We are proud to present the Inaugural Professorial Lecture of
Professor Verity Campbell Barr .
If we get education right in children’s earliest years, it will lay the foundations to their lifelong learning. Inevitably, this requires high-quality early childhood education that can foster children’s learning and development. Irrespective of theoretical or methodological approach, it is well established that those who work in early childhood education are central to its quality, but what makes a quality educator?
In her inaugural lecture, Verity Campbell-Barr, Professor in Early Childhood Education and Director of the Plymouth Institute of Education, will present an overview of her research into the professional knowledge base of early childhood educators, drawing on her international research to demonstrate how educators access a range of knowledges to inform their interactions with children.
Unpacking the skills, attitudes and understanding required for working with young children, Verity emphasises the importance of emotional knowledges for working in early childhood education. Using the analogy of a knowledge ‘basket’, she considers how educators utilise their professional knowledges for creating a quality curriculum that reflects the core concept of child-centredness. A curriculum that follows the child’s interests in support of their development requires knowledgeable educators who are sensitive to children’s needs and interests both in the present and the future.
Far from just playing with children all day, Verity’s research demonstrates the careful and considered ways in which educators skilfully draw on their knowledges to provide rich early childhood education experiences for young children.
You are welcome to join us for the University of Plymouth's Inaugural Professorial Lecture series, which provides a milestone event in a professorial career. Through these, we can promote and celebrate the academic reputation and achievements within their research.
