I have worked with children and their families or carers in a range of statutory and private organisations in health, education and social care over the last 30 years. My career in early years work began in a day care nursery for 120 children in Newport, South Wales and developed over the years as I learned more about children with disabilities, child protection and family support. In later years, my role as a practitioner expanded to include work with children and others who had experienced trauma and abuse. My interest in early years work and the development of the early years workforce comes from my belief in giving children positive experiences, a sense of self worth and valuing their contribution. I joined the team at Chichester in 2005 and hope to continue my work with children and their families through the programme by supporting students in their chosen careers and by respecting the contribution of students and staff in the emerging early years profession.

Email: P.Parry@chi.ac.uk

Telephone: 01243 816230

Kate had over twenty years experience as an early years practitioner working with young children with special needs and their families before moving into HE in 1999. She was the Programme Director of the Early Childhood Studies degree programmes in her previous post. Kate has written several books on special needs along with many articles and has presented at National and International conferences. She is currently a member of the National Early Years Advisory Board within NASEN (National Association of Special Educational Needs).

Email: K.Wall@chi.ac.uk

Telephone: 01243 816336

I teach modules on psychology, philosophy, language, children's literature and cultural/social issues as part of both the BA in Childhood Studies: Early Years and the BA (QTS) Early Years. I have many years experience within education across all age ranges in both the state and independent sectors, teaching English, PSHE, Careers Education, Drama, Information and Communication Technology and Business Studies.

I have also worked in the commercial sector as a technical author and IT manager. I have written a number of books on English literature including titles about Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. I have also edited a series of books for Hodder and Stoughton.

As well as lecturing at the University, I work in private practice as a psychodynamic counsellor. I work with clients who are experiencing a wide range of difficulties including eating disorders, breakdowns, depression, self harm and substance misuse. I specialise in working with depressive illnesses and also regularly lecture about treatments for depression. I am so old that I can now be called a BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor.

I am currently working on a PhD with at the University of Brighton which takes an Academic Literacies approach to student academic reading. I am also researching with my colleague, Kate Wall, into the way in with teachers and EYs professionals gain knowledge about special educational needs.

Email: R.Abbott@chi.ac.uk

Telephone: 01243 816231

Dr Jean Duncombe is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Studies, and has extensive experience in the design, conduct and analysis of qualitative research. She has taught research methods and supervised many students at both graduate and postgraduate levels. Her own research and publications cover a wide range of issues in relation to family life, specifically the contribution of the child.

Email: J.Duncombe@chi.ac.uk

Telephone: 01243 816386

I have a background in Experimental Psychology and worked on research projects on reading and visual perception. But I changed tack in 1983 to train to teach the nursery/infant age group and subsequently taught children with special educational needs in a range of secondary, primary and pre-school settings, as well as supporting parents to work with their children at home. 

I was particularly interested in working with children with speech and language problems and in 1994 became Teacher in Charge of a Pre-school Language Unit.  I also worked on the Effective Early Learning (EEL) project at Worcester from 1993 to 1998 and in 1996 trained as a Registered Nursery Inspector of educational provision in the non-maintained sector. 

I began the long drawn out process towards my doctorate at Birmingham in 1995 and carried out a range of small research projects related to the Children’s Fund and Advocacy.  In 2006 I completed an EdD in Educational Disadvantage and Special Educational Needs and then started collecting part-time research contracts on disability and disadvantage. 

Last October I joined the team at the University of Chichester supporting candidates for Early Years Professional Status, and I am also seconded to the research team at the Children’s Workforce Development Council evaluating projects trying out new ways of doing social work.  My research is strongly influenced by sociocultural and activity theory, in particular when applied to organisational structure, interactional style and approaches to pedagogy by practitioners with vocational career trajectories.

I have worked with young people for nearly twenty years in various capacities; as a Trainer/Assessor on different programmes, and as a part-time Youth Worker doing both club based and street work.  I have also taught in further and higher education for many years, including three different prisons.  I have wide experience on Childcare, Health and Social Care and Management programmes, which includes leading and teaching modules on: Diploma in Childcare and Education, National Diploma Childhood Studies, Access to Higher Education, A Level Sociology, BA(Hons) Childhood Studies, BA(Hons) Youth and Community, Foundation Degree in Childhood Studies, EYPS, Certificate in Education and others. I have broad experience as an assessor and external moderator for various lead bodies. My primary interests on childcare programmes are in the sociological, psychological and management areas.

Email: A.Kurowski@chi.ac.uk

Telephone: 01243 816231

Having trained as a nursery nurse and nannying for several years I made the decision to train as an early years teacher, specialising in 3 to 8 years. I yearned to develop my career and experience with children and was drawn towards focussing on education. Alongside my teacher training I also began my counselling training. I now have over 20 years experience in various private, voluntary & statutory organisations. My first teaching post was in a school where I did my teaching practice and I loved the challenges that came with the  responsibility for facilitating and meeting young children’s needs in the school environment. In my role as a school teacher I was also the co-ordinator for Personal, Social and Health Education and Religious Education. I taught across all key stages and have experience with various curriculum implementations and pedagogy. In addition to my teaching post I was working as a volunteer for a counselling service in Wimbledon. Following my seven years teaching in state schools I was increasingly being pushed towards working with a prescriptive curriculum and political pressures. I decided to step out of early years teaching and I leapt into further education where I worked for five years as a Childcare and Education course leader and lecturer, including teaching on the Higher Education level Early Years courses. I was keen to encourage and foster practitioners who believed in my core philosophy or child centred and humanistic approaches to learning and development. Progressing from further education teaching I moved in to HE and have lectured at the University of Chichester for three years. I have developed my skills through co-ordinating the Foundation Degree in Early Childhood which is now one of the pathways for practitioner to EYP status. I also teach various modules on the B.A. Hons. Childhood Studies in Early Years programme. I recently completed my MA in Transpersonal Arts and Practice (Somatic art psychotherapy) and continue to be involved in the voluntary and private sector counselling adults and children. I have a passion for developing ‘creative potential’ and in particular the use of creative arts in psychotherapy and healing. I have researched the power of creative arts in healing within palliative care and continue to be involved in creative projects.

Email: C.LLoyd@chi.ac.uk

Telephone: 01243 816308

I have broad teaching experience working with children in the early years in a variety of settings including nursery, infant and primary schools. After many years as a teacher, I completed my MSc in Experimental Psychology at the University of Sussex in 2000 and went on to train as an Educational Psychologist at the University of Southampton. I worked with West Sussex Educational Psychology Service for a number of years. Through my work as an educational psychologist I supported children, parents and schools, working in a multi-agency way to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people. My special interests include emotional literacy and autism. I have developed and delivered training on emotional literacy for teaching assistants across West Sussex. I also helped to develop, supervise and evaluate an intensive programme for pre-school with Autism called Portage Plus. My most recent experience has included working within a Nursery and Children’s Centre as Inclusion Coordinator and providing a specialised facility for children with significant speech and language difficulties, including children with a diagnosis of autism.

Email: S.Lyndon@chi.ac.uk

Telephone: 01243 816269

I have over 20 years experience as a practitioner in children’s nursing and health visiting. Within these roles I had responsibility of caring for and promoting the health and well being of babies, children, young people and their families. My career began in London and I continued to work in the outskirts of London and Kent. I have cared for families from varying cultural backgrounds with many diverse and individual needs. My roles included individual and family needs assessment of many families from mixed backgrounds; many living in deprived areas. As a nurse and health visitor I have also been involved with working with families who have experienced safeguarding and child protection issues. I have had the opportunity to work with families and colleagues within Sure Start Children’s Centres and Social Services as well as in Health. I feel strongly that my lengthy practice experience, alongside my subject knowledge in psychology and sociology, aids my teaching immensely. This also provides a practical focus to the teaching and learning of childhood studies, relating to ‘real life’ situations.

I have been teaching in higher education for 7 years, and this year joined the team at Chichester. My teaching experience is in Childhood Studies, Psychology, Sociology and Health. I have a passion for teaching and always endeavour to teach creatively; recently organising a poster presentation with 200 nursing students (52 posters) which was showcased at the University of Greenwich. I thoroughly enjoy the interaction with students and colleagues; believing that we learn from each other!

PUBLICATIONS:

Chapters:

Whitnell. J.Y. (2008) Chapters 6 – 9 (as listed below) in Blaber A.Y. (2008) Foundations for Paramedic Practice: a theoretical perspective. London. Open University Press.  

Chapter 6 – Psychology: an introduction. 

Chapter 7 – Developmental psychology: an introduction.

Chapter 8 – Abnormal psychology: an introduction.

Chapter 9 – Safeguarding Children.

Forthcoming chapters:

Whitnell. J.Y. (2010) Chapters 6 – 9 (as listed below) in Blaber A.Y. (2010) Foundations for Paramedic Practice: a theoretical perspective. (2nd Edn) London. Open University Press.  

Chapter 6 – Psychology: an introduction. 

Chapter 7 – Developmental psychology: an introduction.

Chapter 8 – Abnormal psychology: an introduction.

Chapter 9 – Safeguarding Children

ARTICLES:

Whitnell J.Y. (2005) A Personal Account of Palliative Care in a Non Palliative Care Setting: Sharing Best Practice.  International Journal of Palliative Nursing.  11(4): 199-201.

Journal Reviews:

Review of Montgomery H, Burr R and Whitehead M.  (2006) Changing Childhoods; local and global. London. OU Press.  Published in Journal of Psychology: Teaching and Learning. Higher Education Academy Psychology Network July 2006.

Email: J.Whitnell@chi.ac.uk

Telephone 01243 816228

I started my career as a geography teacher; however my interest shifted towards the care and education of Early Years. For years I was an EY practitioner and then an EY Manager in inner-city nurseries in London. After finishing my PGCE, for the last 6 years I was teaching in Further, and later in Higher Education in London, where the focus of my teaching was on EY Management and Leadership, Welfare of Young Children and Importance of Outdoor Area – Beyond the Nursery Garden. After achieving EYPS, and becoming a Lead Assessor for EYPS, I joined the team at Chichester in 2010 where I co-ordinate the EYPS Programme. I hope to continue to support students in their chosen careers not only with my wide experience in the field, but  via my recent research which primarily focuses on all aspects of adult education, ‘blended learning’ and ‘e-learning’, particularly the role of reflection and the development of 'tacit' knowledge in the field of Early Years education.

Email: E.Mikuska@chi.ac.uk

Telephone: 01243 816287