the journey of my early years practice
with Dr Shaddai Tembo
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2024
March 2024 - Workshop lead on ‘Anti-discriminatory practice - putting theory into action’. For For Feltham Early Years Network Delivered in-person, Reach Children's Hub. Feltham, England
March 2024 - Speaker on Promoting anti-discriminatory practice in the early years. For Knowsley Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2024. Delivered online.February 2024 - Speaker on Advancing Diversity and Inclusion Practice in Early Years Settings. For Early Years Inspections Digital Conference. Westminster Insight. Delivered online.
February 2024 - Workshop Lead on ‘Promoting anti-discriminatory practice in the early years’. For The Nursery World Show 2024. London, England.
January 2024 - Panellist on ‘Workforce Wellbeing in the Early Years’. For For ‘Early Years in Mind’ Network. Anna Freud. Delivered online.
January 2024 - Guest Lecture on ‘Black educators in (white) settings: Making racial identity visible in Early Childhood Education and Care in England, UK’. For Lancaster University, ‘Promoting Social Justice through Education’ postgraduate module. Online.
January 2024- Workshop Lead on ‘Anti-discriminatory practice - putting theory into action Session’. For Feltham Early Years Network. London, England.
January 2024 - Speaker on ‘Anti-discriminatory practice with a focus on Communication and Language’. For Connections and Conversations: High Quality Interactions In The Early Years, Newham Nursery Schools Conference 2024. London, England.
2023
November 2023 Speaker on ‘Anti-discriminatory practice in the early years’. For Early Education AGM. Delivered online.
October 2023 - Workshop Lead on ‘LGBTQ+ Visibility ‘. For Bristol Association for Neighbourhood Daycare Ltd.(BAND), Delivered online.
September 2023 - Panellist on ‘Gender Diversity in Early Childhood’. For We Play Festival. Edinburgh, Scotland.
September 2023 - Research Presentation on Diversity in Unity: nurturing anti-racist habits in play through Froebelian pedagogies. BERA Conference 2023. Birmingham, England.
September 2023 - Speaker on ‘Pecha Kucha - Provoking play’. For We Play Festival. Edinburgh, Scotland.
September 2023 - Workshop Lead on ‘Promoting Gender and LGBTQ+ Inclusive Practice’. For Exploring the Power of Play 2023. Hampshire, England.
September 2023 ‘ Speaker’ on ‘Equality, inclusion and Anti-Racism approaches in the Early Years’. For Hackney Children and Family Hubs Away Day. London, England.
August 2023 - Workshop lead ‘'Embedding Anti-Racism in the Early Years - full day course’. For private nursery. Wiltshire, England.
August 2023 - Speaker on ‘Reimagining Equality and Inclusion’. For Monkey Puzzle Festi 2023. Woking England.
July 2023 - Speaker on ‘Bringing our Full Selves to Work: Reflections on staff diversity’. For The Voice of Early Childhood Conference. Nottingham, England.
June 2023 - Research Presentation on ‘Examining the value of beach schools for children through photo-elicitation methods.’ For School of Education Research Day, Bath Spa University. Bath, England.
June 2023 Workshop Lead on ‘Embedding Anti-Racism in the Early Years - short course’. For Bristol Association for Neighbourhood Daycare (BAND). Delivered online.
June 2023 - Speaker on ‘Supporting Inclusion through Social Justice in the Early Years’. For UHI Inverness ‘Gender and Inclusion in Early Years Practice: Challenges and Opportunities’ Conference. Inverness, Scotland.
March 2023 - Speaker on ‘Conversations about Gender and LGBTQ+ Inclusion’. For City of London ‘Early Years Speech Language and Communication Conference' 2023’. London, England.
March 2023 - Workshop lead on ‘How to create an anti-racist EY curriculum’. For HfL 2023 National Race Equity Conference: Time to Act. Delivered online.
March 2023 - Research presentation on ‘Diversity in Unity’. For Froebel Trust Online Conference 2023. Delivered online (pre-recorded).
March 2023 - Workshop lead on ‘No Limits: Supporting Gender-Inclusive Practice in the Early Years’. For EYFS: Brent Early Years Conference 2023 - Back to Basics. London, England.
February 2023 - Speaker on ‘Supporting social justice in the early years, maintaining equity and inclusion on a daily basis’. For Early Education Edinburgh & The Lothians Branch. Delivered online.
February 2023 - Workshop Lead on ‘Keeping gender on the agenda: Men in the early years’. For The Nursery World Show 2023. London, England.
January 2023 - Guest Lecture on ‘Black educators in (white) settings: Making racial identity visible in Early Childhood Education and Care in England, UK’. For Lancaster University, ‘Promoting Social Justice through Education’ postgraduate module. Online.2022
December 2022 - Podcast feature for Edge Hill University Early Years Education B-Vlog. Online.
November 2022 - Respondent for ‘Ethnicity & the early years workforce: A census of staff in maintained nursery schools in England’. BERA. Online. (recorded, member access only).
October 2022 - Workshop Lead on 'Affirm and Celebrate: Supporting Gender and LGBTQ+ Inclusive Practice in Early Childhood’. Wirral Borough Council Early Years Conference. Online.
September 2022 - Workshop lead on ‘Anti-Racist Pedagogy in the Early Years’. For EPOP 2022 Festival. Hampshire, England.
September 2022 - Speaker on ‘Reflections on Social Justice in the Early Years’. For Early Years Scotland Annual National Conference: Diversity and Distinction in Early Learning and Childcare. Glasgow. Scotland.
September 2022 Speaker on ‘Supporting inclusive practice through social justice in the early years’. For Achieving for Children Annual Early Years Conference 2022 - One life…one chance. Online.
August 2022 - Research Presentation on ‘Liminal Relationalities: On collaborative writing with/in and against race in the study of early childhood’. For EECERA 2022. Glasgow, Scotland.
August 2022 Presentation on ‘Liminal Relationalities’ (delivered ‘Petcha Kucha’ style)’ for FLOW Children's Biennial as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival. Online.
July 2022 Speaker for The International Montessori Institute Conference - Advancing Social Justice Through Education.
July 2022 Speaker for ‘Ethnicity and the Early Years Workforce in Maintained Nursery Schools across England’. For BERA Early Childhood Education and Care SIG. Online.
June 2022 - Speaker on ‘Reflections on social justice in Early Years’. For Childcare & Education Expo. Bolton, England.
June 2022 - Speaker for ‘National Early Years Debate: A convergence of minds about the status of play’. Online.
May 2022 Co-Chair for SERA Early Years Network event: ‘Exploring language and emotions with storytelling and puppets’ Online.
April 2022 - Q&A Host for Froebel Spring Webinar: Children & Nature. Online here..
April 2022 - Research Presentation on ‘Liminal Relationalities: On collaborative writing with/in and against race in the study of early childhood’. For BSA Virtual Annual Conference 2022. Online.
April 2022 - Workshop lead on ‘The role of gender in the early years’. For Best Practice Network, The Virtual Staff Room. Online.
March 2022 - Workshop lead on Supporting LGBTQ+ inclusive practice for Birth to 5 Matters Online Spring Festival. Online.
March 2022 - Speaker on ‘Keeping Childhood Political: Reflections on social justice in the early years’. For North West Ofsted Big Conversation. Online.
March 2022 - Speaker on ‘Race Equity within the Early Years’. For London Borough of Ealing Early Years Conference.
March 2022 - Workshop lead on ‘Boys and girls unlimited: Promoting a gender diverse curriculum in the early years’. For Herts for Learning National Early Years Conference 2022. Online
February 2022 - Workshop lead on ‘Not Being Neutral: Foregrounding social justice in the early years’. For St Helens Early Years Hub Summit Event. Online.
February 2022 - Training on ‘Race and racism in the early years’. For East Renfrewshire Council. Online.
February 2022 - Training on ‘Boys and girls unlimited: Promoting a gender diverse curriculum in the early years’. For East Renfrewshire Council. Online.
February 2022 - Research Presentation on ‘Liminal Relationalities: On collaborative writing with/in and against race in the study of early childhood’. For European Congress of Qualitative Inquiry 2022. Online.2021
December 2021 - Podcast feature for Herts for Learning. Available here and on Spotify here.
November 2021 - Q&A Host for ‘Urgency of Slow’ Webinar. Froebel Trust. Online here.
November 2021 - Speaker on ‘A Career in the Early Years?’. For Business in the Community NI and Speakers for Schools. Online.
October 2021 - Research Presentation on ‘Making Racial Identity Visible in Early Childhood Education’. For Early Childhood Forum. Online, recording available.
September 2021 - Roundtable Speaker on ‘Birth to 5 Matters – the Curriculum Discussion’. For Birth to 5 Matters. Online.
September 2021 - Panellist on ‘Effective Delivery of the EYFS 2021 – Supported by Birth to 5 Matters’. For Childcare and Education Expo. Coventry, England.
July 2021 - Workshop Lead on ‘Understanding race and racism: A primer for early years practitioners’. For Kinderly Learn. Online.
June 2021 - Panellist on BBC Radios 4’s Rethink series. Available here.
May 2021 - Speaker on ‘Toward Political Childhoods’. For Upstart’s Play is the Way – Book Group 7 – Inclusion, Equality & Diversity. Online, recorded .
March 2021 - Speaker on ‘Race and Racism in the Early Years’. For The Tapestry Education Conference: Reflecting on Anti-racism in the Early Years. Online.
March 2021 - Speaker on ‘Promoting Gender Diversity among the Profession #MMOAKITEY’. For Men in Childcare. Edinburgh College. Online.
March 2021 - Speaker on ‘Promoting Gender Diversity among the Profession #MMOAKITEY’. For UWS Early Years Professional Practice Learning week. Online.
March 2021 - Guest Speaker for ‘Scottish Government CPL: Gender and Language Webinar’. Online
February 2021 – Panellist at ‘Birth to Five Matters: Have Your Say’. For Childcare & Education Virtual Summit. Online.
February 2021 – Chair for ‘#SERAconnects Early Years: Racism and Wellbeing in the Early Years. For SERA Early Years Network. Online.
February 2021 – Speaker on ‘Inclusive Practice’ for Birth to Five Matters – a KEYU event. Online.
January 2021 - Workshop Lead on 'Boys and Girls Unlimited: Promoting Gender Diversity In Early Childhood'. Presented to St Helen's EYHUB Virtual Summit 2021. Online.2020
December 2020 - Roundtable Speaker on 'National curriculum: knowledge vs child-centred practise, inclusive pedagogy' for The Black Policy Institute. Online.
November 2020 - Research Presentation on 'Race and Racisms in Early Childhood'. Presented to The University of Manchester Childhood Research Group. Online.
September 2020 - Workshop Lead on 'Race and Racisms in Early Childhood'. Presented to Childcare & Education Virtual Summit. Online.
July 2020 - Workshop Lead on 'No Well-being Until All Black Children are Well: Addressing Race and Racism in Educational Spaces'. Presented to 'NQT in a Recovery Curriculum: Supporting Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference'. Video here. Online.
June 2020 - Research Presentation* on 'Heteronormativity in Early Childhood: Identifying how heteronormative practices are maintained, constrained, and can be disrupted in early childhood in Scotland, UK'. Presented to Gender and Education Conference 2020: Gender Complexity, Collaboration, Connectedness (GC3). Calgary, Canada.*Cancelled due to coronavirus.
May 2020 - Research Presentation on 'Heteronormativity in Early Childhood: Identifying how heteronormative practices are maintained, constrained, and can be disrupted in early childhood in Scotland, UK'. Presented to ATGender Spring Conference. London, England.*Cancelled due to coronavirus.
April 2020 - Research Presentation* on 'Heteronormativity in Early Childhood: Identifying how heteronormative practices are maintained, constrained, and can be disrupted in early childhood in Scotland, UK'. Presented to BSA Annual Conference 2020: Reimagining Social Bodies: Self, Institutions and Societies. Birmingham, England. *Cancelled due to coronavirus.
February 2020 - Research Presentation on 'Gender and Heteronormativity in Early Learning and Childcare’. Presented at SERA Early Years Network: Spring Event “Evolving practitioner identities". Glasgow, Scotland.
February 2020 - Guest Lecture on 'Decent and Fair Work'. Presented to The Contemporary Labour Market module, as part of the MSc Career Guidance and Development course. Paisley, Scotland.
February 2020 - Workshop Co-Lead on 'Not Just For Women! Untapping Rich Career Choices'. Presented at Early Years Needs You! Regional Showcase Event. Ayrshire College, Kilmarnock, Scotland.
January 2020 - Research Presentation on 'Heteronormativity in Early Childhood: Identifying how heteronormative practices are maintained, constrained, and can be disrupted in early childhood in Scotland, UK' - at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Transfer Event. Paisley, Scotland.2019
November 2019 - Presentation on 'Reflections on Gender and LGBT+ Inclusive Education in Early Learning and Childcare'. Presented to Gender Commission (Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board) at Early Years Scotland, Professional Learning Academy in Glasgow, Scotland.
November 2019 - Research Presentation on 'Heteronormativity in Early Childhood: Identifying how heteronormative practices are maintained, constrained, and can be disrupted in early childhood in Scotland, UK' - at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) Research Colloquium, Division of Education. Paisley, Scotland.
September 2019 - Speaker, Panelist and Workshop Co-Lead at 'Men in Early Years Seminar', a joint Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland event in Stirling, Scotland.
September 2019 - Panelist at the Fourth National Men in The Early Years (MITEY) Conference: Bringing Men into the Early Years - The Why and The How 2019, Westminster, London.
June 2019 - Research Presentation on 'Heteronormativity in Early Childhood Practice' as part of 'Feminist New Materialist Encounters with Gender in Early Childhood Contexts' symposium at Gender and Education Conference 2019, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
June 2019 - Speaker on 'Heteronormativity in Early Childhood Practice' at Childhood Practice Conference, University of Glasgow.
March 2019 – Workshop Lead on ‘Race and Racism in the Early Years’ at Firm Foundations Conference 2, Bath Spa University.
January 2019 - Panelist at ‘A Career in Early Years is waiting for You!’ event, Glasgow.2018
December 2018 - Published article in Early Years Educator titled ‘We need to talk about racism’
October 2018 - Keynote PM on ‘Boys, Men and Gender in the Early Years’ at Equal Play conference, City Hall, London.
July 2018 – Oversaw 3rd National Gender in the Early Years Conference with Bristol Men in Early Years Network, Bristol.
May 2018 – Speaker at Tiger Gender Equality Community Exhibition. Bristol.
March 2018 – Guest on the The Victoria Derbyshire show, BBC2, to discuss how diversity in the Early Years profession can be improved.
February 2018 - Workshop Lead on "More men in the early years?" For Best Practice Network, Bristol.
February 2018 – Guest on the Gender Knot podcast to discuss the difference between sex and gender, why we should be challenging the imbalance in the Early Years and the issue of status and professionalism in the workforce.
October 2017 – Workshop Lead on ‘How to Build your own local network’ at the national Men in The Early Years (MITEY) conference, Bradford.
March 2017 – Speaker on “The implications of Gender Stereotyping” at Zero Tolerance: Making Respectful Men conference, Bristol. -
Date descending. Includes contributions and features.
Tembo, S. (2023) End discriminatory practices and prioritise meaningful inclusion. Early Education Journal No 101 - An agenda for the future. Available here
Benham, F. and Tembo, S. (2023) Heteronormativity in early childhood: part two. Available here (Accessed 27 June 2023).
Tembo, S. and Bentham, F. (2023) ‘Chapter 10: Gender and LGBTQ+ Inclusive Practice in Early Childhood’ in Nutbrown, C. (eds) Early Childhood Education: Current realities and future priorities. London. Sage.
Tembo, S. (2022) Affective Sociomaterialisation: An Inquiry into Early Childhood Subjectivities within Outdoor Early Childhood Provision in Scotland, UK., University of the West of Scotland [Online] Available here (Accessed: 02 Jan 2023).
Heywood, S. and Adzajlic, B. (2022) Challenging Gender Stereotypes in the Early Years. London. Routledge. (I contributed toward a section on men in the early years)
Sakr, M. and Tembo, S. (2022) Ethnicity and the early years workforce in maintained nursery schools across England. Available here (Accessed 10 Oct 2022)
Benham, F. and Tembo, S. (2022) Heteronormativity in early childhood. Available here (Accessed 10 Oct 2022).
Tembo, S. (2022) Affective sociomaterialisation: An inquiry into early childhood subjectivities within outdoor early childhood provision in Scotland, UK. Available here (Accessed 10 Oct 2022).
Thomas, A. (2022) Representation Matters. London: Bloomsbury (I contributed a 1000-word section on racism in the early years).
Tembo, S and Bateson, S. (2022) ‘Liminal relationalities: on collaborative writing with/in and against race in the study of early childhood.’ International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. Available here
Petrie, C. (2022) When should my child start doing chores? When they’re two, is the surprising answer from the experts. Available here
Tembo, S. (2021). ‘Bodies out of place: Affective encounters with whiteness.’ Emotion, Space and Society. Availahle here
Tembo, S. (2021). More work to do: thinking through equalities with young children in Scotland. Play is the Way. S. Palmer. Paisley, CCWB Press: 186-196.
Gaywood, D., Collies, S., Tembo, S., Hutchin, V., and Bradbury, A. (2021) Developing a positive sense of self. Available here (Accessed 10 Oct 2022).
Dinnie, K. (2021) The MITEY UK and other methods: how to get more men to join the EYFS: An Interview with Early Education Expert Shaddai Tembo. Available here Accessed 10 Oct 2022)
Latto, L. and Tembo, S. (2022) Posthumanism in Early Childhood: Implications for Practice. Available here (Accessed 10 Oct 2022).
Tembo, S. (2020). "Black educators in (white) settings: Making racial identity visible in Early Childhood Education and Care in England, UK." Journal of Early Childhood Research 19(1): 70-83. Available here
Tembo, S. (2020). "‘Hang on, she just used that word like it’s totally easy’: Encountering ordinary racial affects in early childhood education and care." Ethnicities. Available here
Pemberton, L. and Tembo, S. (2020) Foregrounding racial equalities in the Birth to 5 Matters guidance. Available at: https://www.criticalearlyyears.org/writing/2020/12/14/foregrounding-racial-equalities-in-the-birth-to-5-matters-guidance-dec-20. (Accessed 10 Oct 2022).
Nursery World. (2020) What does the early years sector want for the coming year?. Available here (Accessed 10 Oct 2020)
Russell, MJ., (2020) Nursery Management: Diversity - In the minority. Available here (Accessed 10 Oct 2020)
Tembo, S. (2018) We need to talk about racism. Available here (Accessed 10 Oct 2022).
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Affective sociomaterialisation: an inquiry into early childhood subjectivities within outdoor early childhood provision in Scotland, UK
In a nutshell, my thesis examines how children’s identities are formed and can be formed otherwise through different ways of knowing about how our human relation to material environments.My doctoral thesis is available to download from the British Library (or on ResearchGate). It was completed 2018-2022 at the University of the West of Scotland.
The aims of this thesis:
1. To advance a sociomaterial metaphysics toward understanding children’s identity in-formation
2. To examine the potential for outdoor early childhood environments to facilitate thinking otherwise beyond determinising identity formations.
3. To evaluate how a sociomaterial metaphysics toward understanding children’s identity formation can assist future learning and teaching.Abstract below:
“This doctoral thesis examines the formation of children’s subjectivities, related to the metaphysical conditions of being and becoming a subject, within fully outdoor early childhood provision in Scotland. The role of outdoor play provision has been made central in recent years by the Scottish Government as part of the broader expansion of Early Learning and Childcare (Scottish Government, 2017a; Scottish Government, 2017b; Education Scotland, 2019c; Scottish Government, 2020a). This enhanced focus raises questions around how children form their subjectivities in such spaces and how this may differ from what is known about subjectivity within conventional indoor provision.
Further, while the existing knowledge base on subjectivity in childhood is derived mainly from the intellectual progress made through the fields of social constructionism (Foucault, 1978), performativity theory (Butler, 2004; 2006; 2011) and developmental psychology (Piaget, 1948; 1957), concerns have been raised regarding the extent to which such frameworks may give primacy to the human, and the logics of humanism, over and above the non-human world (Barad, 2007; Dolphijn and Tuin, 2012; Braidotti, 2013). Such concerns warrant special attention in relation to entirely outdoor environments, where these approaches may underplay the significance of ontological and ontogenetic matters that contribute toward the formation of subjectivity.
This study applies a sociomaterial metaphysical framework to propose an alternative way of understanding how subjectivities come to form in early childhood environments, bringing together Spinozist (2002) monism and insights from process philosophy (Massumi, 2002) in relation to Deleuze and Guattari’s (1987) concepts of the assemblage and affect. Methodologically, a ethnographic approach, inspired partly from the postqualitative field of scholarship, is employed to gather data on children’s subjectivities at Wood Fire, a fully outdoor early childhood setting.
The findings of this study reveal the novel materiality and relationality of fully outdoor early childhood provision through which subjectivities are in-formed, and also point toward the ways that social and cultural determinacies continue to affectively orientate children’s desires in the absence of clearly demarcated material spaces. Thus, these findings a demonstrate more expanded understanding of how we, humans, are produced as individuals in specific encounters through processes of ‘affective sociomaterialisation’. Through the presentation of data in textual, visual and cinematic modes, practitioners are encouraged to re-evaluate the role of outdoor provision through a sociomaterial metaphysics that challenges conventional knowledges about how children’s subjectivities are formed. Practically, this carries implications for how the materiality of outdoor environments is understood to contribute to the child’s sense of self on more expansive terms.”
To cite: Tembo, S. (2022) Affective Sociomaterialisation: An Inquiry into Early Childhood Subjectivities within Outdoor Early Childhood Provision in Scotland, UK., University of the West of Scotland [Online] Available here (Accessed: 02 Jan 2023).
Please get in touch directly if you’re not able to access the thesis via the link.
What is affective sociomaterialisation?
This is an original term used within this thesis. It is intended to describe the process through which subjectivity is produced on the basis of the sociomaterial framework that I advance. Affective sociomaterialisation denotes a more expansive way of understanding subjectivity, compared to conventional theoretical frameworks, insofar as it incorporates ontogenetic as well as epistemological knowledges.