Dr Liz Chesworth
BA (Hons), PGCE, SFHEA, PhD
School of Education
Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education
+44 114 222 3626
Full contact details
School of Education
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Research interests
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Liz leads the Early Childhood Education Research cluster and is a member of the School of Education’s Research and Scholarship Committee.
Play and curriculum in early childhood education
Liz’s research focuses upon contemporary play cultures and dynamic approaches to curriculum in early childhood. In recent years she has led two funded projects in which she collaborated with early years educators to identify strategies for curriculum decision-making that are responsive to young children’s diverse interests and lived experiences. Her research on curriculum has received national and international attention and has led to invited keynote presentations and consultancy work.
Young children as research participants
Liz is interested in approaches to research that enable children’s participation. She has drawn upon children’s perspectives to explore issues of power, agency and choice within classroom peer cultures.
Digital play
Liz is a co-investigator on international research funded by the Lego Foundation which aims to identify the ways in which children’s well-being is related to their digital play experiences at home.
Current research projects include:
- Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (co-investigator)
Awarding body: The Lego Foundation
Principal Investigator: Dr Fiona Scott
Recent research projects include:
- Understanding practitioners’ curriculum decision-making to support complexity in children’s play in a multi-diverse pre-school setting.
Awarding body: The Froebel Trust.
Co-Investigator: Professor Elizabeth Wood (University of Sheffield).
Collaborative partner: Dr Sharon Curtis (Ellesmere Children’s Centre), (2018- 2021). - Professional development for educational change: Building inclusive and culturally responsive practices (Principal Investigator)
Awarding body: Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Fund
Co-investigator: Professor Elizabeth Wood - Makerspaces in the early years: Enhancing digital literacy and creativity (MakEY)
Awarding body: European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.
Principal Investigator: Professor Jackie Marsh (University of Sheffield) (2017-2019).
- Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (co-investigator)
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Participatory story-sharing practices in the early years with Central and Eastern European families in Scotland. International Journal of Early Years Education, 1-15.
- Makerspaces in early childhood education : principles of pedagogy and practice. Mind, Culture, and Activity. View this article in WRRO
- Theorising young children's interests: making connections and in-the-moment happenings. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction. View this article in WRRO
- Embracing uncertainty in research with young children. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 31(9), 851-862. View this article in WRRO
- A funds of knowledge approach to examining play interests: listening to children’s and parents’ perspectives. International Journal of Early Years Education, 24(3), 294-308. View this article in WRRO
- Children’s interests and early childhood curriculum: A critical analysis of the relationship between research, policy, and practice. The New Zealand Annual Review of Education.
Chapters
- Children’s interests and curriculum making in early childhood education. In Tierney R, Rizvi F & Ercikan K (Ed.), International Encyclopaedia of Education Elsevier
- Framing and Defining Play in Early Childhood In Arnott L & Wall K (Ed.), Research Through Play: Participatory Methods in Early Childhood (pp. 3-18). London: Sage.
- A Deeper Understanding of Play In Brock A (Ed.), The Early Years Reflective Practice Handbook (pp. 142-165). Abingdon: Routledge.
- Friendship, Culture and Playful Learning in Early Childhood Education In Moyles J (Ed.), The Excellence of Play (pp. 94-105). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Reports
- Understanding practitioners’ curriculum decision-making in a multidiverse early years setting: Final Report.
- Project evaluation of Young Bamboo ECCD projects in remote communities (Ratanakiri and Stung Treng provinces
- The Quality of Early Learning, Play and Childcare Services in Sure Start Local Programmes
Datasets
- Participatory story-sharing practices in the early years with Central and Eastern European families in Scotland. International Journal of Early Years Education, 1-15.
- Teaching activities
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Liz leads the full-time Masters in Early Childhood Education and is module leader for EDU6089: Learning, Development and Curriculum (Early Childhood). As a deputy director for the White Rose Doctoral Training Programme, Liz teaches on the Education, Childhood and Youth pathway.
- Professional activities and memberships
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Member of Research subcommittee, The Froebel Trust.
Assistant Editor: Journal of Early Childhood Research
Member of Editorial Board: International Journal of Play
Reviewer: International Journal of Research and Method in Education; International Journal of Early Years Education; Early Years: An International Research Journal; International Journal of Early Childhood Research; International Journal of Early Childhood Literacy; International Journal of Qualitative Research in Education; British Educational Research Journal.