Standard bearer Sander Thomaes to connect youth research to social questions

Professor of Developmental Psychology Sander Thomaes has been appointed as the standard bearer of the NWA (Dutch Research Agenda) Youth Route. He plans to use this position to connect scientific knowledge to practical issues in the fields of youth support and education.

The Youth route in development, upbringing and education is one of the 25 routes of the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA). The NWA is based on thousands of questions from Dutch people about the sciences, and this is the driving factor behind Sander Thomaes' goal for this project. 'In gathering questions for the research agenda, we realised that there are a lot of questions about children and youth, which science has largely already answered. We have a lot of knowledge about this subject in the Netherlands, which we are highly regarded for internationally as well. As the standard bearer, I want to ensure that this scientific knowledge is correctly applied in practice.' 

Urgent social questions

But for Thomaes, it is not just about getting the knowledge where it is needed. 'I also think that, as scientists, we should use our expertise optimally to answer more questions that are not just scientific, but also urgent to society. We have been doing this for more than 10, 15 years, but not long enough in my opinion. We should involve other parties from society in the initiation of our questions at a much earlier stage. It is difficult to do that well, so we need to spend more time on this in the education of young researchers.' Won't this lead to 'research on appeal', in which society dictates the research agenda? That is not the intention, according to Thomaes. 'Society does not dictate questions, it inspires them. The trick is to ask informed questions in the field that are both scientifically innovative and have the potential to contribute to urgent social questions. There is purely applied research, and purely fundamental research. Both are important, but I want to bring more attention to research that connects the two.' 

Determining need

Professor of Educational Sciences Sabine Severiens (Erasmus University) will be Thomaes' colleague standard bearer. While she will represent the educational aspect of the research, he will focus on the research on the development of children and adolescents. He will focus on that one day per week. 'I will start with taking stock of needs. Which questions need answering most urgently? What do we know about those questions already, and how can we best apply that knowledge? To that end, I will consult extensively with ministries and social actors in the first phase.' 

Dynamics of Youth

Thomaes' perspective naturally also includes the knowledge that Utrecht University generates from the strategic theme Dynamics of Youth. 'We have a very unique infrastructure here, and we conduct research that connects directly to the Youth Route, while collaborating with social actors. Of course I want to help spread this research.'