Senior Lecturer (Early Childhood Education)
BSc ECE BSc ElEd (Kansas State) EdD (Arizona State)
Dunedin campus
Tel +64 3 479 8949
Email sonya.gaches@otago.ac.nz
Biography
After growing up in the heartland of the United States, I received Bachelor’s degrees in both early childhood and elementary education and began my teaching career with infants and toddlers. I then continued my teaching career at a variety of early childhood levels for more than twenty years in Arizona. I decided to pursue my doctorate and move to the university after working with many teaching practicum students and feeling a pull to research. For six years, I was a teacher educator at the University of Arizona in Tucson and am now thrilled to be at the University of Otago, with the opportunity to work with many more teachers, children and families.
Teaching areas
- Childhood studies, children’s rights and participation
- Child development
- Curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood education and care
- Assessment and documentation in early childhood
Research interests
- Teachers’ narratives of their lived classroom experiences, especially in regards to issues of social justice, inclusion and care
- Children’s rights and participation
- Policy effects on teachers, children and families
Publications
Gaches, S. (2023). Sharing their ideas with the world: The views and voices of young children. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 21(1), 46-62. doi: 10.1177/1476718X221125593
Gaches, S. (2022). Building from At-Promise: Scholarship and mentoring for transformation. International Critical Childhood Policy Studies, 9(1), 37-48.
Gaches, S., Martin, R., Clark, B., & Paerata, M. (2022). Educating the teacher educators: Embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi relationships in ongoing professional learning and development. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education, 16(3), 99-121. doi: 10.17206/apjrece.2022.16.3.99
Gaches, S. (2022). Using critically reflexive ethics in practice to address issues of representation in children’s rights-based research. Global Studies of Childhood, 12(4), 374-386. doi: 10.1177/2043610620959679
Gaches, S. (2021). Can I share your ideas with the world? Young children's consent in the research process. Journal of Childhood Studies, 46(2), 20-33. doi: 10.18357/jcs462202119925
Betts, R., & Gaches, S. (2020). Entering unknown spaces: Tamariki and whānau from refugee backgrounds. In A. C. Gunn, N. Surtees, D. Gordon-Burns & K. Purdue (Eds.), Te aotūroa tātaki: Inclusive early childhood education: Perspectives on inclusion, social justice and equity from Aotearoa New Zealand. (2nd ed.) (pp. 72-89). Wellington, New Zealand: NZCER Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Gaches, S., & Gallagher, M. (2020). Children as research consultants: The ethics and rights of no research about them without consulting with them. In J. Murray, B. B. Swadener & K. Smith (Eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Young Children's Rights. (pp. 484-503). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Gaches, S. L. (2017). Time and relationship: Paternal and maternal tensions in teacher narrative. In K. Smith, K. Alexander & S. Campbell (Eds.), Feminism(s) in early childhood: Using feminist theories in research and practice. (pp. 121-133). Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-3057-4_10
Chapter in Book - Research
Swadener, B. B., Peters, L. J., & Gaches, S. (2013). Taking children’s rights and participation seriously: Cross-national perspectives and possibilities. In V. Pacini-Ketchabaw & L. Prochner (Eds.), Re-situating Canadian early childhood education: Rethinking childhood (Vol. 47). (pp. 189-210). New York, USA: Peter Lang. doi: 10.3726/978-1-4539-1039-9
Chapter in Book - Research
Gaches, S. (2023). Sharing their ideas with the world: The views and voices of young children. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 21(1), 46-62. doi: 10.1177/1476718X221125593
Journal - Research Article
Gaches, S. (2022). Building from At-Promise: Scholarship and mentoring for transformation. International Critical Childhood Policy Studies, 9(1), 37-48.
Journal - Research Article
Gaches, S. (2022). Using critically reflexive ethics in practice to address issues of representation in children’s rights-based research. Global Studies of Childhood, 12(4), 374-386. doi: 10.1177/2043610620959679
Journal - Research Article
Gaches, S., Martin, R., Clark, B., & Paerata, M. (2022). Educating the teacher educators: Embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi relationships in ongoing professional learning and development. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education, 16(3), 99-121. doi: 10.17206/apjrece.2022.16.3.99
Journal - Research Article
Gaches, S. (2021). Can I share your ideas with the world? Young children's consent in the research process. Journal of Childhood Studies, 46(2), 20-33. doi: 10.18357/jcs462202119925
Journal - Research Article
Gaches, S., & Gaffney, M. (2019). Children's rights and the draft Strategic Plan for Early Learning: Where are the children? Early Childhood Folio, 23(1), 22-27. doi: 10.18296/ecf.0064
Journal - Research Article
Gaches, S., & Walli, S. (2018). ‘My mom says you’re not really a teacher’: Rhizomatic explorations of ever-shifting student teacher identities and experiences. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 19(2), 131-141. doi: 10.1177/1463949118778020
Journal - Research Article
Gaches, S., & Hill, D. (2017). Power and assessment: A genealogical analysis of the CLASS. Journal of Curriculum & Pedagogy, 14(2), 125-142. doi: 10.1080/15505170.2017.1335253
Journal - Research Article
Peters, L. J., Gaches, S., & Swadener, B. B. (2015). Narratives on children’s rights and well-being. He Kupu, 4(2), 58-70.
Journal - Research Article
Gaches, S., & Gunn, A. C. (2019). (New) critical readings of Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood policy and practice. International Critical Childhood Policy Studies, 7(1), 1-5. [Editorial].
Journal - Research Other
Gaches, S. (2018). Preparing teachers to confront neoliberal discourses and to teach children equitably. Policy Futures in Education, 16(6), 645-651. doi: 10.1177/1478210318798995
Journal - Research Other
Gaches, S. (2014). [Review of the book Stand together or fall apart: Professionals working with immigrant families]. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 15(2), 212-214. doi: 10.2304/ciec.2014.15.2.210
Journal - Research Other
Gaches, S. (2019). Gun play, funds of knowledge, and children's rights. Proceedings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting: Leveraging Education Research in a "Post-Truth" Era: Multimodal Narratives to Democratize Evidence. Retrieved from http://www.aera19.net/
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Gaches, S. (2019). Powerful voices: Children as research consultants. Proceedings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting: Leveraging Education Research in a "Post-Truth" Era: Multimodal Narratives to Democratize Evidence. Retrieved from http://www.aera19.net/
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Gaches, S., & Walli, S. N. (2017). Beyond cultural responsiveness: Teacher candidates' stories of relationships and funds of knowledge. Proceedings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting. Retrieved from https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera17/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Paper&selected_paper_id=1178246&PHPSESSID=q45otgca82c541f0ujuha3q404
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Gibbons, A., Sapon-Shevin, M., Tesar, M., Murray, C., Urban, M., Arndt, S., & Gaches, S. (2017). Stories, theories, and reconceptualizations of home in early childhood education: A caravan of nomadic thinking [Plenary panel discussion]. Proceedings of the Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education Conference (RECE): Finding a Home in the World: Migration, Indigeneity, and Citizenship. (pp. 5-6). Retrieved from http://receinternational.org/archives.html#sthash.B6SVykvW.dpbs
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Gaches, S. (2016). "The lessons really are the student's..." Proceedings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference. Retrieved from http://www.aera.net/Events-Meetings/Annual-Meeting
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Gaches, S., Im, H., Swadener, B. B., & Blanchet-Cohen, N. (2015). Children's views and visions of education rights from the United States and Canada. Proceedings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference. Retrieved from http://www.aera.net/Events-Meetings/Annual-Meeting
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Gaches, S., & Gaffney, M. (2017, August). Collaborative close-reading of Revised Te Whāriki. Verbal presentation at the University of Otago College of Education Annual Research Hui, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Gaches, S., & Walli, S. (2015, October). Learning stories aren't just for children. Verbal presentation at the 23rd Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education (RECE) Conference: Narratives of Difference: Translations, Transgressions, and Transformations, Dublin, Ireland.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Gaches, S., Hill, D., & Longoria, B. (2014, November). De-CLASS-Ified: A genealogical analysis of the CLASS assessment tool. Verbal presentation at the 22nd Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education (RECE) Conference: Spaces of Resistance: Histories and Futures, Kent, USA.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Gaches, S. (2013, November). "Great expectations for children and families": Communities of practice for diverse early childhood professionals. Verbal presentation at the 21st Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education (RECE) Conference: Reclaiming the Indigenous Child, Family, and Community: Pedagogies of Place, Nairobi, Kenya.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Gaches, S. (2012, November). All we are saying: Teacher narratives for a new view. Verbal presentation at the 20th Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education (RECE) Conference: Reconceptualizing the Field: Past, Present, and Future, State College, USA.
Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Gaches, S. (2015, June). What are you assessing? Using genealogical analysis as a critical approach to exposing power relationships in early childhood assessments. ICL Education Centre, AUT, Auckland, New Zealand. [Public Seminar].
Other Research Output
