Ana Karen Reyes-Bailon

Profile

Before coming to Leeds to do my MA in Childhood Studies, I worked as a teacher in my hometown of Chihuahua, Mexico. During my teaching career, I observed the diverse ways children experience childhood, highlighting the crucial role of context in shaping children's culture and identity. I also witnessed firsthand the profound impact of violence on children and their communities. 

Violence in Mexico has led to consequences such as increased aggression, normalisation, and desensitisation to violence among children and adults. Educational authorities constantly called on teachers to support students and their families, but existing strategies were largely based on adult perspectives. This gap led me to explore children’s own perspectives on living in a context of violence, particularly in relation to their culture. 

I have experience conducting both qualitative and quantitative research, both as part of my degree and as an independent collaborator with the Latin American Bureau (LAB).

My PhD research project aims to explore and understand the culture of children in a context of violence. Building on Corsaro’s work, I propose to see children's culture as an entity in its own right, that is, with different ontological assumptions. In this case, considering that culture is shaped through entanglements among humans and more-than-humans. Through a post-humanist lens, this research explores how children construct their culture by examining the characteristics of their entanglements within the environment as they interpret their world amid the effects of violence. 

In autumn 2024, I conducted ethnographic research with children aged 6 to 8 living in a Casa Hogar (residential care center) in Chihuahua. Using creative methods such as drawing, social mapping, and work with children. I explored the intra-actions—mutual agencies—between children, people, spaces, and artefacts. My research aims to deepen our understanding of how children navigate and construct meaning within these entangled environments. 

Research interests

• Children’s Culture & Identity 
• Childhood Studies 
• Children’s rights
• Post-Humanism & New Materialism 
• Relational theories 
• Ethnographic & Creative Research Methods 
• Children’s Perspectives on Violence 
• More-than-Human Entanglements 
• Social & Cultural Constructions of Childhood 

Qualifications

• MA Childhood Studies - University of Leeds (2019 - 2020)
• BEd Preschool Education - IByCENECH, Mexico (2014 - 2018)