Natalia Kucirkova – författare

Expert-led, interdisciplinary, and international in scope, this insightful book aims to increase the representation and leadership potential of women working in academia, examining the intersection of multiple inequalities with a specific focus on gender, age, ethnicity, and disability. A carefully crafted response to educational inequalities, the volume posits an invitation for dialogue around what it means to have success in higher education.This book expands the reader’s understanding of leadership in academia and the challenges specific to individual career pathways, offering a plethora of practical tried-and-tested strategies that individuals and institutions can adopt to create a more equal and socially just academic climate. Designed to encourage reflection on potential strategies and how they could be implemented, the ten co-authored chapters include first-person narratives, case studies inspired by interviews with academics, and links and recommendations for further reading. The personal accounts of the authors are enriched with those of other academics who have faced challenges in career progression. Each chapter is structured as a conversation between the authors in relation to an inequality issue, with a summary of scholarly literature and studies on the topic, followed by strategies successfully applied in practice. Strategies presented are firmly rooted in the everyday reality of working as a researcher, higher education lecturer, or academic administrator.This book is ideal reading for any minority working in higher education interested in promotion processes, equality and diversity in the workplace, and mentoring. It will also be of interest to providers of academic leadership courses, organisations, and institutions promoting gender equality in higher education, supporting women’s careers, and improving the representation, progression, and success of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff and students within higher education.

Expert-led, interdisciplinary, and international in scope, this insightful book aims to increase the representation and leadership potential of women working in academia, examining the intersection of multiple inequalities with a specific focus on gender, age, ethnicity, and disability. A carefully crafted response to educational inequalities, the volume posits an invitation for dialogue around what it means to have success in higher education.This book expands the reader’s understanding of leadership in academia and the challenges specific to individual career pathways, offering a plethora of practical tried-and-tested strategies that individuals and institutions can adopt to create a more equal and socially just academic climate. Designed to encourage reflection on potential strategies and how they could be implemented, the ten co-authored chapters include first-person narratives, case studies inspired by interviews with academics, and links and recommendations for further reading. The personal accounts of the authors are enriched with those of other academics who have faced challenges in career progression. Each chapter is structured as a conversation between the authors in relation to an inequality issue, with a summary of scholarly literature and studies on the topic, followed by strategies successfully applied in practice. Strategies presented are firmly rooted in the everyday reality of working as a researcher, higher education lecturer, or academic administrator.This book is ideal reading for any minority working in higher education interested in promotion processes, equality and diversity in the workplace, and mentoring. It will also be of interest to providers of academic leadership courses, organisations, and institutions promoting gender equality in higher education, supporting women’s careers, and improving the representation, progression, and success of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff and students within higher education.

This engaging text offers primary school educators a principled way forward on their mission to nurture the life-changing habit of reading in childhood. Informed and inspiring, Reading Teachers accessibly demonstrates how teachers who are motivated, engaged and reflective readers themselves, can develop new understandings of reading for pleasure and make a difference to young learners.Drawing on a range of research evidence, including studies on reading teachers, dis/engaged boy readers, student teachers as readers and work with over 150 schools developing communities of readers, this book provides an accessible overview of international research alongside a highly practical classroom focus. Combining the insights of academics with 24 reading teachers in co-authored chapters, the book includes:Case studies of how practitioners have used research to inform and improve their practice‘In conversation’ dialogues between educators about classroom practice that fosters positive reader identitiesReflections on the editors own reading habits, practices and historiesRecommended reading and suggestions of engaging children’s booksReading Teachers: Nurturing Reading for Pleasure enables practitioners to develop principled practice, helping all children find pleasure and purpose in reading. This book is therefore essential reading for all primary teachers, head teachers, literacy coordinators and trainee teachers.

This engaging text offers primary school educators a principled way forward on their mission to nurture the life-changing habit of reading in childhood. Informed and inspiring, Reading Teachers accessibly demonstrates how teachers who are motivated, engaged and reflective readers themselves, can develop new understandings of reading for pleasure and make a difference to young learners.Drawing on a range of research evidence, including studies on reading teachers, dis/engaged boy readers, student teachers as readers and work with over 150 schools developing communities of readers, this book provides an accessible overview of international research alongside a highly practical classroom focus. Combining the insights of academics with 24 reading teachers in co-authored chapters, the book includes:Case studies of how practitioners have used research to inform and improve their practice‘In conversation’ dialogues between educators about classroom practice that fosters positive reader identitiesReflections on the editors own reading habits, practices and historiesRecommended reading and suggestions of engaging children’s booksReading Teachers: Nurturing Reading for Pleasure enables practitioners to develop principled practice, helping all children find pleasure and purpose in reading. This book is therefore essential reading for all primary teachers, head teachers, literacy coordinators and trainee teachers.

The Routledge International Handbook of Learning with Technology in Early Childhood focuses specifically on the most cutting-edge, innovative and international approaches in the study of children’s use of and learning with digital technologies. This edited volume is a comprehensive survey of methods in children’s technologies and contains a rich repertoire of studies from diverse fields and research, including both educational and developmental psychology, post-humanist literacy, applied linguistics, language and phenomenology and narrative approaches.For ease of reference, the Handbook's 28 chapters are divided into four thematic sections: introduction and opening reflections;studies answering ontological questions, which theorize how children take on original identities in becoming literate with technologies;studies answering epistemological questions, which focus on how children’s knowledge and learning are (co)constructed with a diverse range of technologies;studies answering practice-related questions, which explore the resources and conditions that create the most powerful learning opportunities for children.Expertly edited, this interdisciplinary and international compendium is an ideal introduction to such a diverse, multi-faceted field.

This book brings together innovative work happening in childhood research across disciplinary boundaries and across the world. It focuses specifically on the most cutting-edge, innovative methodological approaches in the study of children’s use and learning with digital technologies and children’s experiences of key 21st century trends (e.g. immigration or multiculturalism). A true effort is made to have dialogues across diverse fields and contested fields of research (including educational psychology, post-humanist literacy, narrative approaches, developmental approaches).The book is a comprehensive survey of methods in the field of children’s technologies. The volume is a substantive and strategic collection of international approaches to early childhood and technologies. The authors reflect on what works and what doesn’t work in relation to specific innovative research methods.

The Routledge International Handbook of Early Literacy Education offers a pioneering overview of early literacy provision in different parts of the world and brings together interdisciplinary research evidence on effective literacy teaching to inform current and future practice and policy of early literacy. From the problem of identification of literacy difficulties in a particular learning context to supporting the provision of early literacy through digital media, the handbook deals with the major concerns and newest areas of interest in literacy research. With an international and future vision, it provides an accessible guide to the main debates and future trends in the global field of early literacy, and informs academics, policy-makers, practitioners, educators and students about innovative early literacy research methods and instruction.The three sections and 30 ground-breaking chapters reflect a conceptual framework of questions asked by scholars and educators interested in looking beyond traditional definitions of literacy.Part I provides contemporary insights collected by internationally renowned scholars on what literacy is, and what it can offer to young children in the twenty-first century.Part II is a collection of detailed portraits of 14 countries, regions or language communities, and focuses on early literacy provision, practice and policy from across the world.Part III outlines key interventions and research-endorsed practices designed to support home–school connections and children’s reading and writing skills, as well as vocabulary, phonological awareness and narrative abilities, with examples drawn from various home, school and community environments.All chapters promote discussion, critical analysis and questions for reflection and are written in jargon-free language in an easy-to use themed format. This handbook is an indispensable reference guide for practising teachers and student teachers, especially those undertaking postgraduate qualifications, as well as early literacy researchers, policy-makers and school-based literacy leaders.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges, potential and theoretical possibilities of apps and considers the processes of change for education and home learning environments. Drawing together a diverse team of international contributors, it addresses the specific features, context of use and content of apps to uncover the importance of these tools for young children’s learning.Apps, Technology and Younger Learners focuses on ways that apps support early years and primary school learning, connect various learning spaces and engage children in a range of edutainment and knowledge-building activities. In each chapter, the current state of knowledge and key research questions in the field for future study are identified, with clear messages provided at the end of each chapter.Focusing on empirical studies and strong theoretical frameworks, this book covers four key parts: Understanding the learning potential of children’s apps; Key app challenges; Empirical evidence; Future avenues.This book is an essential guide for educators, post-graduate students, researchers and all those interested in the advantages or challenges that may result from integrating apps into early education.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges, potential and theoretical possibilities of apps and considers the processes of change for education and home learning environments. Drawing together a diverse team of international contributors, it addresses the specific features, context of use and content of apps to uncover the importance of these tools for young children’s learning.Apps, Technology and Younger Learners focuses on ways that apps support early years and primary school learning, connect various learning spaces and engage children in a range of edutainment and knowledge-building activities. In each chapter, the current state of knowledge and key research questions in the field for future study are identified, with clear messages provided at the end of each chapter.Focusing on empirical studies and strong theoretical frameworks, this book covers four key parts: Understanding the learning potential of children’s apps; Key app challenges; Empirical evidence; Future avenues.This book is an essential guide for educators, post-graduate students, researchers and all those interested in the advantages or challenges that may result from integrating apps into early education.

This collection of engaging and simple to use activities will jumpstart students’ learning and help the busy teacher to reinvigorate their teaching through the use of mobile apps and activities that can be used in the classroom. A wealth of practical activities and advice on how to incorporate over 40 lively and exciting apps into the classroom will enable teachers to deliver creative lessons. This essential guide focuses on a range of apps, including Skitch, QR codes, Comic Life, Do Ink Green Screen, Puppet Pals, Our Story and much more.This book offers much needed guidance on creative ways to integrate apps within the National Curriculum and how they can be incorporated into the teaching of Key Stages 1 and 2. Enabling teachers to deliver effective and imaginative lessons through the use of apps and providing links to a wide range of online resources, it covers all core areas of the curriculum: English, Maths, Science, Modern Foreign Languages, ICT, History, Geography and PE.Jumpstart! Apps is an essential classroom resource that will encourage creative and independent learning in children and is the perfect solution for helping teachers, teaching assistants and students integrate apps into their daily practice, make the most of technology at their disposal and deliver imaginative and effective lessons.

This collection of engaging and simple to use activities will jumpstart students’ learning and help the busy teacher to reinvigorate their teaching through the use of mobile apps and activities that can be used in the classroom. A wealth of practical activities and advice on how to incorporate over 40 lively and exciting apps into the classroom will enable teachers to deliver creative lessons. This essential guide focuses on a range of apps, including Skitch, QR codes, Comic Life, Do Ink Green Screen, Puppet Pals, Our Story and much more.This book offers much needed guidance on creative ways to integrate apps within the National Curriculum and how they can be incorporated into the teaching of Key Stages 1 and 2. Enabling teachers to deliver effective and imaginative lessons through the use of apps and providing links to a wide range of online resources, it covers all core areas of the curriculum: English, Maths, Science, Modern Foreign Languages, ICT, History, Geography and PE.Jumpstart! Apps is an essential classroom resource that will encourage creative and independent learning in children and is the perfect solution for helping teachers, teaching assistants and students integrate apps into their daily practice, make the most of technology at their disposal and deliver imaginative and effective lessons.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com.Digital personalization is an emerging interdisciplinary research field, with application to a variety of areas including design, education and publication industry. This book focuses on children’s education and literacy resources, which have undergone important changes with the ‘personalization revolution’ in the early 21st century.The author develops original insights from educational research and her own studies concerned with digital and non-digital personalization, to discuss in a clear and critical way the thinking, research issues and practical implications of this new field. She scrutinises the character of technology-based personalized education to substantiate the claim that the current models of personalized education tend to be technology- and business-driven, with little pedagogical understanding of the social value of personalization. Research involving touchscreens, personalized books and 2-8-year olds is interrogated for its impact on children’s development of language, creativity, identity, as well as family dynamics and classroom dialogue. The literature available on digital and non-digital personalization is discussed in relation to five key themes of personalized education, the so-called 5As: autonomy, authorship, aesthetics, attachment and authenticity. It is argued that the 5As need to be anchored in humanist principles for a sustainable pedagogy and practice. Based on the insights from research with typically and atypically developing children, Kucirkova proposes personalised pluralisation, as a pedagogical framework of personalized education for the future. The book aims to help scholars and professionals understand the connections between personalization and literacy, personalization and education, and personalization and wider socio-moral issues.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com.Digital personalization is an emerging interdisciplinary research field, with application to a variety of areas including design, education and publication industry. This book focuses on children’s education and literacy resources, which have undergone important changes with the ‘personalization revolution’ in the early 21st century.The author develops original insights from educational research and her own studies concerned with digital and non-digital personalization, to discuss in a clear and critical way the thinking, research issues and practical implications of this new field. She scrutinises the character of technology-based personalized education to substantiate the claim that the current models of personalized education tend to be technology- and business-driven, with little pedagogical understanding of the social value of personalization. Research involving touchscreens, personalized books and 2-8-year olds is interrogated for its impact on children’s development of language, creativity, identity, as well as family dynamics and classroom dialogue. The literature available on digital and non-digital personalization is discussed in relation to five key themes of personalized education, the so-called 5As: autonomy, authorship, aesthetics, attachment and authenticity. It is argued that the 5As need to be anchored in humanist principles for a sustainable pedagogy and practice. Based on the insights from research with typically and atypically developing children, Kucirkova proposes personalised pluralisation, as a pedagogical framework of personalized education for the future. The book aims to help scholars and professionals understand the connections between personalization and literacy, personalization and education, and personalization and wider socio-moral issues.

What does it mean to become a reader? What are the challenges and opportunities of engaging children in reading for pleasure in the 21st century? This book explores the ways in which reading for pleasure is changing in the era of globalisation, multiculturalism and datafication. Raising the next generation of engaged readers requires knowledge of the enduring characteristics of engagement and markers of quality in books and e-books. In addition, in order to develop new insights into children’s experience of reading on and off screen, nuanced understandings of psychological and socio-cultural research are offered. The cross-disciplinary examination integrates key research from educational psychology, new literacies, multimodality and socio-cultural perspectives and explores consequences for practice. An authoritative guide - it invites graduates, researchers and teachers to participate in the authors’ interdisciplinary dialogue about reading for pleasure.

What does it mean to become a reader? What are the challenges and opportunities of engaging children in reading for pleasure in the 21st century? This book explores the ways in which reading for pleasure is changing in the era of globalisation, multiculturalism and datafication. Raising the next generation of engaged readers requires knowledge of the enduring characteristics of engagement and markers of quality in books and e-books. In addition, in order to develop new insights into children’s experience of reading on and off screen, nuanced understandings of psychological and socio-cultural research are offered. The cross-disciplinary examination integrates key research from educational psychology, new literacies, multimodality and socio-cultural perspectives and explores consequences for practice. An authoritative guide - it invites graduates, researchers and teachers to participate in the authors’ interdisciplinary dialogue about reading for pleasure.

What does it mean to become a reader? What are the challenges and opportunities of engaging children in reading for pleasure in the 21st century? This book explores the ways in which reading for pleasure is changing in the era of globalisation, multiculturalism and datafication. Raising the next generation of engaged readers requires knowledge of the enduring characteristics of engagement and markers of quality in books and e-books. In addition, in order to develop new insights into children’s experience of reading on and off screen, nuanced understandings of psychological and socio-cultural research are offered. The cross-disciplinary examination integrates key research from educational psychology, new literacies, multimodality and socio-cultural perspectives and explores consequences for practice. An authoritative guide - it invites graduates, researchers and teachers to participate in the authors’ interdisciplinary dialogue about reading for pleasure.