Parenting and family life in a rapidly changing digital world
Supervisor :
27th January 2027
Queen Mary University of London has partnered with the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to offer a joint scholarship programme to enable Chinese students to study for a PhD programme at Queen Mary. Under the scheme, Queen Mary will provide scholarships to cover all tuition fees, whilst the CSC will provide living expenses and one return flight ticket to successful applicants.
Applicants must:
- Be applying for CSC funding.
- Be a citizen and permanent resident of the People’s Republic of China and hold a Chinese passport.
- Satisfy all eligibility criteria set out by the CSC and must refer to the CSC website for full details.
- Apply to QMUL by 27th January 2027. Late applications will not be considered.
- Submit ALL required documentation, including evidence of their English Language ability ahead of the CSC application deadline.
CSC application rules differ slightly for domestic applicants (students applying from China) and overseas applicants (students applying from overseas). Therefore, ALL applicants are advised to see the CSC website for full details on eligibility and conditions on the scholarship.
Project Overview
Digital technology is embedded in everyday family life. During middle childhood (~ 8-12 years), parents and children use technology independently and together to find information, play, learn and communicate. At the same time, technology use often requires negotiation and can create tension or conflict within families.
Drawing on transactional (Sameroff, 2009) and family systems frameworks (Cox & Paley, 2003), this PhD will examine technology use as a dynamic family process that emerges via reciprocal parent-child interactions in the context of daily family life. It will move beyond exploring the impact of parental mediation strategies on children’s technology use to investigate how families establish, negotiate and adapt shared understanding of ‘acceptable’ technology use. The project will examine how technology becomes embedded within daily family routines to promote connection, cooperation and support. It will also focus on ‘pinch points’, including before- and after-school transitions, mealtimes and bedtime, and how these may be associated with stress, negotiation and conflict.
The role of technology affordances will form an important component of this research. The project may explore how features such as portability, notifications, personalisation, parental controls, autoplay and emerging AI-enabled functions influence family routines, interactions and negotiations concerning technology use. The project will also explore whether these processes differ across families. There is particular scope to focus on families of children with attention-related differences, where children's needs, parenting demands, and the benefits and challenges of digital technology may interact in distinctive ways. Candidates will have considerable scope to define the project's specific research questions and methods.
Research Environment
The successful candidate will join Dr Kostyrka-Allchorne’s group, which includes other PhD students and pre- and postdoctoral researchers whose research focuses on the risks and opportunities of growing up in the digital world. The supervisor will provide mentorship and access to collaborative networks, and diverse research training and career development opportunities. The candidate will also have opportunities to present findings at national and international conferences and contribute to high-quality peer-reviewed publications.
PhD students follow a structured programme with clear milestones, including talks, posters, and symposia, which help develop strong research communication skills. The department has an excellent completion rate, reflecting the supportive training environment.
School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences
Entry Requirements
We are looking for candidates who have or are expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours Master’s degree in an area relevant to the project, such as developmental psychology or psychopathology, psychiatric research or a closely related subject. Candidates without an MSc will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
Candidates should have a strong interest in mixed-methods research, with a specific focus on understanding the opportunities and challenges parents and children face in the digital world.
The successful candidate will be well organised, self-motivated, and will show intellectual curiosity. They will be flexible, show initiative, and have a strong commitment to rigorous research. They will also demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills. Prior experience in data collection (either quantitative or qualitative) would be an advantage.
You must meet the IELTS requirements for your course and upload evidence before CSC’s application deadline, ideally by 17th March 2027. You are therefore strongly advised to sit an approved English Language test as soon as possible, where your IELTS test must still be valid when you enrol for the programme.
Find out more about our entry requirements here.
How to Apply
Formal applications must be submitted through our online form by 27th January 2027 for consideration. Please identify yourself as a ‘CSC Scholar’ in the funding section of the application.
Applicants are required to submit the following documents:
- Your CV
- Personal Statement
- Evidence of English Language e.g.) IELTS Certificate
- Copies of academic transcripts and degree certificates
- References
Find out more about our application process on our SBBS website.
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Dr Katarzyna Kostyrka-Allchorne at k.kostyrka-allchorne@qmul.ac.uk. Admissions-related queries can be sent to sbbs-phd-admissions@qmul.ac.uk.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the supervisor. If you are successful in your QMUL application, then you will be issued an QMUL Offer Letter, conditional on securing a CSC scholarship along with academic conditions still required to meet our entry requirements.
Once applicants have obtained their QMUL Offer Letter, they should then apply to CSC for the scholarship with the support of the supervisor.
For further information, please go to the QMUL China Scholarship Council webpage.
See Also