Dr Jools Page, NNEB, DPQS, MA, PhD

Lecturer in Early Childhood Education
Director for MA in Early Childhood Education (UK)
Director for Malta MA (ECE & Ed Studies)

Tel: (+44) (0)114 222 8103
Fax: (+44) (0)114 279 6236
Email: j.m.page@Sheffield.ac.uk
Room: 7.10

Teaching

Jools teaches Early Childhood Education online and at weekend study schools both in the UK and overseas and is particularly experienced in student-staff relationships, assessment, presentation, individual tuition (both face to face and at a distance) and group teaching. She teaches sessions both on the substantive areas of her own research: policy issues, babies and children under three and in academic study skills, research methods, library and referencing skills. Jools is committed to striving for excellence, underlined in her approach to teaching. Students have commented on their regard for Jools’ academic knowledge of early childhood education as 'excellent' and on her skill in imparting that knowledge through different learning approaches as 'really inspiring'. Students have also recognised her ability 'to treat each individual as unique'.

Jools teaches on and is the Director of the following postgraduate courses in Early Childhood Education:

The part- time mixed mode, distance learning MA in ECE established in 1998, is an internationally renowned course designed for a range of early childhood professionals including: early years practitioners, FE and HE lecturers, teachers, nursery nurses, voluntary and independent providers, advisors, inspectors and managers working in areas relevant to early childhood to undertake postgraduate study while continuing to work in the field of Early Childhood Education. The course covers a broad range of issues but particularly aims to support students to:

examine their work within the changing field of early years provision
further understand and support children's learning and development
develop research skills and conduct small-scale projects.
examine current policies
study international developments
critically evaluate a range of literature
enhance their understanding of early childhood education and care from birth to eight

Jools also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students on the following programmes:

BA Education, Culture and Childhood is an undergraduate degree which combines two academic subject areas—Education Studies and Childhood Studies. Students on this programme are able to gain a detailed understanding of the themes underpinning current educational policy and practice and critically engage with issues surrounding child development and the meaning of childhood.
MA in Education: Early Childhood Education is a full-time course and runs from September to August. The content of the course follows that of the internationally renowned, part time mixed mode, distance-learning MA in ECE and is suited to students who wish to study full time for one-year.
EdD Early Childhood Education, a part-time distance-learning, doctoral programme based around residential weekends. This programme incorporates structured modules with a substantial thesis involving sustained research on a particular issue or topic;
PhD (Malta) which incorporates a taught element in Malta to accompany this doctoral qualification which is gained through successful production of a thesis and viva.

Jools is the external examiner for the MA in Early Childhood Studies, Roehampton University, UK

Research interests

Jools' research interests primarily focus on infant & toddler relationships with their key adults in group care provision and the rights of babies and young children, specifically those under three. She is particularly interested in notions of love and care. In her PhD research Mothers, Work and Childcare: Choices, Beliefs and Dilemmas Jools conducted life historical interviews with six mothers to examine their views on returning to work when their baby was under a year old and the complex issues of 'love' and 'care' in day care provision which she has conceptualised as ‘Professional Love’ . Recently Jools has been researching Professional and Parental Perspectives on current ECEC policy for two year olds.

Other Experience

Jools has worked in the field of early childhood education for over thirty years, and has significant experience in both caring for children and in policy making roles. Before joining the Early Childhood team at Sheffield she played a key role, leading on policy and practice for provision for children aged birth to three, in the Kent local authority advisory service.

Activities/Distinctions/Awards

Various Key note presentations & Seminars including:
'Babies and Young Children are Amazing': Birmingham Under-Twos Conference
'Young children's emotional well -being in UK policy and practice': Nuremburg Nursery Convention
'Let’s talk about love: The need for ‘professional love’ in paid childcare': Inaugural Early Education Baby Room Special Interest Group, London
'Aspects of Love: why close loving professional relationships are the key to learning for babies and young children': ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, University of Sheffield
'Exploring Diverse Perspectives on Theory, Research, Practice and Policy': International Symposium on Infant-toddler Education and Care, Charles Sturt University, Australia
'Permission to love them ... but not too much: Developing Professional Love in Early Childhood Settings'. EECERA: Pre-birth to three: Identities, Learning, Diversities 22nd Annual Conference, Portugal
'Caring For Babies in the Nursery Environment Conference' (with Peter Elfer) Babies' brain development, babies' emotional development and babies' play and laughter’: Surrey Baby Conference
'Oh to be 2': County Durham Annual Early Years conference
'Love hurts: ‘expressions of emotion’ as a thematic meaning- making lens, to interpret the decision -making process and childcare choices of six mothers when their babies were under twelve months of age'. EECERA: Pre-birth to three: Identities, Learning, Diversities 22nd Annual Conference, Portugal.
'Treasuring Best Practice from Birth' : Kings Lynn & Norwich Early Years Seminars
'Babies: Building Resilient Toddlers': Essex Baby Conference
'Professional Love: What is the value of the concept in nursery contexts?' Early Childhood Research Centre Seminar, Unversity of Roehampton
Under 3’s Expert panel member to the Baby Room Research project (Goouch, K and Powell, S. Canterbury Christchurch University, funded by Esmée Fairbairn)
International under 3’s expert to the Resolving Conflict project ( Dolby, R., Hughes, E. and Friezer, B.,) New South Wales, Australia.
Referee for various publisher s including SAGE, ROUTLEDGE and OPEN UNIVERSITY

Recent publications

Books

Clough, P. Nutbrown, C and Page, J. (2012) (Eds) Researching Early Childhood Education: Voices from Malta. Sheffield, University of Sheffield.

Nutbrown, C. and Page, J. (2008) Working with babies and young children: from birth to three. London: Sage.

Journal articles

Page, J. (2011). Do mothers want professional carers to love their babies? Journal of Early Childhood Research. 9(3), http://ecr.sagepub.com/content/9/3/310

Page, J., and Elfer, P. (2013). The emotional complexity of attachment interactions in nursery, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, Online 5 February 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2013.766032

Page, J. (2013) Childcare Choices and Voices: using interpreted narratives and thematic meaning-making to analyse mothers’ life histories. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. Online: 24 June 2013. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09518398.2013.805850#.UiXwvbzpaKN

Page, J. (2013 ). Will the ‘good’ [working] mother please stand up?: Professional and maternal concerns about education, care and love. Gender & Education Journal , 25 (5), pp 548-563. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2013.797069

Book chapters

Page, J. (forthcoming). Developing "professional love" in early childhood settings, In L Harrison and J Sumsion (Eds). Lived Spaces of Infant-Toddler Education and Care - Exploring Diverse Perspectives on Theory, Research, Practice and Policy. International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development Series. Springer Publishing. [in press]

Other publications

Page, J. (2011) Let´s talk about love: the need for professional love in paid childcare: Early Education, no 63, Spring 2011, the birth to three issue.

Elfer, P and Page, J (2013) Briefing Paper Response to Coalition Proposals on improving quality of child care 'More Great Childcare'.

Research Students

Jonathan Borg - Raise Your Hands if You’re Not Here; The Narratives of Gay Teachers

Joy Chalke - Explorations of early years practitioners perceptions associated with changes in
Early Childhood Education and Care since 2000

Sarah Cousins - Love in a cold climate: Warming stories of love as a gift in Early Childhood
Education and Care contexts

Jane Hudson - Nurturing the young child’s spirit in the Early Years Foundation Stage

Annushka Kimber - The effect of continually learning 'new cultures' on young children's sense of identity?

Andrea Lancaster - High Quality Provision for Two Year Olds in Schools

Vivienne Soale - Determining the priorities in the care and education of two-year-olds in England and how the impact on practice in different models of early years provision

Natalie Swaine Nwoko - Maltese primary school teachers’ perceptions of the role of creativity in the
classroom

Janet Uwins - A Life Historical study of Early Years Practitioners’ views of their experiences of ‘mothering’ and the influence on their professional role working with parents.

Leslieann Whiteman - An investigation of the ways in which families in a child care centre in Trinidad
can overcome historical, political and socio-economic factors in order to be able to
influence the development of warm-responsive parent –child relationships.

Recently completed doctoral studies

Dr Jo Barker - The changing role of the childminder in England

Dr Kim Wailling - Children under three as problems solvers