CREC MA in Education Tutors

Prof. Chris Pascal

CREC's Director, has done extensive work at government level to support the development of early years policy; sitting on a number of national committees. She has served as a ministerial advisor and as an Early Years Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on Education . She has written extensively on early childhood development and the quality of early education services. She is the President of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA).

Prof. Tony Bertram

CREC's Director, has been a member of the Ministerial Early Education Advisory Group (EEAG), which advised the government on the development of the Foundation Stage curriculum. He has a particular interest in cross-national, European early childhood projects and has worked extensively abroad for the British Council and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). He is the Co-ordinating Editor of the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ).

Dr Helen Lyndon

Is the Postgraduate Programme Lead at CREC. She taught initially in primary-school education, then undertook a Master’s degree in early years education whilst teaching in children’s centres. She went on to work in higher education on undergraduate and postgraduate courses relating to early childhood education. Her doctoral research, focuses on pedagogic mediation.

Debi Keyte-Hartland

Is an independent consultant working directly with teachers and senior leadership teams exploring approaches to education that create fertile conditions for creativity and enquiry, of both children and educators.

Her specialist experience is in the use of the visual arts as a tool for creative and critical thinking.

Dr Julia Partington

Is a prominent music education researcher with a particular interest in early childhood music education and development. For a number of years she was Programme Leader for Early Years at Sage Gateshead where she was responsible for creating participatory performance and educational musical experiences for young children and families across the North East.

Dr Kathryn Peckham

Has worked within early years practice for many years, directing care and education at senior management levels. With keen research interests in outdoor play and the effects of early experiences on children’s lives, Kathryn is an active member of the Learning Through Landscapes network and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on A Fit and Healthy Childhood.

Kate Comberti

Is a violinist and research practitioner using improvisation to work through musical play in a variety of settings from early years to people living with dementia and their carers. Currently she is mentoring CREC MA Year 1 students preparing to submit their small scale project assignment.