Tara Collins
I am a professor at the School of Child & Youth Care at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) where I also serve as program faculty with TMU’s graduate programs in Early Childhood Studies, Immigration & Settlement Studies, and Policy Studies PhD. I am also an honorary professor at the Children's Institute (external link) at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. I am the project director for the International & Canadian Child Rights Partnership (ICCRP), which is described further below.
I have a PhD from the University of London and my professional experience since 1996 includes universities in Canada, South Africa, Brazil, and Ireland; the Canadian federal government (Department of Foreign Affairs and Canadian International Development Agency as identified then, respectively); Parliament; and a national non-governmental organization. I have worked with young people in various ways in volunteer and professional capacities in community and recreational contexts since 1987.
In addition, I am a member of the Child Rights Academic Network (CRAN) (external link) ; Advisory Council of the Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights (external link) at Carleton University. I also serve as an Editorial Board member for Canadian Journal for Children’s Rights (external link) , Relational Child and Youth Care Practice (external link) , and as of June 2026, the (excel file) International Journal of Children’s Rights (external link) .
Research Interests
- Children’s rights/human rights
- Child and youth participation
- Child protection
- Non-discrimination
- Monitoring and child rights impact assessments (CRIAs)
- Anti-violence violence in schools
- The right to play
- Business
- Decoloniality
- Youth-Led Participatory Action Research (YPAR)
International and Canadian Child Rights Partnership (ICCRP)
The International and Canadian Child Rights Partnership (ICCRP) was established as an outcome of an international conference held at TMU in October 2015 on the subject of children's participation and child protection.
With a Partnership Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC - Canada), we conducted research in Canada and internationally on the connections between children’s rights to participation and protection. To ensure the inclusion of children and youth as partners, an international Child and Youth Advisory Committee (CYAC) was established with engagement from Brazil, South Africa, China and Canada to guide the research process. This Committee met virtually regularly to discuss issues related to children’s rights and the research process and efforts. There are numerous outputs: papers, newsletters, videos, and posters.
Through our prior work, the ICCRP identified a critically overlooked element in realizing child rights: intergenerational relationships. With SSHRC - Canada support through a Partnership Grant, and Ontario Research Fund - Research Excellence funding, the expanded ICCRP is now examining how intergenerational relationships can transcend current barriers to implementing children's rights, through intergenerational partnerships, in research, policy, and practice. The ICCRP now includes young people with lived experience, 37 researchers, and 30 partner organizations from universities, NGOs, major human rights institutions, and governments in Canada and in multiple countries across the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Our main research question is: How can intergenerational relationships contribute to challenge, and transcend barriers to realizing child rights? Our research objectives are:
- Expand conceptual models for intergenerational partnerships;
- Investigate processes for fostering intergenerational partnerships to support child rights, including youth activism;
- Identify and develop relational practices (intergenerational, decolonial, cross-national, cross-cultural, ethical) that can reform and stimulate research, public policy, and practice to support child rights; and
- Explore and analyze child rights education environments and how they support or hinder understanding of child rights among children, as well as intergenerational partnerships.
There are various case studies involving different populations and geographies to answer our main research question. We also have five Working Groups (WG), which are key vehicles for synthesis of case-study data and incisive application of our theoretical approach of relational child rights. Our case studies and WGs include young people, experts and emerging researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and a diverse mix of co-applicants, collaborators, and partners, as well as geographies and generations. WGs guide case studies in relation to the following five themes: Ethics, Participatory Methodology, Conceptual Interconnections, Policy, and Data & Evaluation.
See our website at International and Canadian Child Rights Partnership. If you have any questions about this project, please contact Dr. Tara Collins at tara.collins@torontomu.ca
- Dean’s Scholarly, Research and Creative Activity Award (Tenured), Faculty of Community Services, Toronto Metropolitan University, 2025.
- Appointed Honorary Professor, Children’s Institute (external link) , Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Univ. of Cape Town, South Africa, May 2024-April 2029 and May 2019-April 2024.
- Dean’s Teaching Award, Faculty of Community Services, Toronto Metropolitan University, 2017.
- Knowledge Mobilization and Engagement Award, Toronto Metropolitan University, 2015