higgins, J. (2010). In transition: How the children of the economic reforms articulate identities at the child-adult border. In L. B. Claiborne & W. Drewery (Eds.), Human development: Family, place, culture. (pp. 253-255). Sydney, Australia: McGraw-Hill.

Higgins, J., & Nairn, K. (2010). In transition: From school to work in the twenty-first century. In G. McLennan, McManus & P. Spoonley (Eds.), Exploring society: Sociology for New Zealand students. (3rd ed.) (pp. 160-161). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson.

Journal - Research Article

Higgins, J., Nairn, K., & Sligo, J. (2010). Vocational imagination and labour market literacy: Young New Zealanders making education-employment linkages. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 62(1), 13-25. doi: 10.1080/13636820903491716

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Juntrasook, A., Bond, C., Spronken-Smith, R., & Nairn, K. (2010). Unpacking the complexities of leadership in academic life through the multiple lenses of narrative analysis. Proceedings of the Contemporary Ethnography Across the Disciplines (CEAD) Hui. (pp. 99-100). Retrieved from http://cead.org.nz/Site/Ethnography_conference/Programme.aspx

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Juntrasook, A., & Nairn, K. (2010, November). Becoming vulnerable in academia: Re-considering vulnerabilities in a research interview with a 'marginalised' academic. Verbal presentation at the University of Otago Postcolonial Studies Research Network Symposium: Vulnerability, Dunedin, New Zealand.

2009

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K., & Higgins, J. (2009). 'In transition': How the children of the economic reforms articulate identities at the child/adult border. Childrenz Issues, 13(1), 30-34.

Higgins, J., Nairn, K., & Sligo, J. (2009). Alternative ways of expressing and reading identity. Ethnography & Education, 4(1), 83-99. doi: 10.1080/17457820802703549

Cameron, J., Nairn, K., & Higgins, J. (2009). Demystifying academic writing: Reflections on emotions, know-how and academic identity. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 33(2), 269-284.

Nairn, K., & Panelli, R. (2009). Using fiction to make meaning in research with young people in rural New Zealand. Qualitative Inquiry, 15(1), 96-112. doi: 10.1177/1077800408318314

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Nairn, K., & Wyn, J. (2009, November). Coming of age stories in film: Divergent subjectivities of hope and marginalisation. Verbal presentation at the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (SAA(NZ)) Conference, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

2008

Chapter in Book - Other

Higgins, J., Nairn, K., & Sligo, J. (2008). Peer research with youth: Negotiating (sub)cultural capital, place and participation in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In S. Kindon, R. Pain & M. Kesby (Eds.), Participatory action research approaches and methods: Connecting people, participation and place (Reprinted). (pp. 104-111). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Nairn, K. (2008). Understanding alienation from school: Reading spaces, reading emotions. Proceedings of the Emotional Geographies of Education Symposium. Retrieved from http://www.education.monash.edu/research/conferences/emotional-ed/index.html

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Nairn, K., Higgins, J., & Sligo, J. (2008, November). Buying into the promise of the knowledge economy in NZ: Young people's decision-making as they leave school. Verbal presentation at the International Sociology of Education Conference, London, UK.

2007

Chapter in Book - Research

Higgins, J., Nairn, K., & Sligo, J. (2007). Peer research with youth: Negotiating (sub)cultural capital, place and participation in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In S. Kindon, R. Pain & M. Kesby (Eds.), Participatory action research approaches and methods: Connecting people, participation and place. (pp. 104-111). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K., Higgins, J., & Ormond, A. (2007). Post-school horizons: New Zealand's neo-liberal generation in transition. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 17(4), 349-366.

Nairn, K., & Higgins, J. (2007). New Zealand's neoliberal generation: Tracing discourses of economic (ir)rationality. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 20(3), 261-281.

Nairn, K., Higgins, J., & Sligo, J. (2007). Youth researching youth: ″Trading on″ subcultural capital in peer research methodologies. Teachers College Record, 14515. Retrieved from http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=14515

2006

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K., Higgins, J., Thompson, B., Anderson, M., & Fu, N. (2006). 'It's just like the teenage stereotype, you go out and drink and stuff': Hearing from young people who don't drink. Journal of Youth Studies, 9(3), 287-304.

Higgins, J., & Nairn, K. (2006). 'In transition': Choice and the children of New Zealand's economic reforms. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 27(2), 207-220.

Nairn, K., Sligo, J., & Freeman, C. (2006). Polarizing participation in local government: Which young people are included and excluded? Children, Youth & Environments, 16(2), 248-271.

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Nairn, K. (2006, December). Perceptions of how safe lesbian, gay and bisexual students are in NZ high schools. Verbal presentation at the Sexual Health Research Network Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand.

2005

Journal - Research Article

Anderson, V., & Nairn, K. (2005). Commentary: Teaching and mothering: Reflections on the dual role. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 40(1 & 2), 211-220.

Nairn, K. (2005). The problems of utilizing 'Direct experience' in geography education. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 29(2), 293-309.

Nairn, K., Munro, J., & Smith, A. B. (2005). A counter-narrative of a 'failed' interview. Qualitative Research, 5(2), 221-244.

2004

Journal - Research Article

Ashcroft, C., & Nairn, K. (2004). Critiquing the Tertiary Education Commission's role in New Zealand's tertiary education system: Policy, practice and panopticism. ACCESS, 23(2), 43-54.

Smith, A. B., Gaffney, M., & Nairn, K. (2004). Health rights in secondary schools: Student and staff perspectives. Health Education Research, 19(1), 85-97. Oxford University Press.

Smith, A. B., Nairn, K., & Gaffney, M. (2004). Secondary students' involvement in recreational activities at school. Childrenz Issues, 8(1), 29-34.

2003

Chapter in Book - Research

Nairn, K. (2003). Young people's participation: What does it mean for libraries and librarians? In M. Nimon (Ed.), Connecting challenges: Issues for teacher and children's librarians. (pp. 120-126). Adelaide: Auslib Press.

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K. (2003). What has the geography of sleeping arrangements got to do with the geography of our teaching spaces? Gender, Place & Culture, 10(1), 67-81.

Nairn, K., & Smith, A. B. (2003). Taking students seriously: Their rights to be safe at school. Gender & Education, 15(2), 133-149.

Smith, A. B., Nairn, K., Taylor, N. J., & Gaffney, J. M. D. (2003). Staff and student perspectives on children's rights in New Zealand secondary schools. Childrenz Issues, 7(1), 9-16.

Nairn, K., Panelli, R., & McCormack, J. (2003). Destabilizing dualisms: Young people's experiences of rural and urban environments. Childhood, 10(1), 9-42. doi: 10.1177/0907568203010001002

Freeman, C., Nairn, K., & Sligo, J. L. (2003). 'Professionalising' participation: From rhetoric to practice. Children's Geographies, 1(1), 53-70.

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Freeman, C., Sligo, J. L., & Nairn, K. (2003, April). Young people's participation in community life. Verbal presentation at the Social Policy Research and Evaluation Conference 2003: Connecting policy, research and practice, Wellington, New Zealand.

Sligo, J. L., Munro, J. A., Nairn, K., Higgins, J., & Tuhiwai Smith, L. (2003, December). 'In transition': How the children of the economic reforms articulate identities at the child/adult border. Reporting from the pilot study. Verbal presentation at the Combined Annual Conference of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education and the Australian Association for Research in Education 2003 : Educational research, risks and dilemmas, Auckland, New Zealand.

Smith, A. B., Nairn, K., Sligo, J. L., Gaffney, J. M. D., & McCormack, J. (2003, June). Case studies of young people's participation in public life: Local government, boards of trustees and the youth parliament. Verbal presentation at the Fifth Child and Family Policy Conference: Joined up services: Linking together for children and families, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Nairn, K., & Smith, A. B. (2003, April). Young people as researchers in schools: The possibilities of peer research. Verbal presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association 2003: Accountability for educational quality, Chicago, IL.

Working Paper; Discussion Paper; Technical Report

Smith, A. B., Nairn, K., Sligo, J. L., Gaffney, J. M. D., & McCormack, J. (2003). Case studies of young people's participation in public life: Local government, boards of trustees and the youth parliament. University of Otago. 82p.

Other Research Output

Smith, A. B., Gaffney, J. M. D., Nairn, K., & Sligo, J. L. (2003). Case studies of young people's participation in public life. [Public Seminar].

2002

Chapter in Book - Research

Nairn, K. (2002). Doing feminist fieldwork about geography fieldwork. In P. Moss (Ed.), Geography and Gender: A Guide to its Methodology. (pp. 146-159). Oxford: Blackwell.

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K., & Smith, A. B. (2002). Secondary school students' experiences of bullying at school and their suggestions for dealing with it. Childrenz Issues, 6(1), 16-22.

Panelli, R., Nairn, K., Atwool, N. R., & McCormack, J. (2002). 'Hanging out': Print media constructions of young people in 'public space'. Childrenz Issues, 6(1), 23-30.

Panelli, R., Nairn, K., & McCormack, J. (2002). ''We make our own fun'': Reading the politics of youth with(in) community. Sociologia Ruralis, 42(2), 106-130. doi: 10.1111/1467-9523.00205

Journal - Research Other

Nairn, K. (2002). [Review of the book Line dancing: an atlas of geography curriculum and poetic possibilites]. Gender, Place & Culture, 9. [Book Review].

Other - Edited Journal

Nairn, K., & Gollop, M. (Eds.). (2002). Childrenz issues: Exploring Youth Issues, 6(1). [Journal Editor].

2001

Journal - Research Article

Taylor, N. J., Smith, A. B., & Nairn, K. (2001). Rights important to young people: Secondary student and staff perspectives. International Journal of Children's Rights, 9, 137-156.

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Nairn, K. (2001). Young people's participation - What does it mean for libraries and librarians? Australian Public Libraries, 14(1), 25-31.

2000

Edited Book - Research

Smith, A. B., Gollop, M. M., Marshall, K., & Nairn, K. (Eds.). (2000). Advocating for Children: International Perspectives on Children's Rights. Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 223p.

Journal - Research Article

Freeman, C., & Nairn, K. (2000). Children, young people and their environments: Changing themes. Childrenz Issues, 4(2), 7-13.

Nairn, K., Higgitt, D., & Vanneste, D. (2000). International perspectives on fieldcourses. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 24(2), 246-254.

1999

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K. (1999). Embodied fieldwork. Journal of Geography, 98, 272-282.

1997

Chapter in Book - Research

Nairn, K. (1997). Hearing from quiet students: The politics of silence and of voice in geography classrooms. In S. Roberts, H. Nast & J. P. Jones (Eds.), Thresholds in Feminist Geography. (III ed.) (pp. 93-115). Lanham (USA): Rowman and Littlefield.

1996

Journal - Research Article

Nairn, K. (1996). Parties on geography fieldtrips: Embodied fieldwork? Women's Studies Journal, 12(2), 86-97.