In this guest post Melanie Yates-Boothby talks about her PhD research that aims to understand motivation and behaviour from the children’s perspective, and what inspired her to help create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all.

In this guest post authors discuss why ethical encounters are an essential part of their research and practice; they explore what this means to their team and how it is integrated within practice.

Victoria Jefferies recounts one of the observations undertaken during her research and explains how allowing the situation to unfold led to adventure and ethical dilemmas for both children and the educator.

In this guest post Susanne Rice talks about her exploration of the connection between adult-to-child ratios, language development, and school readiness and why it matters.

In this guest post, authors outline the themes of their upcoming BECERA presentation on supporting Reception Class teachers’ confidence in working ethically in their Early Years classrooms.

In this post, Eleanor Milligan and Lois Ferguson share details on the Little Minds, a research project that investigates how mindfulness can support early years speech, language and communication development.

In this post Elizabeth Carruthers and Maulfy Worthington argue the importance of listening and noticing children’s ways of communicating their mathematical thinking.

Nina Taylor’s small study reflected on the use of a listening tool to ascertain whether engaging children as co-participants in listening activities offers insights into what is meaningful in their lives.

In this post, Kay Davey explores the ethical implications of discussing the impact of political ideology and how mood boards were used in her research as a method to empower and respect participants’ views.

In this post Jenny Shaw explains why she researched attachment relationships and shares how they were impacted by the pandemic from the perspectives of educators.

Can adults encourage higher-order thinking and pleasure in two-year-old children simultaneously? This question lies at the heart of Francesca Brown-Cornwall’s intriguing research study that seeks to illustrate the links between cognitive processes, pleasure and practical strategies for early childhood educators.

Hafsah Zakariyya explains why and when she first became interested in exploring Imposter Syndrome and reveals some common themes her research of it within early years professional communities has identified.

In this small-scale qualitative research study Dr Nathan Archer sought to understand the work of Montessori leaders in low-income areas of England in 2023.

Kate Dudley’s doctoral research examines how early years practitioners can ethically engage with children’s expressions of mental gender and the significance of this for early years development.

Sarah Dixon Jones and Vikki Wynn explain how empowering practitioners to have increased autonomy in the development of their own approach to project work has led to positive shift in their confidence, enhanced practice and defining set of principles settings could apply to own practice.

The team at the Inspiring Foundations (IF) explain how their initial aim of supporting the childminders in their professional development evolved into a collaborative learning experience for all participants.

Joanna Ainsworth shares how through the use of sociometric survey and ethnography in her study of nonverbal communication in peer to peer interactions, she learns about children’s participation, relationships and sense of belonging.

In this post Clair Sammons talks about the importance of children's voice in transition, how it links with her research project into children's perspectives of starting school and the implications for practice.