Faculty of Education

Seminar Series Programme 2015/16

Childhood Today: An Exploration of the
Contemporary Experiences of Children

CONTENTS
The Cotton Wool Child - Wednesday 7th October 2015

The Egocentric Child - Wednesday 18th November 2015

The Universal Child - Wednesday 2nd December 2015

The SEN Child - Wednesday 20th January 2016

The Regulated Child - Wednesday 10th February 2016

The Stressed Child - Wednesday 9th March 2016

The Political Child - Wednesday 13th April 2016

The Natural Child - Wednesday 4th May 2016

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The Poor Child - Wednesday 1st June 2016

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The Fictive Child - Wednesday 29th June 2016

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WELCOME
The significance of the situation of children today is well established and is
increasingly on the agenda of government departments and agencies worldwide.
This seminar series will seek to explore some of the central aspects of childrens
contemporary experience, particularly within the United Kingdom, but with
relation to international perspectives. The seminar series will form the basis of a
published book of the same name.
Each seminar will be research-informed, focusing on the challenges faced by children aged
from birth to ten years and the long term implications of these early years upon a childs
future life experience. The series will incorporate a Faculty-wide, interdisciplinary perspective
that acknowledges the importance of childrens experience for sustainable futures by
critically engaging with current debates and good practice.
We very much look forward to welcoming you at these events and hope that you will find
each session thought-provoking and challenging.
Dr Alex Owen
Head of Department, Early Childhood

SEMINAR PROGRAMME
The Cotton Wool Child
Dr Zoi Nikiforidou, Lecturer in Early Childhood
Wednesday 7th October 2015 (4pm), EDEN Lecture Theatre
Synopsis: Risk and challenge are fundamental components of child development. However,
concerns for dangers, injuries, and threats as part of modern societies have led to the
increase in regulations and provisions intending to ensure secure, risk-free environments.
However, the confrontation of risk does not only lie in adults accountability but is a lifelong
skill that may be fostered from Early Childhood Education (ECE). In this sense, young
children can become risk literate from within the educational context. The aim of this seminar
is to argue and discuss the position of risk in childrens growth, the socio-cultural construct
of risk, the capability of being a risk-taker and/or a risk-averter.
Biography: Dr Zoi Nikiforidou
Dr Zoi Nikiforidou is a Lecturer in Early Childhood in the Faculty of
Education, Liverpool Hope University. Her research interests incorporate both
methodological and theoretical issues on teaching and learning as well as
aspects of cognitive development in early years. Her main focus is on childrens
reasoning, decision making, probabilistic thinking and risk taking.

The Egocentric Child

Dr Jim Stack, Lecturer in Education and Dr Donna Halliday, Associate Lecturer
Wednesday 18th November 2015 (4pm), Powys Lecture Theatre (EDEN 036)
Synopsis: Jean Piagets views on genetic epistemology have had a profound influence on
our understanding of child development and education. This account contrasts with passive,
uni-directional behavioural accounts (e.g., Skinner, 1938) arguing that learning, conceptual
understanding and development occur, firstly through building on prior awareness and
understanding, secondly through a genetically pre-programmed timetable of development,
and thirdly, occurs most optimally when situated within socially constructed exchanges (e.g.,
Piaget, 1948, 1952, 1954).
These views bring us to a cross-road in current appraisals of Piagetian theory. On the one
hand the model has provided a much needed conceptual framework from which further
understanding has emerged. On the other, more recent Neo-Piagetian research has
demonstrated that the egocentric argument is now largely obsolete. Since his death in 1980
there has been a dramatic paradigm shift which has seen the emergence of the theory of
mind paradigm. This seminar explains the key motive behind this new approach which is to
empirically demonstrate the manner in which children, and more recently infants, are able to
view others actions at the level the third-person mental state understanding (e.g., reasoning
about goals, intentions, perceptions, desires and beliefs).
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Biography: Dr Jim Stack

Dr Jim Stack has been a Lecturer in Early Childhood and Education Studies
at Liverpool Hope University for the last four years. He gained his PhD in
developmental psychology from Lancaster University in 2010. His research
focuses in the area of theory of mind and forms part of a Neo-Piagetian
approach. It uses experimental designs and attempts to demonstrate the factors
that underpin mental state reasoning (e.g. understanding of goals, intentions, perceptions,
desires and beliefs) across different early developmental periods. He is currently conducting
research in two related areas, using a non-verbal (violation of expectation) paradigm and
focusing on whether infants have an implicit understanding of belief states across the
second year. Jim is also assessing the relationship between collaborative activities and
sharing behaviours with young children. In this lecture he will be using an evidence-based
approach, utilising data from other researchers within the Neo-Piagetian approach to provide
a contemporary critique of Piagets account of egocentrism in infancy and early childhood.
Biography: Dr Donna Halliday, Associate Lecturer
Dr Donna Halliday is an Associate Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at
Liverpool Hope University, where she has also just completed her PhD in
Psychology. She has also taught in Social Sciences at Liverpool John Moores
University. Previously she has been a Research Officer for the School of
Humanities and Social Science at Liverpool John Moores University, a
Researcher for the Behavioural Epidemiology unit at the Centre for Public Health, LJMU,
and a Research Assistant (KTP) at The University of Central Lancashire. Her research
focuses on the influence of communal trauma and post-memory in shaping the cultural
identities and social relationships of children, how this interacts with practices of conflict, and
its long term implications.

The Universal Child

Professor Theodora Papatheodorou, Professorial Fellow
Wednesday 2nd December 2015 (4pm), EDEN Lecture Theatre
Synopsis: The aim of this seminar is to discuss research evidence from different fields
of study and from early childhood programme evaluation and explore its use as a political
instrument to argue for targeted services, especially for the poor and disadvantaged. The
shift of focus from services for all children, based on the principles of the Rights of the
Child, to targeted services to reduce poverty and inequality denotes a change of course
and direction in the field; early childhood provision is increasingly seen and has become
an interventionist service. The latter, however, is not without its challenges; despite its
noble cause, there is a great danger that interventionist early childhood provision is forcing
and morphing young children into a universal prototype, as defined by intended learning
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outcomes, child assessment norms and other associated quality indicators.

The unique child and their individuality and the proclaimed respect for difference and
diversity may be threatened and sacrificed in interventionist models of early childhood with
great personal, social and cultural cost with unforeseen consequences in the long run.
The theme of the seminar is central to childrens contemporary experience, as it has
increasingly been shaped within early years provision settings, because of universal systemic
responses to dominant research and policy discourses that see children in the making
of tomorrows productive citizens at the expense of their being today as potent and
individually unique citizens.
Biography: Theodora Papatheodorou, PhD; MBPsS
I was born and initially educated in Greece, where I worked for over 15 years
in preschools and special education schools. I came to the UK in late 1980s
to do my Masters in Education and doctoral studies at Cardiff University. I
entered higher education in late 1990s and worked for nearly 15 years in several
universities holding different posts, with early childhood always being my
professional, academic and research interest and the focus of my writing. In 2013, I joined
Save the Children UK, where I worked as early childhood care and development (ECCD)
adviser. My responsibilities included the development of the organisations ECCD strategy,
the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of two programmes that focused
on emergent literacy and integrated ECCD and implemented in African, South East Asian
and Latin American countries. I currently work independently on selective projects, with the
latest being the design of Satellite Pre-schools in Tanzania, a joint project of the Ministry of
Education and UNICEF in Tanzania, and I have an ongoing role as a Professorial Fellow of
Early Childhood in the Faculty of Education at Liverpool Hope University.

The SEN Child

Dr Marie Caslin, Lecturer in Disability and Education and Laura Waite, Lecturer in Disability
Education
Wednesday 20th January 2016 (4pm), EDEN Lecture Theatre
Synopsis: This seminar will deconstruct the notion of the SEN Child and explore some of
the issues around this given identity. Drawing on Caslins research with the Challenging
Child and Waites with the PMLD Child, the presentation will examine ideas around voice
and silence.

Biography: Marie Caslin

Marie Caslin is Lecturer in Disability and Education at Liverpool Hope University,
where she is a core member of the Centre for Culture and Disability Studies
(CCDS). Her research interests lie within the field of Disability Studies and
Education, with a particular focus on the educational experiences of children
labelled as having Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) and
pupil voice research.
Biography: Laura Waite
Laura joined the Faculty of Education at Liverpool Hope University in 2004,
bringing with her a long and varied career within education, health, social
services and the voluntary sector. Her research interests lie within the field of
Disability Studies in Education, with a particular focus on children described as
having profound and multiple learning disabilities and she is a core member of
the Facultys Research Centre for Culture and Disability Studies (CCDS).

The Regulated Child by State, Family and Welfare Services

Professor Carol Aubrey, Professorial Fellow
Wednesday 10th February 2016 (4pm), EDEN Lecture Theatre
Synopsis: This seminar draws on a recent case study that sought to investigate the views of
twenty-eight vulnerable children and young people (CYP) on their involvement in integrated
multi-agency assessment of their additional needs in one local authority in England through
the common assessment framework (CAF) (Department for Education and Skills, 2004).
Drawing on semi-structured interviews and visual methods with CYP, it attempts to reveal
how age and competence interact when novel ways are found to elicit views of CYP on
decisions that affect their lives, whilst at the same time, participation and protection may
conflict.
Regarding the wider participation of children in decision-making that affects their lives, the
international literature review undertaken suggests that not all countries are yet granting
CYP a right to have a say in line with the United Nations (UN) (1989) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child. Specific issues are raised in areas of child protection where intervention
may mean removal from the family. Children do not always want to be consulted or to attend
meetings of professionals. As our CYP found, the experience is not necessarily rewarding,
may not increase empowerment in the decision-making process or be regarded as a positive
force in their lives. At the same time, lack of involvement can increase powerlessness and
contribute to a lack of confidence and lowered self-esteem. The chapter concludes that
notions childrens rights remain political and hence a contested area.

Biography: Professor Carol Aubrey

Carol Aubrey is Professorial Fellow at Liverpool Hope University. She trained
and worked as a primary school teacher and educational psychologist. She spent
a number of years in primary teacher education as director of PGCE (Primary)
and Deputy and Acting Director of the School of Education at the University of
Durham. She has a long-term interest in childrens policy and services, nationally
and internationally, and has been involved in a number of related project evaluations, for
example, reviewing services for vulnerable young children 5-12 years and evaluating four
Sure Start local projects for Coventry local authority (LA), carrying out a CYP service
satisfaction survey for Wolverhampton LA and evaluation of a family education programme
for UNICEF in Uzbekistan.

The Stressed Child

Dr Nina Sajaniemi, Head of Early Childhood Education, University of Helsinki
Wednesday 9th March 2016 (4pm), EDEN Lecture Theatre
Synopsis: Physiological reactions to stress impact diverse aspects of development,
especially memory, executive functions, and behaviour. That is why it is important to
enhance regulative skills in children and prevent cumulative difficulties related to possible
over- or under-arousal of stress regulative system. Stress regulative system includes
activation of autonomic nervous system (ANS) and hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA)
axis to stimulation that result in increase of stress hormones. Increase of stress hormone
effects on brain activation, especially in prefrontal cortex, which is highly immature at early
years. Quality of interaction between child and caregivers is the most direct and significant
modulator in the development of the stress regulation system. It is important to investigate
and intervene the quality of interaction between children and early educators.
The seminar explores our integrative theoretical background which is in interpersonal
neuroscience. Development is seen through increasing integration. We focus on positive
emotional circuits of SEEKING, PLAY and CARE. In addition, we share ideas of cultural
anthropology and sociology. We are focusing on shared care, co-operative parenting, intent
participation and infant and early childhood interaction studies. Our key concepts are rhythm
and resonance, responsiveness, attunement and emotional availability
Biography: Nina Sajaniemi has a PhD, is Principal Investigator, Adjunct
Professor (Developmental Neuropsychology) and Head of Early Childhood
Education in the Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki. She is
an experienced clinician in child neuropsychology and neuropsychotherapy and
she has been working at the Universitys hospital for 12 years. She has strong
expertise in early years development, both in low-risk and in high-risk children.
In addition, Sajaniemi has a pedagogical education (preschool teacher). She is
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working in the field of teacher education and is heading an early childhood special education
research group.
Sajaniemi is familiarised with various methods evaluating social, emotional and cognitive
development and learning. She has expertise in observation methods and has conducted
studies using mixed methods, combining social, behavioural, cognitive and biological levels of
human minds. Nina Sajaniemi has led several follow-up projects and educational intervention
projects including the prevention of bullying. She has been a visiting professor in Tumaini
University (Tanzania), Edith Cowan University (Australia) and University of Namibia. She
has/is supervising several graduate and PhD students.

The Political Child

Dr Jane Moore, Head of School of Teacher Education and Sue Cronin, Deputy Head of
School of Teacher Education
Wednesday 13th April 2016 (4pm), EDEN Lecture Theatre
Synopsis: The English education system is one of the most highly regulated in the world,
attracting widespread and long-standing concerns over the effects of frequent and early
assessment and standardised approaches to teaching and learning. The contested notion
of school-readiness has recently gained prominence in this debate, being seen, on the one
hand, as a means of addressing the inequality of opportunity that children have prior to
school entry; and on the other, as imposing further constraints on their early educational
experiences. This seminar will explore the issues surrounding this debate, in what might be
seen as the politicisation of childhood.
Biography: Dr Jane Moore
Dr Jane Moore is Head of the School of Teacher Education at Liverpool Hope
University. She is responsible for all initial teacher training programmes in the
School of Teacher Education, as well as the EdD, MEd/MA in Professional
Practice and other CPD provision. She has worked at a variety of schools
as a Secondary English specialist, as well as completing an MA and PhD in
the fields of cultural anthropology and museum studies. Janes research interests are in
education policy, teacher identity and professionalism and school improvement. Jane is a
school governor at two schools, and has completed her term as external examiner at Anglia
Ruskin University. She took her first degree in Philosophy and English at the University
of Cambridge. Her MA (University of Liverpool) in Archaeology, with a focus on social
anthropology and museum studies, and her PhD (also from the University of Liverpool),
situated in the disciplines of history and anthropology, drawing on a range of theoretical
perspectives, including cultural theory, literary theory and museum theory.

Biography: Sue Cronin

Sue Cronin is the Deputy Head of the School of Teacher Education with
responsibility for partnership. Sue has also taken the lead in the development
of the new School Direct Programmes working closely with schools to ensure
continued high quality training across all routes. Sue is an experienced teacher
educator. Her background is mathematics education where she started working
in secondary schools before working for Liverpool LA as a school effectiveness officer for
G&T pupils and then moving to Liverpool Hope. At Liverpool Hope, Sue has held a variety of
posts including Mathematics Coordinator and PGCE Secondary Coordinator.

The Natural Child

Dr Harriet Pattison, PDTF Early Childhood
Wednesday 4th May 2016 (4pm), EDEN Lecture Theatre
Synopsis: Over recent decades home education has become an increasingly popular
educational choice on a global scale. The movement has allowed the development of
alternative philosophies including that of autonomous education, based on the premise that
children are natural learners. In this way of thinking the child is endowed with characteristics
such as natural motivation, natural curiosity, natural desires to participate in social and adult
activities. These perceived natural attributes both create and legitimise a view of learning as
an organically unfolding, child-led and child-paced process. The view of the child as a natural
learner based on perceived inherent characteristics, rather than a cultural foundation, brings
an inevitability to learning allowing for the development of a theory of education that seeks
to preserve and protect the natural state of being a child, rather than to intervene and
arrange particular educational experiences aimed at culturally given ends.
During this seminar I will suggest that seeing the child as natural or a natural learner
should be considered a political, historical and cultural position rather than a reflection of
biology. Learning is natural finds its meaning within the particular educational context of
mass schooling in which learning is treated as a special and separate activity, that requires
careful management and is therefore unnatural. The construction of the natural child is a
political statement and a protest against the educational norms of our times as much as it is
a statement about learning.
Biography: Harriet Pattison
I have recently completed my PhD on how home educated children learn to read
and am myself an erstwhile home educator with on-going personal, political and
academic interests in national and international home education. My current
research interests include informal learning, the philosophy of alternative
education and literacy.

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The Poor Child

Dr Alex Owen, Head of the Department of Early Childhood and Dr Babs Anderson, Lecturer
in Early Childhood
Wednesday 1st June 2016 (4pm), EDEN Lecture Theatre
Synopsis: The Poor Child seminar will detail a research project, undertaken with the
Birkenhead Foundation Years Project, which sought to study the effectiveness of
interventions employed to support adults parenting children in their early years within a
context of poverty. The gap in holistic development between children living in poverty and
children unaffected by poverty has been shown to emerge as early as 22 months of age. This
then leads to significant differences in later life in terms of a childs opportunities to thrive.
Fields Review (2010) and Tickells Review (2011) reveal that one key influence upon holistic
development, during the early years, is the quality of relationships formed within the home.
This has particular relevance for those parenting in a context of poverty. A phenomenological
scoping study was undertaken to explore the subjective reasons why parents living in poverty
access informal social support networks, in the form of community based toddler groups, and
any impact this might have on child-directed behaviours. This seminar will explore the studys
findings and describe future research development.
Biography: Dr Alex Owen
Dr Alex Owen is Head of the Department of Early Childhood in the Faculty of
Education at Liverpool Hope University. Her research focuses on the impact of
poverty upon young childrens current life experience and future life chances.
Alexs research explores how engagement with informal social support networks
has value in terms of a parents mental well-being and a parents peer education;
both of which support a parents ability to parent a young child appropriately within a context
of poverty. She is a Senior Fellow of the HEA and a trustee for Oasis Community Learning,
one of the largest multi-Academy sponsors in England.
Biography: Dr Babs Anderson
Dr Babs Anderson is Lecturer in Early Childhood studies at Liverpool Hope
University. She taught for twenty five years, most of these part-time in a
primary school, focusing on the early years. In addition, she was a freelance
consultant for Knowsley Healthy Schools, advising and supporting schools
to gain accredited Healthy School status. One of her consultant programmes
consisted of listening to young children, working with early years practitioners in childrens
centres in two Local Authorities in the North West, supporting them in developing effective
communication.
Her research interests include young childrens collaborative learning, including when playing

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in continuous provision, the use of language as a cultural tool, young childrens thinking skills,
shared sustained thinking and the co-construction of knowledge and understanding within
adult-child dyads, child-child dyads and collaborative groups. She is the co-convenor of the
Special Interest Group, Holistic Well-being, of the European Early Childhood Education
Research Association (EECERA).

The Fictive Child: Representation of the Figure of the Child in Visual

Culture
Dr Maria da Costa, Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood
Wednesday 29th June 2016 (4pm), EDEN Lecture Theatre
Synopsis: This presentation examines the representation of the figure of the child in films.
The representation of the child in contemporary visual cultures is a growing area of research
in childhood studies. Whilst much debate and analyses have focussed on the developed
world in regards to childhoods and children represented via filmmaking, examining other
childhoods and other representation of the fictive child can contribute to nuanced analyses
of childhood, which could uncover a rather different emotional register at play to the child on
the screen. By interpreting the fictive child in relation to the agency of the child protagonist,
the presentation delves into the analyses of other childhoods in a developing context,
addressing questions of past trauma, politics, gender and play.
Biography: I am currently a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood at Liverpool
Hope. I hold a BA (Hons.) in Early Childhood, an MEd (University of Newcastle)
on Early Years / Inclusive Education and a PhD (Brunel University) on Sociology
of Education. Before coming to Hope I worked at the Institute of Education,
London and at the University of Warwick. I have achieved the status of a Senior
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
I also have taught abroad and my most recent experience was at the University of Shandong
China where I taught Qualitative Research Methods. My research interests are in the area
of visual representations and social constructions of childhood with special reference to
developing contents. I am currently engaged in two research projects. One pertains to the
migration of children to Canada (1900s) and the second one on children and childhood in
Botswana.

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Each Seminar will begin at 4pm. There will be an opportunity at the end of each
Seminar for Questions and Answers. Refreshments will be served prior to each
Seminar from 3.45pm outside the venue.
For further information about the Childhood Today Seminar Series please contact Dr Alex
Owen, Head of Department of Early Childhood by e-mail: [email protected]
To confirm your attendance at any of our Seminars, please contact Michelle Pryor, Marketing
and Communications Officer (Faculty of Education) by e-mail: [email protected] or
telephone: 0151 291 3460.

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Notes

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Faculty of Education
Liverpool Hope University
Hope Park
Liverpool
L16 9JD
t: 0151 291 3410
e: [email protected]
www.hope.ac.uk/education