Critical Early Years, by Dr Shaddai Tembo.
Early years lecturer, writer, speaker, trainer, consultant, trustee and former practitioner.
In brief
Who am I?
I am an early years lecturer, writer, speaker, trainer, consultant, trustee and former practitioner.
What do I do?
I specialise in early years education and care, covering children’s early experiences from birth to school age. I am interested in equality and inclusion, including gender and LGBT+ equalities, anti-racism, and social justice approaches.
Why do I do it?
I believe that a crucial way to address societal issues is to begin with the early years of our lives. This means recognising the power that we, as educators, can have in supporting young children to flourish without constraint.
How do I do it?
As well as my academic position, I created Critical Early Years as a vehicle for me to engage with the sector through training and consultancy. I am available as a speaker, panellist, or host. I can deliver workshops and training for a range of audiences.
Why Critical Early Years?
The writings of educator, writer, and social activist Paolo Freire have motivated my practice since the moment I came to read about his work. I follow his ‘critical pedagogy’ approach, which focuses on challenging all forms of oppression in education and seeks to unsettle dominant narratives about children and childhood. This is a theme that runs through all of my practice.
How is my name pronounced?
“Shad-eye”
In depth
Shaddai is a lecturer in Early Childhood Studies (UK and China) at Bath Spa University and an associate lecturer at the Open University. He was formerly employed at Perth College University of the University of the Highlands and Islands and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). Shaddai is an Associate Fellow (AFHEA) and has completed the Diversifying leadership programme with AdvanceHe.
He completed his PhD in 2022 on the subject of subjectivities in early years practice at UWS. Shaddai received an MSc with Merit in Social Science Research Methods (Sociology) from the University of Bristol. His undergraduate degree is a First Class BA (Hons) Education: Early Years from Bath Spa University.
Shaddai has published papers with the Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ethnicities, and Emotion, Space and Society. They are on the editorial board for Gender and Education journal and contribute toward the academic peer-review process.
Shaddai’s experience working in the early years is varied, most recently he was part of the family support team within a children’s centre in central Bristol. He has worked as an early years practitioner in a range of PVI nurseries. You can read his learning story, as part of his learning ambassador role for Bristol Learning Cities, in full here.
During his time studying at the University of Bristol Shaddai was a community liaison ambassador, you can read more about this here.
Shaddai is also a trustee for the Fatherhood Institute, the UK’s leading independent think tank on fatherhood., and part of the steering group for the MITEY campaign which aims to celebrate, support and increase the numbers of, men working in early childhood education in the UK. Between, 2018-2022, Shaddai was formerly a trustee for Early Education, a national charity supporting early years practitioners with training, resources and professional networks, and campaigning for quality education for the youngest children
Shaddai is currently part of the systematic review advisory panel for the Froebel Trust funded study Froebelian Leadership in Early Years. Shaddai was previously part of the advisory group for the BERA funded study, ‘Ethnicity and the Early Years Workforce’.
He was formerly part of the steering group for the ESRC funded study 'Gender Diversification in Early Years Education’. The group acted as a forum for overseeing the progress of the project, was a space to reflect on how far the project was meeting its aims and supported planning the training and dissemination phase of the project.
Shaddai also previously co-convened the Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA) Early Years Network between 2018-2022.
In October 2018, Shaddai featured on the BME Power List 2018, showcasing Bristol's 100 most influential black and minority ethnic people. They are now part of the Early Years Black List.
He was formerly part of the leadership team for the Bristol Men in Early Years (BMIEY) Network for over three years. A key element of his role involved networking with others both in the UK and further afield in Europe with a view towards creating a cohesive voice around tackling the gender imbalance in the early years and gender inequality as a whole.
