Senior Lecturer in Initial Teacher Education
Dr Caralyn Blaisdell is a Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education in the Psychology, Sociology and Education Division at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. She is the Collaborative Academic Lead for Fife College Childhood Partnerships and the Pathway Lead for the MA Early Childhood Education (QMU Online) programme.
- Overview
- Research Interests
- Research Publications
- Teaching & Learning
Caralyn Blaisdell is a Senior Lecturer in Education at Queen Margaret University. She is an experienced early years pedagogue, having worked in corporate, Reggio-Emilia-inspired, and Froebelian early years settings in both the United States and Scotland. Her research focuses on two interconnected strands. First, she explores young children’s participation rights, with a particular emphasis on listening to very young children and understanding their voices within intergenerational contexts. Second, she specialises in research design, methods and ethics with young children. Her research has been supported by funding from the Froebel Trust, the Scottish Funding Council, and Starcatchers, Scotland’s Arts and Early Years organisation. Recent publications include papers in The International Journal of Children’s Rights, Children & Society, and Amicus Curiae.
My research focuses on two main strands. First, I explore children’s rights in early childhood, particularly participation rights and the voice of very young children. Second, I work on outdoor learning in early years, particularly young children’s experiences and relationships with land and place. I approach both strands from a relational perspective, looking at how young children’s lives and experiences are shaped by intergenerational relationships, attitudes toward childhood, policy/practice trends, and relationships of power. I also work on research methodology and ethical considerations in research with young children, and have drawn on approaches such as ethnography, arts-based methodologies and action research. My research has been supported by funding from the Froebel Trust, the Scottish Funding Council, and Starcatchers.
Active research interests:
- Children's rights in early childhood
- Early childhood pedagogy and practice
- Outdoor play and learning in early childhood
Research Methods:
- Qualitative methodologies
- Action research
- Ethnographic methodologies
- Arts-based methodologies
I teach across the BA (Hons) Education Studies, BA (Hons) Education Studies (Primary) and MA Education on matters related to early years, children’s rights, literacy, and outdoor play and learning.
Programme Leader:
BA (Hons) Education Studies
