Early childhood education and care

Studies of the characteristics and conditions of the early childhood workforce, their competences and experiences of early childhood settings, children and their perspectives, and parents.

Our research in early childhood education and care has been highly influential over many years. We founded the international network on leave policies and take an active part in the production of its annual international review of parenting leave. We also carry out policy analyses and bring critical perspectives to bear, to stimulate debate in the field.

Research
Events
Publications
Researchers

Research

Slow Knowledge and the unhurried child (2020-2021)
Practitioner wellbeing and the physical environment in early childhood education and care settings (2020-21)
Families in Tower Hamlets: impacts of COVID-19 (2020-21)
Private sector childcare in England (2019-20)
Children’s Photographic Voices (2018-19)
Men working in Early Childhood Education and Care settings in Ireland (PHD Study)
Children Take part: pedagogical documentation through arts for enhancing children’s engagement and extending professional development (2018 -)
Early childhood workforce profiles across Europe: 33 country reports with key contextual data (SEEPRO-3) (In English and German). (2021-2024)

Completed projects

Consultancy for London Early Years Foundation (2018)
Provision and use of preschool childcare in Britain (2012-15)

Events

Transforming Early Childhood Education in England: Towards a Democratic Education: A webinar of hope and possibilities. 16 September 2020
Critical junctures, unprecedented changes, unsolved challenges: Spotlight on the ECEC system in Germany. Seminar with Professor Pamela Oberhuemer, 14 November 2019
Be Realistic: Demand the Impossible seminar with Professor Helen Penn, 6 November 2018
Finnish early childhood education and care and leave policies: what can the UK learn? Seminar at the Finnish Embassy organised by visiting scholar Petteri Eerola, 15 March 2018
Early Childhood Education and Care: new debates. Seminar and book launch, 13 December 2017

Publications

2024

Oberhuemer, P. and Schreyer, I. (eds.) (2024). Early Childhood Workforce Profiles Across Europe. 33 Country Reports with Key Contextual Data. Munich: State Institute for Early Childhood Research and Media Literacy (IFP).

2023

Oberhuemer, P., Riedel, B., Warnatsch, R. and Bader, S. (2023). ’Team concepts in early childhood education and care – potentials and challenges of heterogeneous staff teams.’ Editorial, special issue. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 17(23).

2022

Oberhuemer, P. and Parker-Rees, R. (2022). ‘Obituary. Liz Brooker April 1946 – August 2022.’ Early Years – An International Journal of Research, 42(4-5).
Lin, M., Moon, M., Xu, Y. and Oberhuemer, P. (2022). ‘Building a competent early childhood education and care workforce in the Asia-Pacific region’. Editorial, special issue. Early Years – An International Journal of Research, 42(1), 1-5.
Schreyer, I. and Oberhuemer, P. (2022). ‘Elementarpädagogisches Personal in Europa: Die neue seepro-Studie’ [Early Childhood Education Staff in Europe: The New SEEPRO study]. KiTa aktuell, 10(6), 19-20.

2020

Cameron, C and P, Moss. (2020). Transforming Early Childhood in England: Towards a Democratic Education (eds), UCL Press
Cameron, C., Meetoo, V., Johansen, T. and Jackson, S. (2020). Knowledge exchange, foster care and early education: Introducing treasure baskets to foster carers of young children. Child and Family Social Work, 25,4
Clark, A. (2020). Quilting with the Mosaic approach: smooth and striated spaces in early childhood research. Journal of Early Childhood Education Research, 8(2), 236-251.
Flewitt, R and Clark, A. (2020). Porous Boundaries: Reconceptualising the home literacy environment as a digitally networked space for 0-3-year-olds. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy.
Meetoo, V,. Cameron, C,. Clark, A and Jackson, S. (2020). Complex ‘everyday’ lives meet multiple networks: the social and educational lives of young children in foster care and their foster carers. Adoption & Fostering, 44.
Moss, P. (2020). Childcare and standardisation: threats to young children’s rights. J. Murray, B.B. Swadener and K. Smith (eds.) The Routledge International Handbook of Young Children’s Rights. Abingdon: Routledge
Moss, P., Duvander, A.-Z. and Koslowski, A. (eds.). (2020). Parental Leave and Beyond: Recent international developments, current issues and future directions. Bristol: Policy Press
Moss, P. and Urban, M. (2020). The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study: The scores are in! Urban Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood
Oberhuemer, P. (together with M. Li and M. Moon) (in progress). Building a competent ECEC workforce in the Asia-Pacific region. Special issue: guest editors for Early Years. An International Research Journal.
Oberhuemer, P. (2020). Be realistic, demand the impossible. Book review. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 21(2), 176-177
The 2020 edition of the annual International Review of Leave (PDF)

2018

Miller, L., Cameron, C., Dalli, C. and Barbour, N. (eds) (2018). The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Policy. London, SAGE.