Tell us about your contribution that has been recognised through the associate professorship.

My outstanding contribution is in Research and Innovation (R&I), and I have also made a significant contribution in Teaching and Learning (T&L). My R&I work focuses on young children’s literacy practices in education settings where I have made a substantial contribution to developing theoretical perspectives on affect and embodied literacies and exploring the significance of these for literacy education. For over a decade I have been publishing my work and presenting nationally and internationally at high profile literacy conferences. I developed an Early Literacy in Education SIG with international membership, that has contributed through responses to policy initiatives and international discussion groups. I hold several editorial roles and am Publications Convenor for the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) and book reviews editor for the Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. I recently co-guest-edited a Special Issue of the journal Literacy that focuses on recent perspectives in oracy education. The issue promises to be a valuable point of reference for practitioners and researchers wishing to explore the issues and inequalities inherent in communicative practices in education settings.

What does it mean personally to you to be an associate professor at Sheffield Hallam? What do you value about it?

Sheffield Hallam has a long tradition of innovative work in language and literacy, and I have worked with inspiring and supportive colleagues in this area. To have my contribution in language and literacy recognised through academic progression means a lot. Throughout (and perhaps before) my career in education, I have been deeply interested in young children’s literacy and more broadly, their meaning making practices. To have achieved associate professorship for investigating what is of most interest to me is wonderful!

Tell us a bit about your career story so far.

I worked as a primary teacher and English subject leader before becoming a senior lecturer at Hallam in 2010. As a senior lecturer in Primary English, I was English subject lead for Initial Teacher Education for nine years where I led developments across UG and PG courses. I have increasingly become involved in research for organisations such as the Department for Education (DfE), Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and was seconded to Sheffield Institute of Education Research and Knowledge Exchange (SIRKE) (formerly CDARE) for two years. In 2020 I took on the role of Course Leader for the Doctorate in Education (EdD).

Hallam has played a large part in my professional life. I achieved my first degree (Bed [Hons] English Studies), and later studied for my MA and then Doctorate in Education here. My doctoral thesis, entitled ‘Movement Meaning and Affect; the stuff early childhood literacies are made of’ offers a post-structural reading of young children’s meaning making in an Early Years classroom. I have been publishing my research since 2013 and have co-written with many colleagues at Hallam around topics such as young children’s digital literacy practices, symbolic play and literacy, teachers’ understandings of literacy pedagogy and digital literacies and young children’s agency in classroom contexts.

If you could go back in time and give yourself some career advice, what would it be?

It is all right to focus on the things that deeply interest you and not to be distracted thinking that you should be doing something else. It’s okay to veer from the ‘path’ now and again too because you will always learn something.

What’s next? Tell us about how you want to further develop your contribution.

In 2021 I became the leader of the Language and Literacy in Education Research Group, a cross-department and multidisciplinary group of Sheffield Hallam scholars working within language and literacy. I am working in collaboration with the group to enhance the profile of the group and its individual members, showcasing and promoting the work done at Sheffield Hallam with external colleagues and potential students.

I am currently developing my external networks with international colleagues investigating affect and literacy to consider collaborations and funding applications to further advance the field.