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Faculty of Education and Language Studies > People Profiles > Martin Woodhead

Martin Woodhead

Professor (Childhood Studies)

The Open University Faculty of Education and Language Studies Centre for Childhood, Development and Learning


Profile

Martin Woodhead is Professor of Childhood Studies at The Open University.  With a background in psychology, sociology and educational research, his research, teaching and publications are wide-ranging, including early child development, education and care, as well theoretical and methodological contributions to child research and interdisciplinary childhood studies. He pioneered undergraduate teaching in Childhood and Youth Studies at the Open University through the innovative course, U212 Childhood. In recent years he has concentrated on policy-focussed international research, and has carried out studies on child labour, and children’s rights, including consultancy work for Save the Children, Council of Europe, OECD, UNICEF, and UNESCO. 

Martin was Special Adviser to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in the drafting of General Comment 7, 'Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood' (2005) and led on the preparation of the UN Secretary General's Status of the UNCRC report of August 2010 to General Assembly 65, focussing on infancy and early childhood. 

Martin was co-editor of the journal ‘Children & Society’ 2003-11, and is a member of the editorial board for ‘Childhood’ and advisory board for Journal of Early Childhood Research.

Since 2005, Martin has been Associate Research Director of 'Young Lives', based at University of Oxford, core funded by DFID (with the Open University as a research partner). Young Lives is a four country, 15 year longitudinal study of child poverty,  in Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh), Peru and Vietnam.  Martin has contributed especially to the child-focussed, qualitative and school-based research components of Young Lives, including responsibility for a study into equity in access to quality early childhood care and education (http://www.younglives.org.uk/what-we-do/sub-study-on-early-childhood-care-and-development) which is reported in the Bernard van Leer Foundation Working Paper series, 'Transitions in Early Childhood'. He is currently focussing on children's experiences of education in Young Lives countries, especially the impact of the growth in the private sector schools on Education for All's equity goals for pre-primary and primary education.

At the Open University, Martin co-directs the 'Early Childhood in Focus' project funded by Bernard van Leer Foundation, to produce accessible reviews on key topics relevant to policy and practice, with 8 issues now available in print and on-line in English, Spanish and other language versions.

Martin is Chair of the International Advisory Board to the Open Society Foundation's (OSF) Early Childhood Program.

In June 2012, Martin was elected to UNICEF UK's Board of Trustees

Recent publications, including downloadable PDFs, are at Open Research Online.

Recent publications include:

2012     What inequality means for children: evidence from 'Young Lives'. Background paper for  the Global Thematic Consultation "Addressing Inequalities" in the post-2015 Development Agenda. UNICEF & UN Women, New York (with P Dornan and H. Murray).

2012     ‘Delivering quality early learning in low-resource settings: progress and challenges in Ethiopia’ Working Paper 59 The Hague, Bernard van Leer Foundation/ Young Lives (with K Orkin and W Abebe Yadete)

2013    ‘Does growth in private schooling contribute to Education for All? Evidence from a longitudinal, two cohort study in Andhra Pradesh, India’ International Journal of Educational Development, 33(1), pp. 65–73 (with M Frost and Z James)

2013    ‘Early Education for All: Is there a role for the private sector? In P. Britto et al (Eds), Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and Its Impact on Global Policy. New York, Oxford University Press/ UNICEF/SRCD (with Natalia Streuli)

 

Teaching Interests

Martin has contributed to three main strands of Open University teaching: ‘Educational Studies’ at undergraduate level; ‘Child Development’ at undergraduate and Masters level; ‘Childhood and Youth Studies’ at undergraduate level. He has been course chair of many Open University courses in production and presentation and has also worked closely with BBC Open University Productions in development of television, audio and multi-media materials, as well as working on co-publication of readers and textbooks.

Martin was responsible for initiating Open University teaching of Masters courses in Child Development through chairing production of core modules E820 Child Development in Social Context (first presented 1990), as well as the replacement course ED840 Child Development in Families, Schools and Society.

Martin also led on early development of Childhood and Youth Studies programme, personally chairing production of the core compulsory course U212 Childhood and establishing the honours degree BA Hons Childhood and Youth Studies. He was Programme Director for Childhood and Youth Studies until January 2007, with responsibility for academic and vocational awards related to children and young people, including Foundation degrees in Early Years and Working with Young People as well as the BA Honours degree.

Martin has been an external examiner for taught BA and MA degree programmes, and has examined PhDs in Sweden, Australia and New Zealand as well as the UK.

Research Interests

Interdisciplinary Childhood Studies, applied research and policy analysis. International studies in early childhood education and care, equity issues in education, children's rights and child labour.

Current Research

2005- ‘Young Lives Project’ Institutional collaboration with University of Oxford, Department of International Development. Associate Research Director of this fifteen year, longitudinal study of children in poverty Peru, India, Ethiopia and Vietnam , core funded by Department for International Development (DFID) and Netherlands Foreign Ministry (DGIS), with sub-studies funded by Oak Foundation, Bernard van Leer Foundation and others.

2007-10 ‘Transitions in Early Childhood: a sub-study of Young Lives’ Research grant to support early childhood element of Young Lives Project, funded by Bernard van Leer Foundation, Netherlands and reported through a Transitions in Early Childhood Working Paper series.

2005- ‘Early Childhood in Focus’ Development of science based, policy/communications materials on topics linked to early childhood core themes, funded by Bernard van Leer Foundation, Netherlands (with Mr John Oates).

2005-2008 Milton Keynes Children’s Fund, ‘Evaluation of Community Mobilizer Project’ Small scale qualitative study (with Dr Katy Simmons and Dr Anna Laerke).

Publications

Authored Book
Woodhead, Martin and Montgomery, Heather (2002). Understanding childhood: an interdisciplinary approach. Wiley.
Woodhead, Martin (1996). In search of the rainbow: pathways to quality in large scale programmes for young disadvantaged children. Early Childhood Development: Practice and Reflections (7). The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation.
Book Chapter
Woodhead, Martin and Streuli, Natalia (2013). Early education for all: is there a role for the private sector? In: Britto, Pia; Engle, Patrice and Super, Charles eds. Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and Its Impact on Global Policy. New York, USA: Oxford University Press.
Woodhead, Martin (2011). Pathways through early childhood education in Ethiopia, India and Peru: rights, equity and diversity. In: Boyden, Jo and Bourdillon, Michael eds. Childhood Poverty: Multidisciplinary Approaches. Palgrave Studies on Children and Development. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 241–260.
Woodhead, Martin (2011). Promoting young children’s development: implications of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In: Miller, Linda; Cable, Caroline and Drury, Rose eds. Extending Professional Practice in the Early Years. London: Sage.
Simmons, Katy; Laerke, Anna; Conway, Danny and Woodhead, Martin (2010). 'We are the ones we have been waiting for': the work of community mobilisers in Milton Keynes. In: Rix, Jonathan; Nind, Melanie; Sheehy, Kieron; Simmons, Katy; Parry, John and Kumrai, Rajni eds. Equality, participation and inclusion: diverse contexts. London: Routledge, pp. 53–67.
Woodhead, Martin (2009). Child development and development of childhood. In: Qvortrup, Jens; Corsaro, William A. and Honig, Michael-Sebastian eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Childhood Studies. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Woodhead, Martin (2008). Childhood studies: past, present and future. In: Kehily, Mary Jane ed. An Introduction to Childhood Studies. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press, pp. 17–34.
Woodhead, Martin (2008). Promoting young children's development: implications of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In: Miller, Linda and Cable, Carrie eds. Professionalism in the Early Years. Hodder Education.
Woodhead, Martin (2008). Respecting rights: implications for early childhood policies and practices. In: Mac Naughton, Glenda; Hughes, Patrick and Smith, Kylie eds. Young Children as Active Citizens: Principles, Policies and Pedagogies. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 15–30.
Woodhead, Martin and Faulkner, Dorothy (2008). Subjects, objects or participants? Dilemmas of psychological research with children. In: Christiansen, Pia and James, Allison eds. Research With Children: Perspectives and Practices. London, UK: Falmer Press / Routledge, pp. 10–39.
Woodhead, Martin (2007). Harmed by work or developing through work? Issues in the study of psychosocial impacts. In: Hungerland, Beatrice; Liebel, Manfred; Milne, Brian and Wihstutz, Anne eds. Working to be someone: Child focused research and practice with working children. UK: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 31–42.
Woodhead, Martin (2007). Developing policies on child labour: has research made a difference? In: Engwald, Kristina and Soderlind, Ingrid eds. Children's Work in Everyday Life. Stockholm: Institute for Futures Studies.
Woodhead, Martin (2007). Le développement du jeune enfant : une affaire de droits. In: Vandenbroeck, Michel and Brougere, Gilles eds. Repenser l'Education des Jeunes Enfants. Bern: Peter Lang.
Woodhead, Martin (2006). Early childhood development: a question of rights. In: Not Set ed. A Guide to General Comment 7: Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood. The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation, pp. 145–150.
Woodhead, Martin (2005). Combating child labour. In: Jenks, Chris ed. Childhood: Critical Concepts. Critical Concepts in Sociology, 2. London: Routledge.
Woodhead, Martin (2005). Children and development. In: Oates, John; Wood, Clare and Grayson, Andrew eds. Psychological Development and Early Childhood. Blackwell/Open University, pp. 9–46.
Woodhead, Martin; Rhodes, Sinead and Oates, John (2005). Disturbed and disturbing development. In: Ding, Sharon and Littleton, K eds. Children's Personal and Social Development. Oxford/Milton Keynes: Blackwell/Open University, pp. 53–92.
Woodhead, Martin (2004). When psychology informs public policy: the case of early childhood intervention. In: Zigler, Edward and Styfco, Sally J eds. The Head Start Debates. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.
Woodhead, Martin; Burr, Rachel and Montgomery, Heather (2003). Adversities and resilience. In: Montgomery, Heather; Burr, Rachel and Woodhead, Martin eds. Changing Childhoods: Local and Global. Chichester: Wiley/Open University.
Woodhead, Martin and Maybin, Janet (2003). Socializing children. In: Woodhead, Martin and Maybin, Janet eds. Childhoods in Context. Chichester: Wiley.
Miller, Linda; Soler, Janet and Woodhead, Martin (2003). Shaping early childhood education. In: Woodhead, Martin and Maybin, Janet eds. Childhoods in Context. Chichester: Wiley/Open University.
Kirby, Perpetua and Woodhead, Martin (2003). Children's participation in society. In: Montgomery, Heather; Burr, Rachel and Woodhead, Martin eds. Changing Childhoods: Local and Global. Chichester: Wiley/Open University.
Woodhead, Martin; Montgomery, Heather and Burr, Rachel (2003). Adversities and resilience. In: Montgomery, Heather; Burr, Rachel and Woodhead, Martin eds. Changing Childhoods: local and global. Childhood (4). Chichester: John Wiley, pp. 1–34.
Maybin, Janet and Woodhead, Martin (2003). Socialising children. In: Maybin, Janet and Woodhead, Martin eds. Childhoods in Context. Chichester: John Wiley, pp. 1–38.
Woodhead, Martin (2002). Work, play and learning in the lives of young children. In: Drury, Rose; Miller, Linda and Campbell, Robin eds. Exploring Early Years Education and Care. London: David Fulton.
Woodhead, Martin (2002). The child in development. In: Montgomery, Heather and Woodhead, Martin eds. Understanding Childhood: an Interdisciplinary Approach. Wiley.
Woodhead, Martin (2001). The value of work and school: a study of working children's perspectives. In: Lieten, Kristoffel and White, Ben eds. Child Labour: Policy Options. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Aksant Academic Publishers, pp. 103–116.
Journal Article
Woodhead, Martin; Frost, Melanie and James, Zoe (2013). Does growth in private schooling contribute to Education for All? Evidence from a longitudinal, two cohort study in Andhra Pradesh, India. International Journal of Educational Development, 33(1), pp. 65–73.
Sheehy, Kieron; Kumrai, Rajni and Woodhead, Martin (2011). Young people’s experiences of Personal Advisors and the Connexions service. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 30(3), pp. 168–182.
Camfield, Laura; Streuli, Natalia and Woodhead, Martin (2010). Children's wellbeing in developing countries: a conceptual and methodological review. European Journal of Development Research, 22(3), pp. 398–416.
Camfield, Laura; Crivello, Gina and Woodhead, Martin (2009). Wellbeing research in developing countries: reviewing the role of qualitative methods. Social Indicators Research, 90(1), pp. 5–31.
Crivello, Gina; Camfield, Laura and Woodhead, Martin (2009). How can children tell us about their wellbeing? Exploring the potential of participatory research approaches within young lives. Social Indicators Research, 90(1), pp. 51–72.
Camfield, Laura; Streuli, Natalia and Woodhead, Martin (2009). What's the use of 'well-being' in contexts of child poverty? Approaches to research, monitoring and children's participation. International Journal of Children's Rights, 17(1), pp. 65–109.
Woodhead, Martin (2006). Changing perspectives on early childhood: theory, research and policy. International Journal of Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood, 4(2), pp. 1–43.
Woodhead, Martin (2005). Early childhood development: a question of rights. International Journal of Early Childhood, 37(3), pp. 79–98.
Woodhead, Martin (2004). Psychosocial impacts of child work: a framework for research, monitoring and intervention. International Journal of Children's Rights, 12(4), pp. 321–377.
Woodhead, Martin (1999). Towards a global paradigm for research in early childhood education. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 7(1), pp. 5–22.
Woodhead, Martin (1999). Reconstructing developmental psychology: some first steps. Children & Society, 13(1), pp. 3–19.
Other
Camfield, Laura; Crivello, Gina and Woodhead, Martin (2013). Young Lives Qualitative Fieldwork Guide: Round Two (2008). Young Lives, Oxford.
Camfield, Laura; Crivello, Gina and Woodhead, Martin (2013). Young Lives Qualitative Fieldwork Guide: Round One (2007). Young Lives, Oxford.
Woodhead, Martin; Dornan , Paul and Murray, Helen (2013). What inequality means for children: evidence from Young Lives. Young Lives, University of Oxford, Department of International Development.
Woodhead, Martin; Dornan, Paul and Murray, Helen (2012). What inequality means for children: evidence from young lives. Background paper for the Global Thematic Consultation “Addressing Inequalities” in the post-2015 Development Agenda. UNICEF & UN Women, New York.
Orkin, Kate; Yadete, Workneh A. and Woodhead, Martin (2012). Delivering Quality Early Learning In Low-Resource Settings: Progress And Challenges In Ethiopia. Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Hague/ Netherlands.
Streuli, Natalia; Vennam, Uma and Woodhead, Martin (2011). Increasing choice or inequality? Pathways through early education in Andhra Pradesh, India. Bernard van Leer Foundation.
Simmons, Katy and Woodhead, Martin (2009). A summary Report on the Community Mobilisers Evaluation. Milton Keynes Council for Voluntary Services, Milton Keynes.
Woodhead, Martin; Ames, Patricia; Vennam, Uma; Abebe, Workneh and Streuli, Natalia (2009). Equity and quality? Challenges for early childhood and primary education in Ethiopia, India and Peru. Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Hague, Netherlands.
Woodhead, Martin (2009). Pathways through early childhood education in Ethiopia, India and Peru: Rights, equity and diversity. Young Lives Working Paper 54. Young Lives, University of Oxford, Department of International Development.
Vennam, Uma; Komanduri, Anuradha; Cooper, Elizabeth; Crivello, Gina and Woodhead, Martin (2009). Early Childhood Education Trajectories and Transitions: A study of the experiences and perspectives of parents and children in Andhra Pradesh, India. Young Lives Working Paper 52. Young Lives, University of Oxford, Department of International Development.
Vogler, Pia; Morrow, Virginia and Woodhead, Martin (2009). Conceptualising and measuring children’s time use. Young Lives Technical Note 14. Young Lives, University of Oxford, Department of International Development.
Camfield, L.; Streuli, N. and Woodhead, M. (2008). Children's Well-being in Contexts of Poverty: Approaches to Research, Monitoring and Participation. Young Lives.
Vogler, Pia; Crivello, Gina and Woodhead, Martin (2008). Early childhood transitions research: A review of concepts, theory, and practice’ Working Paper 48. Bernard van Leer Foundation.
Woodhead, Martin (1999). Is there a place for work in child development? Implications of child development theory and research for interpretation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, with particular reference to Article 32, on children, work and exploitation. Rädda Barnen.
Woodhead, Martin (1998). Children's Perspectives on their Working Lives: a participatory study in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, The Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Radda Barnen, Stockholm, Sweden.
Woodhead, Martin (1998). The Children’s Perspectives Protocol: A participatory approach to studying child work issues. Radda Barnen, Stockholm.