Linda Milbourne, BA, MSc, PhD

Lecturer in Youth, Voluntary and Community Studies

Contact details

Department of Social Policy and Education
Birkbeck, University of London
26 Russell Square
London WC1B 5DQ
email: l.milbourne@bbk.ac.uk
tel: 020 3073 8373

Employment history

Linda is responsible for programmes in Voluntary Sector and Youth Studies and related research in those fields. She previously worked with the Centre for Public Policy Research, at Kings College London completing studies on social exclusion and the effectiveness of voluntary sector programmes aimed to support disaffected young people. She has extensive experience of education work with young people and adults in post compulsory education, is a trained teacher and was a further education college Principal. Linda previously taught on Social Policy, Management and Lifelong Learning programmes at Kings College London and Birkbeck and undertook external assessment and moderation.

Recently completed/current research

Among recent studies Linda has undertaken independently commissioned research for public and voluntary sector agencies, exploring the effects of social policy initiatives on community based organisations working with children and young people, youth engagement and participation. She has contributed to research on the implementation of Compacts between local government and the voluntary sector.

She has also undertaken an area based study of organisations working with ‘hard to reach’ groups of people, including refugees and asylum seekers, and travellers. She is particularly interested to explore ways in which shifts in regulation and performance demands from funders have affected the nature and possibilities of community based work, and the roles and values of workers. Based at Kings College, Linda also completed an ESRC funded study on inter-agency work in relation to young people at risk of school exclusion.

Linda is currently developing research proposals related to recent youth policies with colleagues in other universities and a local authority partner. Throughout her research she has been concerned with issues of power and participation, and is interested in developing an action research project which will benefit research participants in practical ways.

She would be interested in supervising research related to inter-agency and partnership working; youth and educational initiatives; and changes in the voluntary and community sectors.

Publications

• Milbourne, L. (2009) Valuing difference or securing compliance? Working to involve young people in community settings. Children and Society, 23 (5).
• Milbourne, L. (2009). 'Remodelling the Third Sector: advancing collaboration or competition in community based initiatives?' Journal of Social Policy 38 (2) pp. 277-297.
• Milbourne, L. (2009). ‘Engaging disaffected young people’. In Making Schools Different, K. te Riele (ed.), Sydney/London: Sage, pp.74-85.
• Milbourne L. (2007) Poor sisters or professional partners? The effects of a growing performance culture in mainstreaming voluntary sector alternatives in education (working paper)
• Milbourne, L. (2005) 'Children, Families and Inter-Agency Work: Experiences of Partnership Work in Primary Education Settings', British Education Research Journal, 31 (6), pp. 681-701.
• Milbourne, L. (2002) 'Unspoken Exclusion: Experiences of Continued Marginalisation from Education among 'Hard to Reach' Groups of Adults and Children', British Journal of Sociology of Education, 23 (2) pp. 287-305.
• Milbourne, L. (2002) 'Life at the Margin: Education of Young People, Social Policy and the Meanings of Social Exclusion', International Journal of Inclusive Education, 6 (4), pp. 325-343.

Joint authored

• Eason, J. and L. Milbourne. (2009). ‘Doing Pedagogy differently in practice: two case studies' . In Making Schools Different , K. te Riele (ed.), Sydney/London: Sage, pp.86-91.
  
• Milbourne, L., S. Macrae and M. Maguire (2003) 'Collaborative Solutions or New Policy Problems: Exploring Multi-Agency Partnerships in Education and Health Work', Journal of Education Policy, 18 (1), pp. 19-35.
• Maguire, M., S. Macrae and L. Milbourne (2004) 'Early Interventions: Preventing School Exclusions in the Primary Setting', Westminster Journal of Studies in Education, 26 (2), pp. 43-62.
• Macrae, S., M. Maguire and L. Milbourne (2003) 'Starting Young: Challenging Exclusion in the Primary School', Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Research Report, London.
• Macrae, S., M. Maguire and L. Milbourne (2003) 'Social Exclusion: Exclusion from School', International Journal of Inclusive Education, 7 (2), pp. 89-101.

Commissioned work/reports

• Milbourne, L. and S. Finch (2007) Review of Voluntary Sector Organisation Feedback on Children and Young People's Block of Lewisham Local Area Agreement Process, 4Children with London Borough of Lewisham.
• Milbourne, L. (2001) ‘Best Value’ in Childcare. London: UNISON, June 2001.
• Milbourne, L. (2000) Childcare and Needs among Refugees and Asylum seekers in the London Borough of Lewisham. London: Daycare Trust and London Borough of Lewisham.
• Milbourne, L. (2000) Building in Childcare: a guide for housing organisations. Daycare Trust with People for Action.
• Milbourne, L. (1999) Needs among Hard to Reach Groups in the London Borough of Southwark. London: Daycare Trust with Southwark Children First.
• Milbourne, L. and M. Green (1998) Making Learning Support Work, FE Matters, 2 (7), Further Education Development Agency.

Book reviews

• Milbourne, L. (2007) review on Glaister, A., and B. Glaister. (2005). Inter-Agency Collaboration: Providing for Children. Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press, in Journal of Education Policy, 22 (1).