Dorothy Bottrell is a Senior Lecturer in Social Pedagogy, in the College of Education, Victoria University Melbourne and Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney. Her background is in secondary teaching, juvenile justice, youth and community work and TAFE teaching in community services. She has extensive experience working with marginalised young people and has led or contributed to participatory projects with young people and community organisations, including murals, girls’ film-making, establishing a young parents’ group, community-based education for early school-leavers and community development forums with children, young people, Aboriginal families and an older women’s group. Her research has focused on the resilience of marginalised young people, including theoretical and qualitative empirical work that centres young people’s accounts of school, community and service systems. She is currently researching the interrelationship of resilience and responsibility, using political ecology and social justice frameworks; and is associate researcher with Kitty te Riele and Vicky Plows (Victoria Institute) on alternative education programs. Dorothy is co-author of A political ecology of youth and crime; and or co-editor of Schools, communities and social inclusion; and Communities and change.