Dr Danny Connelly

    Applied Social Studies

    Assistant Professor / Lecturer

    Biography

    I am Assistant Professor in Community and Youth Work within the Department of Applied Social Studies where I have worked since January 2025. I teach across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules in relation to youth work theory, practice and policy.


    I have over ten years of youth work experience, including leadership roles, and I have previously held education and research positions in Manchester, Yorkshire and London. I hold a First Class BA in Youth and Community Work. I achieved a First Class MA in Educational Research for conducting an ethnography with dispossessed and marginalised sections of working-class youth, critically analysing the intersections of social class, education and employment. My PhD in Education was awarded in 2024 which constitutes a critical evaluation of the changing relationship between young people and youth work, through analysis of practitioners’ perspectives on youth work employability provision.


    More broadly, I am interested in a range of social justice issues, primarily shaped by my experience working in inner-city areas with socioeconomically disadvantaged young people. I am committed to deepening academic discourse on young people, social inequalities, and youth work, whilst also seeking to influence policy and practice to create environments where all young people, regardless of background, can thrive.

    Research Interests

    My research interests are broadly in youth work, youth studies and critical policy analysis:

    • Youth Work Practice and Policy
    • Social Class and Marginalisation
    • Education Inequality
    • Youth Unemployment
    • Youth and Crime


    Methodologically, I am interested in qualitative methods to examine lived experience of young people and youth and community work practitioners, particularly those who work with youth on the margins of society.  

     

    Peer Reviewed Journal

    Year Publication
    2020 Danny Connelly; Robin Simmons; Ron Thompson (2020) '‘Education ain’t for us’: using Bourdieu to understand the lives of young White working-class men classified as not in education, employment or training'. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 25 (2). https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2020.1742992

    Other Journal

    Year Publication
    2018 Danny Connelly (2018) 'Young Men Not in Education, Employment or Training: A Critical Perspective' Post16 Educator, (91) . [Link]

    Conference Contribution

    Year Publication
    2022 Danny Connelly (2022) Youth Work History: Discourses of Care and Control PGR Conference The University of Huddersfield, .
    2021 Danny Connelly (2021) Employability Training and Youth Work Youth and Community Work Conference The University of Huddersfield, .
    2019 Danny Connelly; Robin Simmons (2019) Research into the lives of NEET young people Youth Work Seminar Series The University of Huddersfield, .
    Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2025) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

    Honors and Awards

    Date Title Awarding Body
    14/09/2020 Vice Chancellors Scholarship The University of Huddersfield

    Teaching Interests

    My teaching in deeply informed by the belief that education is not merely knowledge transmission, but rather a transformative learning experience that fosters agency, creativity and critical thinking. My pedagogical approach prioritises dialogue, active participation and inclusivity, ensuring that students can feel valued, challenged and inspired as they develop their professional identities.


    My teaching spans across various areas, including youth work theory and professional practice, critical issues in practice, the social science context of practice, and research methodologies.