People
The research team
Maria Kambouri, PhD (University of Warwick, UK) is an Associate Professor of Early Years Childhood, Education and Care at the University of Reading. Before completing her PhD, she worked as an early years teacher in settings and schools in the UK and Cyprus, for over six years. Maria is interested in the way that children acquire knowledge and develop their skills and understanding during their early years of life. She strongly believes in the power of play based learning and the importance of parental involvement and differentiation, which are the core philosophies of her pedagogical propositions. Maria was the Principal Investigator and led the team of researchers working on the 4Ps Project “Practitioners and Parents Play Partnership” (funded by The Froebel Trust), at the University of Reading.
View Maria’s University of Reading staff profile
Teresa Wilson is a lecturer at the University of Reading and teaches on a range of programmes including the BA in Children’s Development and Learning and the Post-Graduate Certificate in Early Years Practice. She is also the Programme Director of the BA in Education Studies. Teresa’s main research interest lies within partnership with parents and her textbook: Working with parents, families and carers: the essential guide was published in 2016. She is the author of the toolkit for practitioners to support the textbook.
View Teresa’s University of Reading staff profile
Myria Pieridou, PhD (University of Cyprus, Cyprus) is a Lecturer in Education (Inclusion) at The Open University and has worked as a primary school teacher in Cyprus and in Greek schools in London, for six years. Myria is interested in inclusive pedagogy, policy and practice, in parental involvement and engagement, and in supporting all children’s participation and learning. She has worked closely with practitioners and children in order to plan, organise and implement inclusive practices, and is conducting research so as to strengthen the educational support provided to children and to increase their participation.
View Myria’s staff profile on The Open University website
Suzanne Flannery Quinn, PhD (Syracuse University, USA) was until recently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Roehampton, London, in Early Childhood Studies while she is now the KOMPAN Play Institute Manager. Her research involves critical inquiry relating to early years pedagogy and the use of photography, narrative, and literary devices in teacher training and continuing professional development. Suzanne has expertise in Froebelian principles, particularly those related to play, families, and environments. Suzanne is one of the editors of the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education along with J. L. Roopnarine, J. E. Johnson, and M. Patte. She is also a co-investigator on the 4Ps Project “Practitioners and Parents Play Partnership” (funded by The Froebel Trust), led by the University of Reading.
View Suzanne’s LinkedIn profile.
Research Support Team
Jo Elsey is a lecturer at the University of Reading and teaches on a range of programmes including the BA in Children’s Development and Learning and the Post-Graduate Certificate in Early Years Practice.
View Jo’s University of Reading staff profile
Geoff Taggart, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Reading and teaches on a range of programmes including the BA in Children’s Development and Learning and the Post-Graduate Certificate in Early Years Practice. All of his research focusses on ways in which education can help houman beings to flourish. A key theme centres on adult behaviour in learning organisations which espouse an ethic of care, particularly behaviours associated with professional resilience and reflection.
View Geoff’s University of Reading staff profile
Anna Tsakalaki, PhD (University of Reading, UK) is a Lecturer at the Institute of Education, University of Reading. Anna is the programme director of the PG Cert SENCo Programme and does research in Educational Psychology. Anna specialises in learners with dyslexia and reading and writing development and difficulties.
View Anna’s staff profile at the the University of Reading
Jie Liu, PhD (University of Reading, UK) has worked in China, Singapore and England as an EFL lecturer at tertiary level. Her previous research experiences involve multilingual education of Chinese ethnic minorities, family language policy among bilingual families in England and EAL teaching in England. Her main research interests include multilingual education, multilingualism and EFL/ESL teaching and learning. Jie completed her PhD in 2017 and she was the postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Reading on the 4Ps Project “Practitioners and Parents Play Partnership” (funded by The Froebel Trust). She is currently a lecturer at UCL, London.