Cluster for Early Years Education

 

The Early Years cluster is a Research and Knowledge Exchange group focussing on theory and practice within early childhood. Established and relaunched in 2017 as a research centre, then an early years specialist cluster group, it became integrated in  CREATE (Centre of Research for Educational Action and Theory Exchange), a centre of excellence harnessing the University's wide range of expertise and research interests in the broad field of Education.

We view children as social beings who make relationships with both the human and more-than-human world they exist in. We are committed to being advocates for both children and educators, with agency of voices at the heart of research. By listening to children, families and professionals within the sector we aim to influence and inform local, national and international early childhood policy and practices.

Our cross-disciplinary researchers therefore draw on innovative and wide-ranging methodologies as a way of contributing to the existing discourses on pedagogies (historical and contemporary), the (re)conceptualisation of play as well as ethical care practices, professional perspectives and quality within early childhood.

We work with cognitive psychologist Prof. Paul Sowden and the Centre for Real-world Learning as well as regional schools on the Arts Council-funded Creativity Collaborative, focussed on embedding creativity in the school curriculum.

We have particular research strengths in psychological views of development, social justice and Froebelian philosophies, underpinned by both more traditional methodologies, as well as creative and auto/biographical research.

Aims

Early Childhood Education is an important and expanding area in the Faculty of Education and the Arts. Responding to this the cluster aims to:

• encourage and facilitate staff and students to conduct research
• disseminate research findings to the academic world and beyond (i.e. professional and
  general audiences)
• build on members' established track records and continued presence in international forums
• enhance the research environment through developing student capacity, by increasing the recruitment of PGR and Masters students within the ambit of the research centre
• contribute to the research environment of REF UoA 23 Education
• advance the impact agenda of the REF and of the University; and assist members in continuing to generate income for the University through bids for project work and consultancy roles.
• Strengthening and building upon local links and relationships across the field of early years education.

Contact us

Meet the Cluster Lead, Dr Amanda Norman

Latest news

2024

In Sept, Dr Norman presented a paper at the annual conference of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). Her paper focussed on the importance of Transitional Objects during rest and sleep routines and rituals, within the wider conference theme of the role of developing sustainable Early Childhood Education (ECE) systems in the context of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Find out more about the EECERA 2024 conference.

In an age of smart phones, social media and structured play, children's freedom to run wild and let their imaginations run free is severely curbed, harming their development. In April, the Children's Alliance, of which Dr Norman Co-chairs the Early Years Working Group, handed in a report to No 10 Downing Street to petition for enhanced government support for play and creativity for children of all ages. The Power of Play: Building a Creative Britain outlines 10 key recommendations for policy makers, such as recognising play as a fundamental right, integrating play into educational policies, and investing in provision to strengthen the play sector at both national and local levels.

Read the Children's Alliance press release.

Watch the news report, featuring Dr Norman:

During the summer, Dr Norman co-led a special edition about childcare from a historical perspective within the Women’s History Now journal, of which she is an editorial board member.

"The journal focusses on how the nexus of the past informs the present", explains Dr Norman. "It was a great opportunity to network and showcase some fascinating work, from the Froebel Archives, an oral history project on mothers' experiences during the Pandemic, to Baby and Mother Homes in Ireland."

2023

Ellen Wood, Childhood Studies alumna 2019-2022, presented a talk to current students about her work with Project Play in September. Project Play work in France on the French-UK border (Calais and Dunkirk), providing safe spaces for displaced children to access their right to play. For two and a half months she volunteered with the organisation and she talked to the students about the highs and lows of this experience and what it is like working with displaced children and families on the border in France.

Ellen will return in 2025 to talk more about the importance of play for refugee children in France.

Events planned for 2025

Our events are open to any interested members of the public and education professionals. Further details TBA.

Talks

• Betul Sanlan, PhD student at Surrey University: School Nursing in Secondary Schools, England
• Andrea Camp, PhD student a University of Winchester: Democracy in Early Years
• Ellen Wood, University of Winchester Childhood Studies alumna: Play and Refugee children in France

Book launches and seminar workshops:

Norman, A (2024) Motherland. Lived Places US Publications.
Norman, A. (2024) The Baby Room. Lived Places US Publications.
Norman, A (2023) Transitional Objects in Early Childhood. London. Routledge.
Norman, A (2023) Using a Person-Centred Approach in Early Years Practice: A therapeutic guide for students and practitioners. London. Routledge