Prof Emma Pearson
Biography
I moved to Maynooth from Abu Dhabi, where I was employed as a Senior Researcher by the UNICEF Gulf Regional Office and as an Associate Professor at United Arab Emirates University. I have held positions at Sheffield University, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Macquarie University (Sydney) and The University of Hong Kong. I completed my undergraduate degree at Goldsmith’s, University of London and postgraduate degrees at The Open University (UK), Macquarie University and The University of Hong Kong. I have taught across a wide range of subjects at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. Previous administrative duties have included coordination of masters and doctoral programmes, and leadership of mentorship and international outreach programmes.
My research and outreach work centres around understanding and documenting the perspectives and experiences of children and families from under-represented communities. During the past 15 years, I have worked with international, regional and national government and non-government early childhood agencies (including UNICEF, UNESCO, Plan International and the UK Department for International Development / FCDO) to advocate for policies that promote community-centred, equitable access to early childhood education and development supports. This work has included regional, policy-oriented analyses of early childhood education and care across South Asia (UNICEF) and Sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO); facilitation of the drafting stages of the Pacific Guidelines for the Development of National Quality Frameworks for ECCE, and research on international early childhood workforce issues (reported at invited sessions with the International Labour Organisation and The World Bank). I have also supported national teams in Laos, North Korea, Vietnam and Vanuatu to develop and validate country-specific Early Learning and Development Standards (UNICEF) and have worked for over a decade with Plan International on developing systems for contextualised monitoring and evaluation of their community-based early childhood intervention strategies in Cambodia.
Research Interests
International early childhood policy and pedagogy; early childhood care and education workforce; understanding the capabilities and needs of children and families at risk of marginalisation.
Research Projects
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Yang, H; Rao, N; Pearson, E (2024) 'Inequality in access to early childhood care and education programs among 3-to 4-year-olds: Trends and variations across low-and middle-income countries'. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 66 :234-244. | |
| 2024 | Pearson, E; Opoku, MP (2024) ''From my world to yours…': exploring the availability of social networks among parents from culturally diverse backgrounds caring for children with developmental disabilities in Australia'. Psychology, health & medicine, 29 (2). [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Pearson, E; Rao, N; Siraj, I; Aboud, F; Horton, C; Hendry, H (2023) 'Workforce preparation for delivery of nurturing care in low- and middle-income countries: Expert consensus on critical multisectoral training needs'. Child: Care, Health and Development, 50 (1). [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Pearson, E.C.; Rawdin, C.; Ahuja, R. (2023) 'A Model of Transformational Learning for Early Childhood Community-based Workers: Sajag Training for Responsive Caregiving'. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 32 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Rao, N; Pearson, E (2015) 'Assessment of child development across cultures'. Assessment, 73 (3):7-9. | |
| 2013 | Degotardi, S; Sweller, N; Pearson, E (2013) 'Why relationships matter: parent and early childhood teacher perspective about the provision afforded by young children's relationships'. International Journal of Early Years Education, 21 (1):1-18. [DOI] | |
| 2009 | Degotardi, S; Pearson, E (2009) 'Relationship theory in the nursery: Attachment and beyond'. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 10 (2):144-149. | |
| 2024 | Pearson, E.; Opoku, M.P. (2024) 'Experiences of service and diagnosis among immigrant families of young children with suspected or diagnosed developmental disabilities'. Ethnicity and Health, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2024 | Opoku, M.P.; Pearson, E.; Elhoweris, H.; Alhosani, N.; Mustafa, A.; Efstratopoulou, M.; Takriti, R. (2024) 'Fidelity of family centered care model to early disability diagnosis and rehabilitation in the United Arab Emirates'. PLoS ONE, 19 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2024 | Pearson, E.; Degotardi, S. (2024) '‘Innovating’ to promote equity and inclusion in early childhood education: a framework for documenting localised pedagogical approaches'. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Pearson, E.C. (2015) 'Achieving Inclusion by Targeting Children and Families in Hard to Reach Communities: Innovations From Cambodia and the Philippines'. Childhood Education, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Pearson, E.C.; Tan, J. (2015) 'Should inclusive education be made compulsory in schools?: A study of self-efficacy and attitudes regarding inclusive education among a diverse group of SENA (special needs assistance) teachers'. International Journal of Special Education, . [Link] | |
| 2012 | Rao, N.; Sun, J.; Pearson, V.; Pearson, E.; Liu, H.; Constas, M.A.; Engle, P.L. (2012) 'Is Something Better Than Nothing? An Evaluation of Early Childhood Programs in Cambodia'. . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2011 | Pearson, E. (2011) 'Avoiding recolonisation in early childhood: Promoting local values as mediators in the spread of globalisation'. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 12 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2009 | Pearson, E.; Degotardi, S. (2009) 'Education for sustainable development in early childhood education: A global solution to local concerns?'. International Journal of Early Childhood, 41 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2009 | Degotardi, S.; Pearson, E. (2009) 'Relationship theory in the nursery: Attachment and beyond'. . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2008 | Rao, N.; Pearson, E. (2008) 'Policy change in early childhood in the Asia Pacific region,Modification des politiques pour la petite enfance dans la region d' Asie-Pacifique'. International Journal of Early Childhood, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2006 | Pearson, E.; Rao, N. (2006) 'Early Childhood Education Policy Reform in Hong Kong: Challenges in Effecting Change in Practices'. Childhood Education, . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2003 | Rao, N.; McHale, J.P.; Pearson, E. (2003) 'Links between Socialization Goals and Child-Rearing Practices in Chinese and Indian Mothers'. . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2003 | Pearson, E.; Rao, N. (2003) 'Socialization goals, parenting practices, and peer competence in chinese and english preschoolers'. . [Link] [DOI] |
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Rao, N; Pearson, E; Piper, B; Lau, C (2022) 'Building an effective early childhood education workforce' In: Quality early learning: nurturing children's potential. Washington DC : World Bank: Human Development Series. | |
| 2017 | Pearson, E; James, J (2017) 'Building early childhood education from the ground up: teacher preparation in Vanuatu' In: Contemporary issues and challenges in early childhood education: Experiences from Asia-Pacific. Dortrecht : Spinger. [DOI] | |
| 2016 | Pearson, E; Yacub, R; Mohamad, H (2016) 'Towards Wawasan Brunei 2035: early childhood education and development in Brunei Darussalam' In: International Handbook on Early Childhood Education and Development. Dordrecht : Springer. | |
| 2016 | Degotardi, S; Pearson, E (2016) 'Infant play: how interactions build and support relationships' In: Children’s play in early childhood education: Facilitating learning in diverse contexts (2nd Ed). Malbourne : Oxford University Press. | |
| 2014 | Pearson, E; Mohamad, H; Zainal Z (2014) 'Cultural and linguistic diversity in early childhood' In: A good start: Inclusion in the early years. Melbourne : Oxford University Press. | |
| 2013 | Pearson, E (2013) 'Engaging parents from immigrant backgrounds in early intervention' In: Children and Childhoods. UK : Cambridge Scholars Press. | |
| 2010 | Degotardi, S; Pearson, E (2010) 'Knowing me, knowing you: The relationship dynamics of infant play' In: Play in early childhood education: Learning in diverse contexts. Melbourne : Oxford University Press. | |
| 2009 | Bowes, J; Watson, J; Pearson, E (2009) 'Families as a context for children' In: Families and Communities: Contexts and Consequences. Melbourne : Oxford University Press. |
Book
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Degotardi, S; Pearson, E (2014) The relationship worlds of infants and toddlers. UK: Open University Press: McGraw Hill. | |
| 2014 | Rao, N; Pearson, E; Cheng, K; Taplin, M (2014) Teaching in primary schools in China and India: Contexts of learning. UK: Routledge. [DOI] |
Published Report
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Pearson, E; Alhosani, N; Takriti, R; Al Mughairbi, F; Al-Sharieh, S; Al-Rifai, R; Al Zaatari, W; Schofield, L (2024) Situational analysis of children in the United Arab Emirates. UNICEF, . | |
| 2023 | Pearson, E; Opoku, M (2023) Regional report for Sub-Saharan Africa : education starts early ; progress, challenges and opportunities. UNESCO, . | |
| 2017 | Pearson, E; Umayahara, M; Ndijuye, L (2017) Supporting childhood resilience through play: A facilitation guide for early childhood practitioners. Part of the China-Africa collaboration project for building a peaceful and sustainable future. Organisation Mondiale pour l’Education Prescolaire (OMEP), . [Link] | |
| 2017 | Pearson, E; Hendry, H; Rao, N; Aboud, F; Horton, C; Siraj, I; Raikes, A; Miyahara, J (2017) Reaching expert consensus on training different cadres in delivering early childhood development at scale in low-resource contexts. United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, . [Link] | |
| 2015 | Sun, J; Rao, N; Pearson, E (2015) Achieving Goal 1. Policies and strategies to enhance the quality of early childhood educators. UNESCO, . [Link] |