Programme Co‑ordinator (Early Childhood Education)
Lecturer | Mātauraka Kōhukahuka
Member of the Kaiāwhina Māori – Māori student support team
PhD, MA, MEd, BA, Dip Tchg
Kāi Tahu
Dunedin Campus
Waea | Tel +64 3 479 4214
Īmēra | Email michael.gaffney@otago.ac.nz
Tari | Office 2.04, Tower Block, College of Education, Dunedin
Biography
I am a Lecturer in the Early Childhood Education Programme. My research interests are quite broad as a result of working at the Childrenʻs Issues Centre, University of Otago from 1995–2010 as a researcher and lecturer. During this time I was involved in the development and teaching of the Post Graduate Diploma of Child Advocacy and supervising students in the Masters of Childhood and Youth Studies programme.
My current research interests often take me into evaluation studies of social and education service providers. I am particularly interested in how people learn to be parents and how communities, including early childhood settings, can support them. I am involved in a couple of Ministry of Social Development activities locally – Strengthening Families http://www.strengtheningfamilies.govt.nz and Community Response Forums https://www.communityresponse.org.nz
Research interests
- Childhood Studies: Children and Young People's views of their experiences
- Disability Studies and inclusion
- Socio-Cultural theory and Communities of Practice
- Social and Educational Evaluation