A webinar bringing together three influential women whose work about early childhood continues to inspire and inform practice in early years settings and schools today.
Professor Tina Bruce, Dr Stella Louis and Professor Chris Pascal's award-winning research, teaching and writings are deeply rooted in the work of Friedrich Froebel, the inventor of kindergarten.
A Froebelian approach has impacted and influenced all three women's wide-ranging bodies of work. Their work has helped make a Froebelian approach relevant to educators today and continues to make a difference to how we think about, understand and care for babies and young children.
Thursday 16 January 2025
7pm to 8pm
Online (via Zoom)
All are welcome
Register for a FREE ticket
This webinar is an opportunity to hear Professor Tina Bruce, Dr Stella Louis and Professor Chris Pascal describe, analyse and reflect on their life journeys and their careers to date. Their discussions during this webinar will introduce Froebelian principles and together they will consider how:
- privilege brings responsibility
- adversity brings resolve
- self-belief brings hope and understanding.
This Froebel Trust event is for all those who work with young children in schools and early years settings - as well as leaders, policy makers, parents/ carers, researchers, academics and students interested in understanding more about early childhood today.
The webinar will be chaired by Dr Sacha Powell, CEO, Froebel Trust and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions to the three guest presenters.
Professor Tina Bruce CBE
Tina Bruce is considered a world-leading Froebelian educator. She has written or edited over 30 books about early childhood education and is perhaps best known for the 'ten principles of early childhood education' first published in 1987 in her book Early Childhood Education.
Many know Tina for her writing and extensive work about young children’s play – introducing the idea of 'free flow play' and championing the need for children to be given time and opportunity to play in schools and early years settings.
In the 1990s and into the 2000s she worked with successive Ministers for Children - as Coordinator of the Early Years Advisory Group. During her career, Tina has worked with a freelance portfolio with CPD and consultancy across a variety of early childhood context.
She co-founded the Centre for Early Childhood Studies (which later became the Early Childhood Research Centre at Roehampton University) - and as an educator she is guided by Froebelian principles, being known for her ability to interweave theory and practice in creative and challenging ways.
In 2008, she was made a CBE for Services to early years education and in 2014 was given the Nursery World Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tina, with a group of Froebelian colleagues, helped to re-establish the Froebel Certificate courses in Scotland and at the University of Roehampton. She led the group who subsequently developed these into a format for the Froebel Trust Short Courses. These introduced Froebel’s main ideas and educational approach. They are designed for everyone who works with babies and young children in early years settings and schools today. In the past year alone, the Froebel Trust offered over 1,500 training places for educators in the UK, allowing them to take part in the Short Courses designed by Tina.
You can download a free Froebel Trust pamphlet by Prof. Tina Bruce 'Empowering learning: Play, symbols and creativity' (Released in September 2023).
Dr Stella Louis
Stella is Lead Tutor for the Froebel Trust Short Courses. She was named Trainer of the Year at the Nursery World Awards 2023 and was also honoured with the Nursery World Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in early childhood education.
Stella is an early years consultant, trainer and author working with individual nursery settings, parents, nursery schools, local authorities, government departments and charities. She provides training and consultancy and is particularly interested in observation and its part in developing learning, especially through children’s schemas. Stella has worked both in the United Kingdom and internationally, in South Africa and Australia, where she worked with teachers to develop a Froebelian approach to teaching and learning.
Stella is author of numerous books and articles including Observing Learning in Early Childhood (Sage), Understanding Schemas in Young Children (Bloomsbury) and How to use Group Supervision to Improve Early Years Practice (Routledge). Most recently, in 2024, the book she co-authored with Hannah Betteridge was published by Routledge - Let's Talk About Race in the Early Years.
You can download a free Froebel Trust pamphlet by Dr Stella Louis 'Observing young children' (Released in January 2022).
Professor Christine Pascal OBE
Chris is Director of Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC), based at the St Thomas Children's Centre in Birmingham. She holds professorships with the University of Wolverhampton and Birmingham City University. She is a Founder and President of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association and a Vice President of Early Education. Chris was awarded an OBE for Services to Early Childhood in 2001 and the Nursery World Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
Chris is also a co-director of The Froebel Partnership - a Froebelian training and research programme (funded by the Froebel Trust) which ran from 2021 to 2024.
She has researched and written extensively on the policy and practice of early childhood education and development and the quality of early education services.
