Join us for a celebration of the book The Power of Froebel with Lynn J. McNair and contributing authors of the book as they share their insights and experiences about the power of Froebel in Scotland.
This special online event, celebrating The Power of Froebel, a new book published by Routledge, shares a never-before-seen glimpse into Scotland’s world-leading community of Froebel-inspired early childhood practice. This interactive webinar will bring together the book’s editors and selected chapter authors to share their insights and experiences.
What to expect:
- Welcome and introduction from the books editors
- Chapter highlights presented by contributing authors
- Live discussion and Q&A, your chance to engage with the speakers
Whether you’re an educator, researcher, or simply curious about Froebel’s enduring influence, this session offers a unique opportunity to connect with the Froebelian community and deepen your understanding of child-centred practice.
More details will be added soon!
About the speakers
Editor
Lynn McNair is a distinguished scholar and thought leader in early childhood education and care. With a profound dedication to advancing knowledge and fostering intellectual discourse Lynn has made significant contributions to the academic community through her research, teaching, and public endeavours. Lynn holds a Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Edinburgh, where she serves as a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood and Froebel. Her research interest encompasses a wide range of topic including early childhood; Froebelian pedagogy, pedagogy as a critical and political practice/ pedagogical culture of questioning; practitioner inquiry; and young children’s transitions. Throughout her career Lynn has authored numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, exploring children’s storytelling, pedagogical documentation, Froebel and social justice. The seminal work of ‘The Power of Froebel in Early Childhood Education’ represents a culmination of years of research and it is making a significant impact in the field.
Authors
Rosemary Gilderdale-Smith graduated as a teacher in 1992 with a BEd (Hons) and worked as an infant teacher and teacher in nursery in England. After becoming a parent and then a subsequent move to Scotland in 2002, Rosemary continued my teaching career in early years before moving into Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Quality Improvement team, firstly as a Principal Teacher supporting and developing early years practice across the authority and since 2016 as Quality Improvement Officer for Early Years. In 2020 she completed the Froebel in Childhood Practice Course with Edinburgh University. This valuable opportunity for further professional learning with Early Years practitioners across our region is helping to establish a shared vision, values and pedagogical practice to support all of our children to have the very best experiences and care.
Donna Green, Head of Woodlands early learning and childcare centre, Falkirk Council, Scotland. Donna has worked in early years for over 30 years and advocates as an early childhood pedagogue. She is one of the founders and a leader of the Falkirk Froebel Network which began in 2019 and followed on from her University of Edinburgh Froebel in Childhood Practice certificate course. Her Dissertation for her MSc Ed (Early Childhood Practice and Froebel) was Slow pedagogy through a Froebelian lens. She is enthusiastic to cultivate a culture to connect and enable Froebelian principled approaches and research to underpin practice which makes positive differences for children, families, and educators. Donna has authored chapters in The Bloomsbury handbook to Friedrich Froebel and The power of Froebel in Early Childhood Education. In addition, she was a co-authored a Froebel Trust pamphlet Time for Childhood: slow pedagogy.
Jane Whinnett MBE is a tutor on the University of Edinburgh Froebel course and Masters course as well as a travelling tutor with the Froebel Trust and has worked both face to face and online. She was head teacher of two maintained nursery schools in Edinburgh and a founder member of the Edinburgh Froebel Network. Jane was the author of the Froebel Trust’s pamphlet on Froebel’s gifts and block play today. She co-authored Sewing with young children. Most recently she co-edited The Bloomsbury Handbook to Friedrich Froebel) (Bruce, Nishida, Powell, Wasmuth and Whinnett, 2024) and has documented the history of the Edinburgh Froebel Network for the book The Power of Froebel in Early Childhood Education(McNair and Addison 2025).
Kristina Konstantoni is Senior Lecturer in Childhood Studies at Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh. Kristina is Co-Director of the Children and Young People Thematic Hub, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Early Years Research, Policy and Practice group and Member of Childhood and Youth Studies research group. Kristina’s research interests include children’s rights, childhoods and intersectionality; children’s human rights in informal learning public play spaces like community and business play-cafes; and children and young people’s human rights and participation in research, practice and policy-making. She works both in Scotland and with cross-national partners in such places as Greece, Brazil, Eswatini, South Africa, Palestine and Germany. She is the co-author of the recent book: Critical Childhood Studies. Global Perspectives. Bloomsbury.
Iffah Humaira Eri Tantawi is a research assistant in the Froebelian Play Cafe Project at Moray House of Education at the University of Edinburgh. She has a Masters in Education (in Early Childhood Practice and Froebel) from the University of Edinburgh, where her Masters thesis focused on Children's Agency in Natural Spaces. She is also the illustrator for the Froebelian Play Cafe Project's 'storybook-ing' project, where she worked closely with the children's advisors in co-designing and co-creating the storybook as a research output, focusing on creative participatory research methods with young children.
Reyhaneh Mozaffar is a research assistant in the Froebelian Play Cafe Project at Moray House of Education at the University of Edinburgh. She has also been a practicing artist for over 20 years and has professional experience in children’s creative arts. She has a PhD in Landscape Architecture from the University of Edinburgh, where she focused on children’s creativity in outdoor spaces and explores play contexts that encourage children’s creativity through play. She divides her time between her research interests, her art and painting profession, and time with children – including her own children through home education- focusing on creative arts and painting classes.
