Early Years Collective

The Early Years Collective aims to be a space of belonging, learning, and growth, an inclusive, intellectual home for its members. Underpinned by the concepts of whakawhanaungatanga and manaakitanga, the Early Years Collective provides a forum for stimulating conversations and networking opportunities relevant to the early years, child development, and childhood studies, leading to meaningful collaborations and projects for emerging and experienced Collective members with each other and more widely.

As an academic and professional community, the members of the Collective are committed to advancing knowledge, practice, and leadership in the early years. Through our teaching, research, and professional engagement, we contribute to the preparation and ongoing development of educators, leaders, and advocates across the sector. Our work is grounded in strong relationships, collaboration, and shared values, and aims to generate research-informed insights that make a positive difference for children, families, communities, and early years education in Aotearoa New Zealand. We celebrate diversity, support professional growth, and provide a collective voice for equitable and high-quality early childhood education.

Our members teach across and direct the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Childhood Studies, Early Childhood Education and Primary Teacher Education as professional teaching fellows, lecturers, senior lecturers, and professors. Members of the Early Years Collective are also editors of the First Years Ngā Tau Tuatahi NZ Journal of Infant and Toddler Education and facilitators of the Early Childhood Seminar Series.

• Associate Professor Dr Maria Cooper teaches and researches early childhood education (ECE) on educational leadership from Western and Pacific perspectives, infant-toddler curriculum and pedagogy, teacher-family collaboration, and promoting success for Pacific children in ECE.
• Dr Kiri Gould's teaching and research interests focus on teachers' identities and understandings of professionalism, the policy and socio-political contexts in which teachers work, improving teacher work conditions and wellbeing, and early childhood leadership.
• Dr Justine O’Hara-Gregan’s teaching and research interests include hauora (holistic wellbeing), social and emotional competence, inclusion, social justice, respectful and compassionate pedagogy, and sustainability.
• Shareen Sapsworth has particular interests in educational leadership and online pedagogy and has expertise in educational leadership and management, human resource management, inquiry and review processes, and digital pedagogy in tertiary education.
• Dr Esther Fitzpatrick’s practice and research examine issues of identity and bicultural practice and decolonising strategies (methods and pedagogy). Esther uses various critical, innovative pedagogies, including writing as a method of inquiry, in her teaching and research.
• Dr Deborah Widdowson has experience conducting research and evaluation projects, working with children, young people and their families across education, developmental psychology, health and welfare.
• Kiri Jaquirey is a professional teaching fellow and an experienced early childhood practitioner. Kiri works extensively in professional practice courses, working closely with student teachers and sector stakeholders in initial teacher education programmes.
• Dr Angel Chan’s teaching and research aim to promote social justice and cohesion by supporting teachers to develop inclusive pedagogy to work with diverse families.
• Dr Hailey Chan is a professional teaching fellow, lecturing across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Hailey's research explores how teachers and specialists can collaborate effectively to support children facing vulnerability, fostering inclusive and responsive educational environments.
• Dr Emma Parangi is a professional teaching fellow and experienced early childhood Kaiako and professional development facilitator. Emma teaches across early childhood and primary programmes with a specific focus on Te Ao Māori. Her doctoral research examines how identity impacts both conceptions and enactments of leadership for Māori and Pasifika women navigating English medium ECE.

If you are interested in finding out more about, or contributing to, the Early Years Collective please contact Dr Justine O'Hara-Gregan.