Dustin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Childhood & Youth Studies. He completed his PhD in Political Science and International Development Studies at the University of Guelph. His teaching and research focus is on children’s rights, participation, and activism. These areas of study are contextually explored across peace and conflict, forced migration, and global development issues. His academic focus is intent on critiquing adult-centric norms, values, and institutions as a means by which to facilitate children and youth-adaptable practices.
Teaching
- CYS 2214: Introduction to Advocacy
- CYS 2231: Childhood, Poverty Policy, and the Law
- CYS 2251: Student Rights in School
- CYS 3312: Research Methodologies for Life Worlds and Cultures
- CYS 3351: Facilitating Child Advocacy
Research
CURRENT PROJECTS
“Collaborating for a cause: How civil society organizations and schools can foster sustainable child activism,” King’s Research Excellence Scholar Grant
“Deconstructing adultism in international non-governmental organizations: How Childism can facilitate the contributions of children and youth in global development,” King’s Research Grant
Selected Publications
Ciufo, D. (forthcoming). Encountering international child protection: A historical analysis for children’s right to protection through a post-development lens. In C. Ciufo & J. De Barros (Eds.), Child protection and the rights of the child: Transnational perspectives. McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Ciufo, D. (forthcoming). Young peoples’ experiences of margins and privilege in humanitarian disarmament: Resisting militarism through transnational youth activism for a mine free world. In J. Marshall Beier & J. Tabak (Eds.), Militarism in the lifeworlds of children. Manchester University Press.
Ciufo, D. (2025). Advancing children’s right to migration in Canada: Assessing the participatory rights of unaccompanied children in their refugee claim process. Refuge: Canada’s journal on refugees, 40(2).
Bendo, D., Ciufo, D., & Goodwin-De Faria, C. (2025). Beyond implementation: A critical children’s rights-based approach to the experiences of neurodiverse justice-involved youth. In V. Llobet, D. Reynaert, A. Twum-Danso Imoh, & W. Vandenhole (Eds.), Towards a field of critical children’s rights studies: A new handbook (pp. 241 – 254). Routledge.
Bendo, D., Goodwin-De Faria, C., & Ciufo, D. (2022). Contestation and perseverance in a time of competing crises: An intersectional analysis of young women and girls’ climate activism during COVID-19. Canadian journal of children’s rights / Revue canadienne des droits des enfants, 9(1), pp. 24 – 48. https://doi.org/10.22215/cjcr.v9i1.3900
Ciufo, D. (2022). Advancing the participatory rights of Haitian children and youth in the context of migration. Humanitarian alternatives, 19(1), pp. 60 – 69.