Christine Makuve

I am an educationist and social anthropologist, with a significant interest in education and social justice issues relating to children and young people. Over the last 21 years, I have worked in numerous capacities within the education and social inclusion sectors, variously working as a secondary teacher, FE/HE lecturer, Local Education Authority manager, and Regional Manager for the education and training of young offenders.

My work has been predominantly concerned with educational delivery in the statutory, FE and HE sectors, as well as the educational inclusion and re-inclusion of vulnerable and challenging young people, including children excluded from school, looked after children, young offenders, and BME children. Some of my key responsibilities have involved developing and writing policy, strategy and practice guidance, working with multi-agency teams to plan and implement targeted support for vulnerable and challenging children, and monitoring, challenging and supporting schools with regards to the education of these children. From a teaching point of view, I have experience of teaching across a diverse range of educational settings and age groups, including secondary, FE vocational and academic programmes, as well as HE undergraduate degree teaching. Over the last several years, I have also been an associate of Nimrod Cush Consultants, providing generalist and specialist educational consultancy and training.

I am currently conducting narrative analysis research into identity in the lives of 1.5 and 2nd generation young people of Zimbabwean heritage in the UK. Particular foci within this research include: the realities and perceptions of diaspora; identity, hybridity and polyphony in relation to children from migrant communities; as well as postcolonial identity concepts such as liminality and mimesis. I also have a significant interest in the exploration of the phantasmagorical nature of identity, home and belonging for geographically dislocated people.