Seminar hosted by ISS21 Children and Young People Research Cluster and UCC Futures Children 

Please register: https://forms.office.com/e/x4HRuNSE8R

 Presenters & Papers

• Jen Ni Dhuibhir: Developing early years educators agency and capacity as bilingual development specialists: "I learned how to use a simpler and clearer structure to help children understand and respond" Jen, based in a Gaeltacht, is a researcher and primary school educator whose PhD work focuses on supporting young children’s bilingualism and the early acquisition of Irish within early childhood environments

• Marcella Towler: All work and no play? An exploration of how discourses of play are portrayed on early childhood education websites. Marcella is a Lecturer on the BA Early Years and Childhood Studies and the MEd in the School of Education. Her research interests relate to Froebelian education, outdoor pedagogy and early childhood curricula and practice in Ireland and Lesotho.

• Aoife Lynch: An exploration of the impact of regulatory and managerial systems on early childhood educators' capacity to facilitate meaningful child participation in ECCE settings in Ireland. Aoife is a PhD researcher in the School of Applied Social Studies. In her current role, she mentors early childhood educators and teachers in schools and early years services in the Northwest of Cork City. 

• Angela Santoro: Teaching Social-Emotional Literacy in Early Years through Storybooks. Angela is a PhD researcher in the School of Education since 2024. A teacher in the New York City Public School system for 5 years prior to moving to Cork. Angela currently works in an early years service in Cork city.

• Katie Marah: Exploring autistic children's experiences of participation in decision-making in Irish primary schools. Katie is a PhD student in the School of Applied Social Studies. She is leading on a SATLE funded project on neurodivergence in Higher Education.