{"id":149,"date":"2021-09-20T14:09:43","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T13:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/EarlyChildhood\/?p=149"},"modified":"2021-09-20T14:09:43","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T13:09:43","slug":"meet-the-team-part-3-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/EarlyChildhood\/index.php\/2021\/09\/20\/meet-the-team-part-3-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the team: part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sarah Jane Mukherjee, Research Associate<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been at the OU since 2009 as a distance student, doctoral student, research assistant and tutor, and now I am a postdoctoral research associate.\u00a0 Alongside working on OU modules, my current research revolves around reading for pleasure (RfP) and children\u2019s dialogue.\u00a0 In particular, I\u2019m interested in investigating children\u2019s language to understand their playful interactions and the opportunities for learning in play.\u00a0 I have worked on a cross-cultural study into children\u2019s and mothers\u2019 conceptions of play and learning in five different countries, and my PhD explored children\u2019s meaning making and learning in classroom role-play.<\/p>\n

My ideal holiday destination is La R\u00e9union, a French island in the Indian Ocean.\u00a0 I studied there many years ago, and as a family we go back as often as we can to visit friends, hike in the sunny mountains, enjoy the beautiful waterfalls, relax on the beaches and eat \u2018cari\u2019, which is one of the typical dishes.<\/p>\n

I have a number of books on the go at any one time.\u00a0 I recently finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (as an audio book), Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (kindle), Malamander by Thomas Taylor (children\u2019s short novel) and far too many picture books to list, but my recent favourites include Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall; Jerome by Heart by Thomas Scotto and Olivier Tallec; It\u2019s a no money day by Kate Milner.<\/p>\n

In my spare time I love to spend time with my husband and our daughter and the rest of my family including my two young nephews and niece.\u00a0 We have an allotment, on which we have mainly grown weeds this year, but there\u2019s always next year\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Carolyn Cooke, Academic Staff Tutor (Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I am a Staff Tutor based in the North of Scotland. I have worked in education as a teacher and teacher educator, with my specialism being music education. I am passionate about what the whole education system can learn from Early Years, particularly the role of play in learning and in educational research. This is something I have\u00a0 explored in my PhD. I have two children who I play and learn with every day.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Thanks Carolyn. Can you tell us\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n