Dr Papatheodorou to present at Bright Start Conference

Newly Qualified Nanny Iona and Research Fellow and Manager Dr Theodora Papatheodorou will present research at the 2023 Bright Start International Conference in November.

The three-day international conference brings together the world’s leading experts in early childhood education and care. The hybrid event takes place both online and in-person in Athens, Greece with the session led by Iona and supported by Dr Papatheodorou taking place on Saturday 4 November.

The session, titled ‘Introduction to diverse family structures to young children through literature’, will present a case study exploring young children’s comprehension of diverse family structures.

While literature has proven effective in introducing children to various family types, such diversity is not widely depicted in children’s books. This study examined children’s understanding of family structures, how their understanding changed after exposure to diverse family types and how it manifested in play, and how children engaged with unfamiliar topics in books.

Norland is delighted to announce its forthcoming collaboration with the Bright Start Foundation on the ‘Voices of Children International Project – Little people, big voices’. The project will see children aged 3 to 6 years from around the world submit artwork for a virtual and physical gallery. The Bright Start Foundation is an international organisation based in Geneva working towards improving early childhood care and education across the world.

Norland is also delighted to be announcing internationally the launch of the Norland Educare Research Journal – the world’s first research journal to focus on home-based early childhood education and care – and the Norland Educare Research Centre at the conference. The establishment of its new research centre reflects Norland’s commitment to credible and ethical research, conducted in close collaboration with key stakeholders to transform the lives of children and their families and contribute to research evidence in the field of early childhood studies.

The Bright Start Foundation conference is an international gathering of leading experts in early childhood care and education. It is a not-to-be-missed conference for advancing the positive development of young children everywhere. The 2023 conference motto is Early Years Excellence in Practice and is organised in two dynamic tracks: 1. for typically developing children 0–5; and 2. for children with Autism and SEND.

View the conference programme and speakers