Steve Gennaro
Dr. Steve Gennaro is one of the founding members of the Children, Childhood, and Youth Studies Program at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he has taught for the last two decades. His research and advocacy focus on children’s rights, with particular attention to sport, digital culture, and education. Dr. Gennaro works closely with Canada Soccer on Safe Sport initiatives, coach education, and youth development, emphasizing a rights-based approach to sport that aligns with the UNCRC and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His scholarship bridges the gap between theory and practice, ensuring that sport environments empower young athletes as autonomous decision-makers while promoting their protection, provision, and participation rights.
Research Interests:
I am a scholar and activist for children’s rights, with a focus on young people’s play, work, activism, and agency across digital and physical spaces. My research examines how critical media literacy and critical digital literacy shape young people’s participation in civil society, as well as how sport can be a vehicle for empowerment, inclusion, and social justice. I apply a rights-based approach through ethnographic research in partnership with local school boards, NGOs, sports organizations, and governing bodies. By integrating critical theory with an intersectional lens, I investigate the protection, provision, and participation rights of young people in both virtual and sporting environments. My work in Safe Sport and coach education advocates for ethical and inclusive practices that align with the UNCRC, ensuring that young athletes’ voices and experiences remain central to policy and practice.
Primary Areas of Study:
Sport and Safe Sport, Coach Education, UNCRC in Sport, Youth Development, Social Media, Critical Social Theory, Frankfurt School, Intersectionality, Media Studies, Philosophy of Education, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Philosophy of Technology, Young People, Play, Social Justice, Digital Spaces, Critical Media Literacy, Contemporary Children’s Culture