Meet the authors
Dr Deborah Albon worked as a nursery nurse and teacher before becoming Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies in Higher Education. She worked in H.E. for 17 years in both London Metropolitan University and University of Roehampton. Deborah has an MA in Early Childhood Studies and an MA in Tudor Studies. Her Doctoral study examined food and drink practices in early childhood settings. She has published and presented widely on the topic of food and childhood. Her most recent work has involved researching the 19th/early 20th Century folklorist Alice Gomme in relation to work on folk cookery, and researching the London children transported to Virginia in 1618. She was interviewed by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb for a podcast in 2023 for the History Hit series Not Just the Tudors.
Selected publications
Books
Mukherji, P., Albon, D. (2023) Research Methods in Early Childhood (4th edition), London: Sage (other editions in 2010, 2015 and 2018).
Albon, D., Rosen, R. (2014) Negotiating Adult- Child Relationships in Early Childhood Research, London: Routledge.
Albon, D., Mukherji, P. (2008) Food and Health in Early Childhood, London: Sage.
Journal articles
Albon, D. (2021) 'Scent and Scent-orship in the Nursery: why does it matter?' Ethnography and Education (special early childhood issue), 16(3): 279-293
Huf, C. and Albon D. (eds) (2021) 'Editorial: What matters in early childhood education and care? The contribution of ethnographic research', Ethnography and Education special issue, 16(3): 243-247.
Albon, D. and Barley, R. (2021) ‘Ethnographic research: A significant context for engaging young children in dialogues about adults’ writing’, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 21(1): 82-103.
Albon, D. and Hellman, A. (2019) ‘Of routine consideration: ‘Civilising’ children’s bodies via food events in Swedish and English early childhood settings’, Ethnography and Education, 14(2): 153-169.
Albon, D. (2015) ‘Nutritionally ‘Empty’ but Full of Meanings: The Socio-Cultural Significance of Birthday Cakes in Four Early Childhood Settings’, Journal of Early Childhood Research, 32 (1): 49–60.
Albon, D. (2009) ‘Challenges to the Uptake of Milk in a Nursery Class: A Case Study’, Health Education, 109(2):140-154.
Albon, D. (2007) ‘Exploring Food and Eating Patterns using Food-Maps’, Nutrition and Food Science, 37(4): 254-259.
Albon, D (2006) ‘Sweet Memories: An Examination of Six Families’ Narratives Around Sweet Eating’ Early Childhood Practice, June: 12-20.
Albon, D. (2005) ‘Approaches to the Study of Children, Food and Sweet-Eating: A Review of the Literature’ Early Child Development and Care, 175(5): 407-418.
Selected chapters in edited books
Albon, D. (2021) Alice Gomme (1853-1938): Conserving a Nation through Children’s Games (chapter in Unfolding Creativity: British Pioneers in Arts Education, 1870-1939 edited by John Howlett and Amy Palmer (Eds) Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan)
Albon, D. (2019) ‘Unsettling food encounters between families and early childhood educators’ in Capellini, B., Harman, V. & Faircloth, C. (eds.) Feeding Children Inside and Outside the Home: Critical Perspectives (Sociological Futures series).Abingdon: Routledge. 11-27.
Podcast
When London Shipped Poor Children to America, https://shows.acast.com/not-just-the-tudors/episodes/child-transportation-virginia (30th January 2023)
Dr Amy Palmer worked as a teacher in primary schools and then became a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Roehampton. She has an MA in Children’s Literature, a PhD in History of Education and is currently re-training to become an archivist. Her PhD centred on the history of nursery schools and nursery classes and she has published articles and presented on this topic. . She has co-edited a book about Froebelian women educators (followers of Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) with Dr Jane Read. Recently, she has been focusing on the history of arts education, and has co-edited a book about pioneers in arts education with Dr John Howlett. She has worked as Books Editor of the journal History of Education
Publications
Books
Palmer, A, J. Read (2020) ) British Froebelian Women From the Mid-Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century: A Community of Progressive Educators (2021). Abingdon: Routledge (chapters on Clara Grant and Enid Blyton)
Howlett, J, A. Palmer (2021) Unfolding Creativity: British Pioneers in Arts Education from 1890-1950 (2021). Cham: Palgrave MacMillan. (Chapters on Cecil Sharp (with Katie Palmer Heathman, Walter Carroll and Harry Peach).
Journal Articles
Palmer, A. (2011) ‘Nursery Schools for the few or the many? Childhood, Education and the State in Mid-twentieth century England’, Paedagogica Historica, 47 (1-2): 139-154.
Palmer, A. (2016) ‘Nursery Schools or Nursery Classes? Choosing and Failing to Choose between Policy Alternatives in Nursery Education in England, 1918-1972’ ,History of Education, 45(1): 103-121
Palmer, A. (2017) ‘A Pleasant Way of Teaching the Little Ones to Recognise Flowers: Instructional Nature Plays in Early Twentieth Century Britain’.Children’s Literature in Education 48: 341-354
Palmer, A. (2017) ‘The ‘Mad Hatter’s’ Adventures in Education: Joseph King (1860-1943) and the Impact of Personality’ Paedagogical Historica 53 (6): 783-798.
Palmer, A. (2018) ‘Radical Conservatism and International Nationalism: The Peasant Arts Movement and its Search for the Country Heart of England’ Cultural and Social History.,15(5): 663-680
Chapters in Edited Books
Palmer, A. (2016) ‘Guiding Creativity: English Froebelian Educators and Plays for Children, 1892 – 1939’ In Kindergarten Narratives on Froebelian Education: Transnational Investigations. Ed. H.May, K. Nawrotzki and L. Prochner. London: Bloomsbury.