The Importance of Children’s Friendships in Early Childhood Education
About this episode
In this second episode (part 1 of 2) Dr Caron Carter talks to Professor Christine Pascal & Professor Tony Bertram about the importance of children’s friendships in Early Childhood Education and the links to children’s wellbeing, including flourishment and joy, encouraging children to connect respectfully with others and recovery and re-entry into school and settings post Covid-19.
Guest speakers
Professor Christine Pascal, PhD, MSocSc specialises in early childhood research and evaluation projects using mixed methods which are flexible in approach and close to practice. Currently she is President of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) and was previously President of the British Association for Early Childhood Education from 1994-1997 (and is now Vice President). She has also done extensive work at government level to support the development of early years policy, has served as a ministerial advisor, and an Early Years Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on Education. She has written extensively on early childhood development and the quality of early education services and served as an Expert Advisor to Tickell’s review of the EYFS. In the past 3 years she has delivered a number of early years policy and evidence reviews for clients including The Sutton Trust, Teach First, and Early Education. drchrispascal@crec.co.uk
Professor Tony Bertram, PhD, MEd, BEd established, with Chris Pascal, the Centre for Research in Early Childhood, becoming a research Professor in Early Childhood International Development in 2003. He is Editor in Chief of the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal and was its elected President from 1992-2007. He has been a member of the Ministerial Early Education Advisory Group (EEAG), which advised the government on the development of the Foundation Stage curriculum and has extensive experience in leading early childhood research and evaluation projects which combine quantitative and qualitative data generation and analysis for the improvement of policy and practice in the early childhood sector, nationally and internationally. drtonybertram@crec.co.uk