Dr Michelle Donnelly

Michelle is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Stirling.

She is interested in how the law responds to children and young people. She researches and teaches in the areas of criminal and family law. Her work mainly focuses on youth justice, child protection and children’s rights. Her PhD research examined the theory and practice Scottish children’s hearings system. As a socio-legal researcher, she adopts doctrinal and empirical research methods and has expertise in qualitative methods. She has contributed to research funded by the Scottish Government, Carnegie Trust and Economic and Social Research Council. She previously worked as a Research Assistant for the SCCJR and JUSTICE: Scotland.

Research Keywords: youth justice; child protection; children’s hearings; welfare; decision-making