Early Childhood Education, Care and Families Research Group
The group brings together research and scholarly staff with a shared focus on education, care and the family in early childhood. Drawing on multidisciplinary expertise across psychology, sociology, and pedagogy, the group engages in research on social equity, family and child well-being, caregiving and the home learning environment, practitioner professionalisation, marketisation, and the policy contexts shaping early childhood education and care. The group’s expertise spans both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
In addition to research, the group develops practice-orientated collaborations with external stakeholders and contributes to teaching in the field. Its aims are to build strong connections between researchers and practitioners to foster collaboration and research-informed knowledge exchange.
Projects
Publications
Alm Fjellborg, A., Forsberg, H., & Waddling, J. (2026). Shaping diversity: How preschool market composition influences social mixing in Swedish preschools. In Socializing inequality: Class, culture and cognition in early childhood (pp. 99–114). Routledge.
At?? Akyol, N., Atalan Ergin, D., & Kallitsoglou, A. (2023). The pathway from grandparental support with childcare in the early years to child socioemotional outcomes in middle childhood: Evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study. Early Child Development and Care, 193(9–10), 1067–1082.
Axford, N., Bjornstad, G., Matthews, J., Heilmann, S., Raja, A., Ukoumunne, O. C., Berry, V., Wilkinson, T., Timmons, L., Hobbs, T., Eames, T., Kallitsoglou, A., Blower, S., & Warner, G. (2020). The effectiveness of a therapeutic parenting program for children aged 6–11 years with behavioral or emotional difficulties: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Children and Youth Services Review, 117, Article 105245.
Brosinsky, L., Georgis, R., Gokiert, R., Mejia, T., & Kirova, A. (2018). RAISED between cultures: New resources for working with children of immigrant or refugee background. Childhood Education, 94(2), 18–27.
Forsberg, H., Waddling, J., & Fjellborg, A. A. (2024). Class-based preschool enrolment: Social stratification and quality differences in the Swedish preschool market. Education Inquiry, 15(1), 104–125.
Georgis, R., Gokiert, R., & Kirova, A. (2018). Researcher reflections on early childhood partnerships with immigrant and refugee communities. In Collaborative cross-cultural research methodologies in early care and education contexts (pp. 115–129). Routledge.
Gokiert, R. J., Georgis, R., Tremblay, M., Krishnan, V., Vandenberghe, C., & Lee, C. (2014). Evaluating the adequacy of social-emotional measures in early childhood. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 32(5), 441–454.
Kallitsoglou, A. (2020). Implementation of evidence-based practices for early childhood social learning: A viewpoint on the role of teacher attitudes. Journal of Children’s Services, 15(2), 61–74.
Kallitsoglou, A., & Repana, V. (2021). Attachment disorganisation and poor maternal discipline in early childhood: Independent contributions to symptoms of conduct problems. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 26(4), 436–448.
Kallitsoglou, A., Repana, V., & Shiakou, M. (2022). Children’s family drawings: Association with attachment representations in story stem narratives and social and emotional difficulties. Early Child Development and Care, 192(8), 1337–1348.
Kallitsoglou, A., & Topalli, P.-Z. (2024). Home-schooling and caring for children during the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK: Emotional states, systems of support and coping strategies in working mothers. Frontiers in Sociology, 9, Article 1168465.
Morgül, E., Kallitsoglou, A., Essau, C. A., & Castro-Kemp, S. (2022). Caregiver-reported changes in the socioemotional wellbeing and daily habits of children with special educational needs during the first COVID-19 national lockdown in the United Kingdom. Frontiers in Special Education, 7, Article 838938.
Tremblay, M., Gokiert, R., Georgis, R., Edwards, K., & Skrypnek, B. (2013). Aboriginal perspectives on social-emotional competence in early childhood. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 4(4), Article 2.
Waddling, J., Bertilsson, E., & Palme, M. (2019). Struggling with capital: A Bourdieusian analysis of educational strategies among internationally mobile middle class families in Sweden. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 40(5), 697–716.
Collaborations and Partnerships with Schools and Early Years Settings
We are always interested in collaborating on research with both researchers and practitioners. We recognise that schools and early years settings are busy environments, so we aim to ensure that any partnership is mutually beneficial. For instance, in working together, we can share our findings in accessible ways or offer short knowledge-exchange presentations for staff or parents, focusing on topics of interest to you that align with our expertise.
If you are interested in exploring potential collaboration, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Please see members' profiles for information on current and past projects.
