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Ms Gemma M Ryder

Senior Lecturer

Cass School of Education and Communities

Gemma M. Ryder is a Senior Lecturer in the Cass School of Education and Communities. She teaches on the foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate early childhood programmes. She is additionally an Adult Mental Health First Aider (MHFA) and a Higher Education MHFA Champion.

    Gemma’s passion for working in early childhood began when she completed the NNEB Diploma In Nursery Nursing. Her involvement in the sector has seen her work in private and not-for-profit settings, which included a short visit to Joliet and Chicago to shadow practitioners and learn more about Head Start, Early Head Start and special education provision. She has worked in further education as an Early Years Work Placement Coordinator on the CACHE courses in early years and childcare. In addition to her role as a senior lecturer, Gemma has worked as an assessor, mentor and Programme Leader on the Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) pathways and acted as an External Validation Panel Member on Foundation and undergraduate degrees in early childhood and education courses. She has continued to develop her skills and expertise in early childhood through the completion of the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS), a Masters in Early Years Professional Practice and is completing a Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD), which focuses on prosocial development across the birth-to-three years age group in early childhood settings.



    PGCert Learning and Teaching in HE; MA Early Years Professional Practice; Early Years Professional Status, FHEA
    Masters in Early Years Professional Practice
    Early Years Professional
    Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
    Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

    Overview

    My Research Interests

    My research interests are in early childhood leadership and workforce development. I am also interested in prosocial development, particularly with babies and toddlers.



    • Developing leadership skills in young children
    • Prosocial behavior and dispositions in the 0 – 3 years age group
    • Working with families in challenging circumstances

    • Developing practical skills on non-vocational degree pathways
    • Early childhood leadership skills and experiences in practitioners with unrelated degrees.
    • Leadership experiences of early childhood practitioners and professionals
    • Professional safeguarding
    • Supporting the needs of early childhood staff who have special educational needs, specific learning differences or mental health conditions.

    • Early Years Professional Status and Early Years Initial Teacher Training
    • Early childhood undergraduate and postgraduate training and experience
    • Experiences of online learners

    Collaborators

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    Research

    Davis, G. and Ryder, G. (2016) Leading in Early Childhood. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

    Davis, G. and Ryder, G.. (2016). SAGE Publications Ltd.

    Publications


    Funding

    I am particularly passionate about workforce development and early childhood leadership, reflective practice, developing communities of practice and the development of prosocial skills in the under-3s age group. My experiences teaching on the EYPS / EYITT programmes have allowed me to specialise in understanding the needs of undergraduate and postgraduate early childhood professionals and the impact higher level learning has within the sector.


    Interests

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    Portfolio

    ED3091 Placement in Context: Play and Learning

    ED6032 Leading and Managing Partnerships in the Early Years

    ED7001 Research Methods and Dissertation in Early Childhood Leadership and Practice
    ED7410 Critical Reflection on Leadership of Practice in Early Childhood 



    Foundation Modules:

    ED3091 Placement in Context: Play and Learning

    ED3094 Social, Emotional and Mental Health


    Undergraduate Modules:

    ED6016 Leading and Managing Partnerships in Early Years


    Postgraduate Modules:

    ED7001 Research Methods and Dissertation in Early Childhood Leadership and Practice

    ED7410 Critical Reflection on Leadership of Practice in Early Childhood

    Early Childhood and Education Subject Area

    Teaching