Professor Rosie Flewitt

Photo of Rosie Flewitt

Professor Rosie Flewitt FRSA, PhD, MA(ED), Licence es Lettres, BSc

Professor of Early Childhood Communication

My profile

Biography

My research focuses on how young children communicate in Early Childhood Education, at home and in wider communities.  I am fascinated by the ways in which children make meaning through combinations of spoken and written language, gaze, gesture, movement, images and sounds as they engage with the different people and artefacts they encounter during their everyday lives. My work is driven by a commitment to recognising and respecting individual children’s communication preferences, and to promoting inclusion and social justice in education. This means enabling children to be listened to, heard and respected by challenging barriers to inclusion, and by supporting the development of inclusive pedagogy and policy across mainstream and ‘special’ early childhood education settings. An interwoven thread which adds texture to this body of work is the development of innovative research methodology and methods, notably multimodal, visual, ethnographic and participatory approaches to conducting early childhood research with children and their families.   

I am currently Principle Investigator of a multidisciplinary research study called Toddlers, Tech and Talk, which is funded by the Education and Social Research Council (ESRC). Working with a core team at MMU, and Co-Investigators and researchers at the universities of Lancaster, Queens Belfast, Strathclyde and Swansea, we’re investigating how digital technologies shape the early language and literacy experiences of children from birth to age three years at home in diverse communities across the UK. 

In my previous work, I have led and co-led eighteen funded research projects about: young children’s engagement with objects in science museums; The digital documentation of play in early years classrooms; The digital literacy lives of young children across Europe; Collaborative research with children and young people facing severe and multiple disadvantage; young children’s digital and multimodal literacy practices (DigiLitEY); Literacy Policy across Europe (ELINET); Young children’s storytelling and story acting; using iPads to support early literacy; multimodal Literacies in the Early Years; multimodal literacy practices and young children’s metacognitive development; Young children with learning disabilities communicating in special and inclusive ECE settings; 3-year-old children’s multimodal communicative strategies at home and in preschool.

Expert reviewer for external funding bodies

  • 2021 – 2023: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, national funding body Portugal
  • 2017 – date: Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Peer Review Panel
  • 2017 – date: Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) Fellows Scheme
  • 2016 – date: Reviewer for AHRC Leadership Fellows Scheme
  • 2015 – date: Froebel Trust Research Grants and Scrutiny Committee.
  • 2010 – date: Reviewer and Rapporteur for ESRC Peer Review College.
  • 2006- 2010: Regular Reviewer and Rapporteur for ESRC grant applications

Editorial Board Membership 

  • Journal of Early Childhood Literacy
  • Literacy
  • Qualitative Research
  • Visual Communication

Consultancy and advisory roles

My public engagement activity includes radio and TV interviews, including, for example, North Manchester FM,  Radio 5 Live and BBC World News ‘Click’ programme feature. I’ve advised EU and UK policymakers on early literacy in a digital age, and was a member of a DfE Expert Panel on apps to promote early talk, literacy and communication. I’ve also contributed as Expert Advisor to the development of Early Years Teacher Trainer materials in Ghana, the design of a Commonwealth Secretariat Early Years Toolkit as a policy and education sector resource for developing countries, and on the development of a short course for the UK National Literacy Trust ‘Children’s Reading On and With Screens’.

Prizes and awards

  • Winner of UK Literacy Association Academic Book Award 2018. Cremin, T., Flewitt, R.S., Mardell, B. and Swann, J. Storytelling in Early Childhood: enriching language, literacy, and classroom culture. London & New York: Routledge  (2017) 
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2016)
  • Open University Award for outstanding Final Year Undergraduate Module EA300 Children’s Literature. (2011)

Interests and expertise

My research explores how young children communicate at home, in communities and in early childhood education. I’m particularly interested in how children use multiple modes of expression to make motivated choices in their meaning making, during face-to-face interaction (through their body movement, gaze, gesture, language etc), and in digital and paper-based texts (through drawing, writing, using emojis etc). I also research education provision for disadvantaged young children, children with cognitive and physical impairment, and I enjoy working with vulnerable (and often silenced) children experiencing multiple disadvantage.

Methodologically, my work brings an ethnographic lens to multimodality, developing innovative, rigorous approaches to data representation, embedding theory in research methodology, and developing participatory research approaches that promote child voice. I have led many international workshops with diverse stakeholders on children’s digital practices, safety and security, and with Professor David Poveda I developed an online Research Ethics Resources and a blog site featuring written, audio and video accounts by international researchers talking about their innovative methodological approaches to researching the digital literacy lives of young children.

Get in touch

0161 247 5141
1.06 Brooks Building
Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Projects

2022-2024: 0-3-year-old children’s language and literacy learning at home in a digital age (0-3s, Tech and Talk). £850,442 (FeC). Funder: ESRC. This project investigates how the home lives of children aged three and under intersect with digital technologies in diverse families in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Through survey research, interviews and innovative participatory research methods, the project will build knowledge about how very young children develop early talk and literacy, how families support their learning and it will generate new understandings of contemporary home learning environments.

2022: Agency and Digital Documentation in Early Childhood Education (The ADD Project). This project explores the use of the digital documentation system ‘Tapestry’ for recording and sharing children’s learning in the early years. It builds on earlier research, funded by the Froebel Trust (2017-2018), which investigated the growing shift from paper-based to digital documentation systems in early years education, finding that whilst digital documentation systems had several benefits, they were typically designed for adult use and did not facilitate children’s independent access or own contributions. Since undertaking this study, the UK’s leading digital documentation provider ‘Tapestry’ has introduced a new child-login feature, enabling children to more easily view and comment on observations, as well as add their own entries. To explore the potentials of this new feature with younger children, we are working with nursery staff and management in a highly diverse, maintained and fully inclusive Research School and Early Years Hub in East London, which uses the Tapestry system. The project will produce guidance to support best practice with digital documentation, in addition to academic outputs.

2019-2023: Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (0-11 years). £1,478,000. Funder: The Helen Hamlyn Trust. 4-year, 2nd stage funding gained as Co-Director of HHCP at UCL IOE, with Professor Dominic Wyse. (Funds secured until 2024; Flewitt left UCL IOE late autumn 2019). HHCP works with diverse stakeholders (research, practice and policy) to improve education for children aged 0-11 years.

2019:  Early Years Learning at the Science Museum. In partnership with The Science Museum, London. £153,836 (IOE share £46,600). Funder: The Helen Hamlyn Trust. Principal Investigator (PI) Rapid Evidence Assessment of academic research on the engagement of children aged 4-7 with museum object collections and STEM subjects. The overall project aims to identify innovative ways of engaging young school children aged 4-7 with STEM-related museum objects in a child-centred process, and to develop and test ideas that can be rolled out at the Science Museum in the second phase of this programme.

2017-2019:  Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (0-11 years). £314,750. Funder: The Helen Hamlyn Trust. Founding Co-Director with Professor Dominic Wyse. (2-year, 1st stage funding). HHCP works with diverse stakeholders (research, practice and policy) to improve education for children aged 0-11 years, particularly those from vulnerable or disadvantaged backgrounds, with impact on learning opportunities in the classroom, at home and in the wider community.

2017- 2018: Valuing young children’s signs of learning: observation and digital documentation of play in early years classrooms. £34,350. Funder: The Froebel Trust. PI with Kate Cowan. One-year study working closely with early childhood educators to develop a pedagogy of observation, digital documentation and assessment that foregrounds the multimodal nature of meaning making and uniqueness of every child’s capacity and potential. Focus on children aged 3-5 years living with disadvantage and/or in the early stages of learning English in multicultural classrooms.

2017-2018: Supporting early language development and interest in reading with digital personalised books. £183,060 (80% FeC). Funder: ESRC Future Leaders Scheme (FLS). Mentor for Dr Natalia Kucirkova in 2-year FLS Award (Project Number 535125) which furthered theoretical and practical understanding of the under-researched yet educationally potent area of how digital technology can be used to support young children’s language learning and interest in reading.

2017: A Day in the Digital Lives of 0-3-Year-Old Children £6387, UCL Institute of Education Seed Corn Funding. PI with Dr Alison Clark. Small-scale project to scope out how and for what purposes young children aged 0-3 years engage with digital technologies as part of their everyday lives at home, and how parents and carers support their early language and literacy learning with digital technologies.

2016: Understanding and communicating the lived experience of children and young people facing severe and multiple disadvantage in the UK. £150, 000 (100% FeC). Funder: Lankelly Chase Foundation. Co-I with Prof Phil Jones (PI), Dr John Potter and Dr Myrrh Domingo. Multi-site project to develop participatory and creative ways of working with ‘hard to reach’ children and young people living with multiple disadvantage to research and represent their own lives and views.

2015-2019: The Digital and Multimodal Literacy Practices of Young Children (DigiLitEY). 4-year project, approx. 560.000Euro.  Funder: EU Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). Interdisciplinary, international project led by Prof Jackie Marsh (University of Sheffield). Bid co-writer; Steering and Management Committee member, Co-chair of Working Group on Research Methods (36 EU countries and near neighbours, approx.120 members). This EU network aims to advance understanding of young children’s digital literacy practices, working with diverse stakeholders to ensure impact on policy and practice.

2015-2016: European Literacy Policy Network (ELINET)approx. 2,000,000Euro.  European Commission Directorate-General for Education and Culture led by Professor Christine Garbe (University of Cologne, Germany). Early Literacy and Digital Literacy Expert; coordinator for international Examples of Good Practice for Digital Literacy; co-author ELINET Position Paper on Digital Literacy; consultant for European Declaration of the Right to Literacy.

2012-2013: Evaluation of the Helicopter Technique of Storytelling and Story Acting £45,000. Funder: Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Co-I with Prof Teresa Cremin (PI), Prof Joan Swann, Dr Dorothy Faulkner and Natalia Kucirkova (Researcher). Evaluation of training offered by London-based theatre and arts education group Make Believe Arts in the ‘Helicopter Technique’, a creative and inclusive approach to early learning originally developed in the 1980s by Vivian Gussin Paley in Chicago.

2011: The iPad: a new direction for early literacy in the digital age? £4,400. Funder: The Open University pump priming. Co-I with Prof David Messer (PI) and Natalia Kucirkova (Researcher). Study of the potential of touch-screen digital technology to enhance early literacy learning.

2007- 2010: Multimodal Literacies in the Early Years £69, 900 (80% FeC). Funder: ESRC (RES-000-22-2451). PI with RA Dr Sylvia Wolfe. Ethnographic study of 3-4-year-old children’s literacy practices with print and digital media at home and in early education, breaking new ground with theoretical and practical understandings of early literacy development at a time of unprecedented use of digital technologies in everyday life, and developing methods for the analysis of multimedia data. Awarded ‘Outstanding’ through independent peer review.

2006: The experiences of young children with learning disabilities attending both special and inclusive preschools. £6,600. Funder: Rix, Thomson, Rothenberg Foundation. Co-I with Dr. Mel Nind (PI), University of Southampton. Ethnographic investigation of how 3-4-year-old children with learning disabilities cope with moving between the three different communicative environments of home, special and inclusive early childhood education settings.

2005-2006: Evaluation of play provision at Sure Start Central Southampton. £12,500. Funder: Southampton Central Sure Start. Researcher with Prof Jill Bourne (PI), University of Southampton on inter-disciplinary evaluation of Sure Start play provision and support for young children and families in one local authority. 

2005: Parents choosing to combine special and inclusive early years settings: the best of both worlds? £5,000. Funder: Mencap City Foundation. Co-I with Dr. Mel Nind, University of Southampton. Survey and interview study investigating the expectations and experiences of parents who had opted to combine special and mainstream early years provision for their children with learning disabilities, across three local authorities in South and North England.

2004-2005: 3-year-old children’s multimodal communicative strategies. £28,000. Funder: ESRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship to disseminate PhD, (PTA O26 27 0099) University of Southampton.

1999-2003: Is every child’s voice heard? Longitudinal case studies of 3-year-old children’s communicative strategies at home and in a preschool playgroup. £35,000. Funder: ESRC Postgraduate Training Award (R00429934141), University of Southampton. Ethnographic study of how young children integrate a range of multimodal strategies, including talk, body movement, gesture and gaze, to make and express meaning at home and playgroup during their first year in preschool.

Teaching

A favourite part of my role is supervising doctoral students in the areas of early childhood education, early communication and inclusive pedagogy in early and primary education.

I cannot currently accept any new doctoral students. 

Postgraduate teaching

  • Young children’s communication, language and literacy in a digital age.
  • Young children’s storytelling and story acting.
  • Early childhood pedagogy.
  • Researching with children who are experiencing multiple disadvantage (for example, children living with poverty and/or disability, and child refugees).
  • Participatory and ethnographic methodologies.
  • Ethics in Early Childhood Research.
  • Multimodal analysis.

Rosie was nominated for UCL Student Choice Outstanding Teaching Award in 2016-17.

Supervision

Doctoral students

2021 - date: Cathy Brady (PhD) “From Language Learners to Language Users: How using online video calling can support spoken language in MFL classroom - a longitudinal study”, with Sam Wilkinson and Khawla Badwan.

2021 - date: Annette Hargreaves (EdD) “Do you hear what I hear?  Exploring how trainee teachers in early years placement can gain an understanding of the children in their care through the act of listening”, with Rachel Holmes and Christina MacRae.

2021 - date: Michelle Jacques (EdD) “Being an early childhood professional under inspection: exploring workforce perspectives of quality measurement policy in England”, with  Melanie Hall.

2021 - date: Katie Ormrod (PhD) “Exploring the potential for Critical Global Citizenship Education in a local community food bank”. Funded by White Rose Doctoral Training Programme, with Karen Pashby and Melanie Hall. 

2019 - 2022: Jane Dickson (EdD) “The destruction of the good student:  using poetic transcription to represent students’ perspectives of labelling and exclusion from mainstream school”, with Jo Basford and Tony Brown. Doctorate awarded May 2022.

2016 – 2020: Sandra El Gemayel (PhD) “Young Syrian and Iraqi migrant children’s experiences of play during times of war and displacement in Lebanon”. 3-year PhD studentship, funded by The Froebel Trust and UCL International Scholarship, with Phil Jones. Doctorate awarded Feb 2020.

2013 – 2019: Charlotte Vidal-Hall (PhD) (Part-time). “Transforming practice: developing pedagogy to support early years children’s use of digital texts at home and school and its impact on reading development”, with Dominic Wyse. Doctorate awarded June 2019.

2013 – 2018: Kate Cowan (PhD) “Video-based research in learning and examining multimodal forms of transcription”, funded by ESRC, with Jeff Bezemer. Doctorate awarded March 2018.

2014 – 2017: Cary Bazalgette (PhD) “Children’s early relationship with moving image media”, with John Potter. Doctorate awarded December 2017.

2011 – 2014: Adele Creer (EdD) “Exploring the everyday and college literacy practices of young people”, with Theresa Lillis. Doctorate awarded December 2014.

2007 – 2012:  Elizabeth Dobson (PhD) “An investigation of the processes of interdisciplinary creative collaboration: the case of music technology students working within the performing arts”, with Karen Littleton and Prof Dot Miell. Doctorate awarded June 2012.

Research outputs

Please see the list of outputs below. Most of these should be accessible via various online platforms, but drop me a line if you would like to access anything for your research or teaching.

  • Books (authored/edited/special issues)

    Flewitt, R., Ang, L. (2020) Research Methods for Early Childhood Education. Bloomsbury Academic.

    Erstad, O., Flewitt, R., Kuemmerling-Meibauer, B., Pires Pereira, I. (2019) The Routledge Handbook of Digital Literacies in Early Childhood (Eds). Routledge International Handbooks of Education.

    Cremin, T., Flewitt, R., Mardell, B., Swann, J. (2016) Storytelling in Early Childhood Enriching Language, Literacy and Classroom Culture. Routledge.

    Clark, A., Flewitt, R., Hammersley, M., Robb, M. (2013) Understanding Research with Children and Young People. SAGE Publications Limited.

  • Chapters in books

    Flewitt, R. (2022) 'Ethical provocations for early childhood research.' In Kumpulainen, K., Kajamaa, A., Erstad, O., Mäkitalo, Å., Drotner, K., Jakobsdóttir, S. (ed.) Nordic Childhoods in the Digital Age: insights into contemporary research on communication, learning and education. London: Routledge, pp. 207-213.

    Flewitt, R. (2022) 'Ethical provocations for early childhood research.' Nordic Childhoods in the Digital Age: Insights into Contemporary Research on Communication, Learning and Education. pp. 207-213.

    Sirri, L., Flewitt, R. (2022) 'Early language and literacy development.' In Lord, J. (ed.) Psychology of Education: Theory, Research and Evidence-Based Practice. SAGE,

    Bonte, M., Ivinson, G., Merkley, R., Bain, P.M., Castles, A., Cheung, P., Clements, D.H., Cook, C., Day-Hess, C., Dowker, A., Draper, C.E., Flewitt, R., Germein, S., Grigorenko, E.L., Grotzer, T., Hackett, A., Kathotia, V., Kievit, R.A., O’Brien, K., McBride, C., Sarama, J., Somerville, M., Strader, S., Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden, C. (2022) 'Foundations of academic knowledge.' In Duraiappah, A.K., van Atteveldt, N.M., Borst, G., Bugden, S., Ergas, O., Gilead, T., Gupta, L., Mercier, J., Pugh, K., Singh, N.C., Vickers, E.A. (ed.) Reimagining Education: The International Science and Evidence based Education Assessment (Working Group 3). UNESCO, pp. 284-357.

    Jones, P., El Gemayel, S., Salema, Y., Flewitt, R. (2020) 'How are the relationships between researching play and children changing?.' In Jennings, S., Holmwood, C. (ed.) Routledge International Handbook of Play, Therapeutic Play and Play Therapy. Routledge,

    Cowan, K., Flewitt, R. (2020) 'Towards Valuing Children's Signs of Learning.' In Cameron, C., Moss, P. (ed.) Transforming Early Childhood in England Towards a Democratic Education. UCL Press, pp. 119-133.

    Flewitt, R. (2019) 'Ethics and researching young children’s digital literacy practices.' The Routledge Handbook of Digital Literacies in Early Childhood. Routledge,

    Flewitt, R., Erstad, O., Kümmerling-Meibauer, B., Pires Pereira, Í.S. (2019) 'Introduction The emerging field of digital literacies in early childhood.' The Routledge Handbook of Digital Literacies in Early Childhood.

    Flewitt, R. (2019) 'Foreward.' In Kucirkova, N., Rowsell, J., Falloon, G. (ed.) The Routledge International Handbook of Learning with Technology in Early Childhood. London: Routledge, pp. xxiii-xxiv.

    Flewitt, R. (2017) 'Equity and diversity through story: a multimodal perspective.' STORYTELLING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD Enriching language, literacy and classroom culture.

    Flewitt, R., Cremin, T., Mardell, B. (2017) 'Paley's approach to storytelling and story acting: Research and practice.' STORYTELLING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD Enriching language, literacy and classroom culture.

    Flewitt, R., Cremin, T. (2017) 'Laying the Foundations: Narrative and early learning.' STORYTELLING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD Enriching language, literacy and classroom culture.

    Flewitt, R., Cremin, T., Mardell, B., Swann, J. (2017) 'Introduction.' STORYTELLING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD Enriching language, literacy and classroom culture.

    Flewitt, R., Maybin, J. (2017) 'From crib talk to YouTube.' In Maybin, J. (ed.) Narrative, language and creativity: contemporary approaches. The Open University, pp. 61-108.

    Flewitt, R., Lancaster, L. (2015) 'Distributed cognition in early literacy.' Learning from Picturebooks. Perspectives from Child Development & Literacy Studies.

    Ang, L., Flewitt, R. (2015) 'Embracing diversity in the classroom: A cross-cultural perspective.' Exploring Education and Childhood: From Current Certainties to New Visions. pp. 145-159.

    Flewitt, R., Ang, L. (2015) 'Embracing diversity in the early years and primary classroom: a cross-cultural perspective.' Exploring Education and Childhood: From current certainties to new visions.

    Flewitt, R., Roberts-Holmes, G. (2015) 'Regulatory Gaze and ‘Non-sense’ Phonics Testing in Early Literacy.' Negotiating Spaces for Literacy Learning.

    Flewitt, R. (2014) 'Early Literacy Learning in the Contemporary Age.' Early Years Foundations: Critical Issues.

    Flewitt, R., Nind, M., Theodorou, F. (2014) 'Play and inclusion.' Inclusive Education in the Early Years: Right from the Start.

    Flewitt, R. (2013) 'Interviews.' In Clark, A., Flewitt, R., Hammersley, M., Robb, M. (ed.) Understanding Research with Children and Young People. Sage,

    Fraser, S., Flewitt, R., Hammersley, M. (2013) 'What is research with children and young people?.' In Clark, A., Flewitt, R., Hammersley, M., Robb, M. (ed.) Understanding Research with Children and Young People. Sage,

    Lancaster, L., Hauck, M., Hampel, R., Flewitt, R. (2013) 'What are multimodal data and transcription?.' Lancaster, L. et al. What are multimodal data and transcription? In C. Jewitt, ed. The Routledge handbook of multimodal analysis. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2013. Routledge,

    Flewitt, R. (2012) 'Multimodal Perspectives on early Childhood Literacies.' The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Literacy.

    Flewitt, R., Lamy, M.N. (2011) 'The multimodal negotiation of semiotic resources in an online conversation.' Décrire la conversation en ligne : le face à face distanciel.

    Flewitt, R. (2009) 'Reading Transformations.' In Maybin, J., Watson, N.J. (ed.) Children's Literature: Approaches and Territories. Red Globe Press,

    Lancaster, L. (2008) 'Multimodal literacy.' Lancaster, L. Multimodal literacy. In C. Chapelle, ed. The encyclopedia of applied lingusitics. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.,

  • Reports

    Cremin, T., Swann, J., Flewitt, R., Faulkner, D., Kucirkova, N. Evaluation Report of MakeBelieve Arts Helicopter Technique of storytelling and story acting. The Open University.

    Flewitt, R., El Gemayel, S., Arnott, L., Gillen, J., Goodall, J., Winter, K., Dalziell, A. (2024) Toddlers, Tech and Talk: summary report. Manchester: Manchester Metropolitan University.

    Flewitt, R., Cowan, K. (2020) Guidance for practitioners on digital documentation. Froebel Trust.

    Flewitt, R., Manyukhina, Y., Bangpan, M., Wyse, D. (2019) Early Years Learning at the Science Museum: Rapid Evidence Assessment. The Science Museum, London.

    Matsumoto, M., Poveda, D., Flewitt, R. (2019) DigiLitEY Research Methods Think Tank Report.

    Flewitt, R., Cowan, K. (2019) Valuing young children’s signs of learning: Observation and digital documentation of play in early years classrooms. The Froebel Trust.

    Gillen, J., Matsumoto, M., Aliagas, C., Bar-lev, Y., Clark, A., Flewitt, R., Jorge, A., Kumpulainen, K., Marsh, J., Morgade, M., Pacheco, R., Poveda, D., Sairanen, H., Sandberg, H., Scott, F., Sjöberg, U., Sundin, E., Tigane, I., Tomé, V. (2019) A Day in the Digital Lives of 0-3s. DigiLitEY.

    Gillen, J., Marsh, J., Bus, J., Castro, T., Dardanou, M., Duncan, P., Enriquez-Gibson, J., Flewitt, R., Gray, C., Holloway, D., Jernes, M., Kontovourki, S., Kucirkova, N., Kumpulainen, K., March-Boehnck, G., Mascheroni, G., Nagy, K., O'Connor, J., O'Neill, B., Palaiologou, I., Poveda, D., Salomaa, S., Severina, E., Tafa, E. (2018) Digital Literacy and young children: towards better understandings of the benefits and challenges of digital technologies in homes and early years settings.

    Lemos, G., Nascimbeni, F., Balbinot, V., Bird, L., Flewitt, R., Mallows, D., Tamburlini, G. (2016) ELINET Position Paper on Digital Literacy. European Literacy Policy Network (ELINET).

    Flewitt, R. (2011) Multimodal Literacies in the Early Years Summary for practitioners and policy makers. The Open University.

    Flewitt, R., Wolfe, S. (2008) Multimodal Literacies in the Early Years Report for participants. Open University.

  • Internet publications

    Flewitt, R. Multimodal Literacies in the Early Years online brochure.

    Flewitt, R., Cowan, K. (2021) The Power of Parent Observations. https://www.tapestry.info/2021/11/16/the-power-of-parent-observations.html.

    Flewitt, R., Gillen, J., et al, (2019) A day in the digital lives of children aged 0-3: the tablet and TV: Working Group 1 symposium.

    Flewitt, R., Sefton-Green, J., Marsh, J., Erstad, O. (2016) Establishing a Research Agenda for the Digital Literacy Practices of Young Children.

    Flewitt, R., Lemos, G. (2015) Let's chat about digital literacy. http://www.eli-net.eu/about-us/digital-literacy/more-on-digital-literacy.

    Flewitt, R. (2013) Early literacy: A broader vision. https://tactyc.org.uk/occasional-papers/.

  • Journal articles

    Flewitt, R., Bangpan, M., Manyukhina, Y., Wyse, D. (2023) 'Young children's engagement with objects in science museums: a rapid evidence assessment of research.' Curator: the Museum journal, 66(1) pp. 129-148.

    Cowan, K., Flewitt, R. (2021) 'Moving from paper-based to digital documentation in Early Childhood Education: democratic potentials and challenges.' International Journal of Early Years Education, pp. 1-19.

    Kucirkova, N., Gattis, M., Spargo, T., Seisdedos de Vega, B., Flewitt, R. (2021) 'An empirical investigation of parent-child shared reading of digital personalized books.' International Journal of Educational Research, 105pp. 1-12.

    Clark, A., Flewitt, R. (2020) 'The Competent Child: valuing all young children as knowledgeable commentators on their own lives.' Review of Science, Mathematics and ICT Education, 14(2) pp. 9-24.

    Flewitt, R. (2020) 'Book Review: Ethics and Research With Young Children: New Perspectives.' Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 20(4)

    Flewitt, R., Clark, A. (2020) 'Porous Boundaries: Reconceptualising the home literacy environment as a digitally networked space for 0-3-year-olds.' Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 20(3) pp. 447-471.

    Gillen, J., Flewitt, R., Sandberg, H. (2020) 'Special issue Children under three at home: The place of digital media in their literacy practices.' Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 20(3) pp. 441-446.

    Kucirkova, N., Toda, Y., Flewitt, R. (2020) 'Young Children’s Use of Personalized Technologies: Insights From Teachers and Digital Software Designers in Japan.' Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 26(3) pp. 535-554.

    Kucirkova, N., Flewitt, R. (2020) 'Understanding parents’ conflicting beliefs about children’s digital book reading.' Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 22(2) pp. 157-181.

    Vidal-Hall, C., Flewitt, R., Wyse, D. (2020) 'Early childhood practitioner beliefs about digital media: integrating technology into a child-centred classroom environment.' European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 28pp. 167-181.

    Flewitt, R., Cowan, K. (2019) 'Time to think.' Nursery World, (19)

    Zhao, S., Flewitt, R. (2019) 'Young chinese immigrant children’s language and literacy practices on social media: a translanguaging perspective.' Language and Education, 34(3) pp. 267-285.

    Flewitt, R., Price, S., Korkiakangas, T. (2018) 'Editorial: Multimodality: Methodological explorations.' Qualitative Research, 19(1) pp. 3-6.

    Kucirkova, N., Flewitt, R. (2018) 'The future-gazing potential of digital personalization in young children’s reading: views from education professionals and app designers.' Early Child Development and Care, 190(2) pp. 135-149.

    Cremin, T., Flewitt, R., Swann, J., Faulkner, D., Kucirkova, N. (2017) 'Storytelling and story-acting: Co-construction in action.' Journal of Early Childhood Research, 16(1) pp. 3-17.

    Flewitt, R., Jones, P., Potter, J., Domingo, M., Collins, P., Munday, E., Stenning, K. (2017) '‘I enjoyed it because … you could do whatever you wanted and be creative’: three principles for participatory research and pedagogy.' International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 41(4) pp. 372-386.

    Rowsell, J., Burke, A., Flewitt, R., Liao, H.T., Lin, A., Marsh, J., Mills, K., Prinsloo, M., Rowe, D., Wohlwend, K. (2016) 'Humanizing Digital Literacies: A Road Trip in Search of Wisdom and Insight.' The Reading Teacher: a journal of the International Reading Association, 70(1) pp. 121-129.

    Flewitt, R., Pahl, K., Smith, A. (2015) 'Methodology matters.' Literacy, 49(1) pp. 1-2.

    Flewitt, R., Messer, D., Kucirkova, N. (2014) 'New directions for early literacy in a digital age: The iPad.' Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 15(3)

    Flewitt, R., Kucirkova, N., Messer, D. (2014) 'Touching the virtual, touching the real: iPads and enabling literacy for students experiencing disability.' Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, pp. 107-116.

    Kucirkova, N., Messer, D., Sheehy, K., Flewitt, R. (2013) 'Sharing personalised stories on iPads: A close look at one parent-child interaction.' Literacy, 47(3) pp. 115-122.

    Flewitt, R. (2013) 'Book Review: Visual Methods in Psychology: Using and Interpreting Images in Qualitative Research.' Visual Communication, 12(2) pp. 243-249.

    Nind, M., Flewitt, R., Payler, J. (2011) 'Social constructions of young children in 'special', 'inclusive' and home environments.' Children and Society, 25(5) pp. 359-370.

    Dicks, B., Flewitt, R., Lancaster, L., Pahl, K. (2011) 'Multimodality and ethnography: working at the intersection.' Qualitative research, 11(3) pp. 227-237.

    Flewitt, R. (2011) 'Bringing ethnography to a multimodal investigation of early literacy in a digital age.' Qualitative Research, 11(3) pp. 293-310.

    Wolfe, S., Flewitt, R. (2010) 'New technologies, new multimodal literacy practices and young children's metacognitive development.' Cambridge Journal of Education, 40(4) pp. 387-399.

    Nind, M., Flewitt, R., Payler, J. (2010) 'The social experience of early childhood for children with learning disabilities: Inclusion, competence and agency.' British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31(6) pp. 653-670.

    Flewitt, R., Nind, M., Payler, J. (2009) ''If she's left with books she'll just eat them': Considering inclusive multimodal literacy practices.' Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 9(2) pp. 211-233.

    Flewitt, R., Nind, M. (2007) 'Parents choosing to combine special and inclusive early years settings: The best of both worlds?.' European Journal of Special Needs Education, 22(4) pp. 425-441.

    Flewitt, R. (2006) 'Using video to investigate preschool classroom interaction: Education research assumptions and methodological practices.' Visual Communication, 5(1) pp. 25-50.

    Flewitt, R. (2005) 'Conducting research with young children: Some ethical considerations.' Early Child Development and Care, 175(6) pp. 553-565.

    Flewitt, R. (2005) 'Using multimodal analysis to unravel a silent child's learning.' Early Childhood Practice: The Journal for Multi-Professional Partnerships, 7(2) pp. 5-16.

    Flewitt, R. (2005) 'Is every child's voice heard? Researching the different ways 3-year-old children communicate and make meaning at home and in a pre-school playgroup.' Early Years, 25(3) pp. 207-222.

  • Conference papers

    Flewitt, R., Arnott, L., Gillen, J., Winter, K., McLaughlin, K., Goodall, J. (2022) 'Researching 0-3-Year-Old Children’s Language and Literacy Play at Home in a Digital Age.' In 31st EECERA Conference. University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 23/8/2022 - 26/8/2022.

    Flewitt, R., Cowan, K. (2022) 'Agency in Digital Documentation (The ADD Project).' In European Early Childhood Education Research Association Conference 2022. University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 23/8/2022 - 26/8/2022.

    Flewitt, R. (2021) 'Early Literacy Learning.' In National Early Years Conference 2021. Northumberland Place, London, 8/11/2021 - 8/11/2021.

    El Gemayel, S., Flewitt, R. (2021) 'The childhood and play of young Iraqi and Syrian refugee children living in Lebanon.' In AERA Annual Conference 2021: Accepting Educational Responsibility. Online, 8/4/2021 - 12/4/2021. American Educational Research Association (AERA),

    Flewitt, R. (2021) 'Ethics and Researching Young Children’s Digital Lives and Learning (Provocations about ethics in early childhood research).' In Nordic DigiChild Network Workshop 3 (2021). Online, 1/3/2021 - 3/3/2021. Nordic Research Network on Digitalising Childhoods,

    Flewitt, R. (2021) 'Parents as pedagogues for 0-3-year-olds’ literacy learning in digitally networked homes.' In AERA Annual Conference 2021: Accepting Educational Responsibility. Online, 8/4/2021 - 12/4/2021.

    Flewitt, R. (2019) 'KEYNOTE: Valuing Young Children’s Subtle Signs of Learning: Current Trends in the Observation and Documentation of Young Children’s Play in Early Childhood Education.' In 12th National Conference of O.M.E.P. (Organisation Mondial pour l'Education Préscolaire). University of Patras, Greece.

    Flewitt, R., Cowan, K. (2019) 'Exploring Lived Experiences Through Multimodal Texts and Methodologies: Narratives and Complex Representations of Learning.' In AERA 2019 Annual Meeting. Toronto, Canada, 5/4/2019 - 9/4/2019. https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aera/aera19/,

    Flewitt, R., Zhao, S. (2019) 'Young children’s translanguaging practices on social media: the case of Chinese immigrant families’ uses of WeChat.' In Reconceptualising Early Childhood Literacies: An International Conference. Manchester Conference Centre, 7/3/2019 - 8/3/2019.

    Gillen, J., Aliagas, C., Yehuda Bar-lev, B.G., Flewitt, R., Jorge, A., Kumpulainen, K., Marsh, J., Matsumoto, M., Pacheco, R., Poveda, D., Sandberg, H., Sairanen, H., Scott, F., Sjöberg, U., Sundin, E., Tomé, V. (2019) 'A day in the digital lives of children aged 0-3: the tablet and TV.' In DigiLitEY COST Action Final Conference Reconceptualising Early Childhood Literacies: an international conference. Manchester Conference Centre, UK, 7/3/2019 - 8/3/2019.

    Flewitt, R., Cowan, K. (2019) 'Valuing Young Children’s Signs of Learning: Observation and Digital Documentation of Play in Early Years Classrooms.' In Reconceptualising Early Childhood Literacies: An International Conference. Manchester Conference Centre, 7/3/2019 - 8/3/2019.

    Flewitt, R. (2019) 'KEYNOTE: Valuing young children’s signs of learning: observation and digital documentation of play.' In The Froebel Trust Annual Conference: Stories from Research and Practice. UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON, LONDON,

    Dobson, E.D., Flewitt, R.S., Littleton, K., Miell, D. (2011) 'Studio Based Composers in Collaboration: a Socioculturally Framed Study.' pp. 373-376.

  • Theses and dissertations

    Flewitt, R. (2003) Is every child's voice heard? Longitudinal case studies of 3-year-old children’s communicative strategies at home and in a preschool playgroup.

Career history

2019 - date

I joined ESRI at Manchester Metropolitan University in late autumn 2019, and continue to enjoy the highly collaborative and vibrant research environment here that extends across disciplines and faculties at ManMet.

2013 - 2019 University College London, Institute of Education

I joined the IOE in February 2013, where I had the great pleasure to work closely with Profs Gunther Kress and Carey Jewitt along with many other world-leading academic colleagues in the Knowledge Lab, as well as colleagues and hundreds of fascinating national and international postgraduate students in the Department of Learning and Leadership. Whilst there, I led the Research Methods module for the Masters in Early Years Education, co-developed an online version of this world-leading programme and became joint Head of Research. I also co-founded and was Co-Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (0-11 years). 

2006 - 2013

I joined the Centre for Languages and Communication (CLAC) at the Open University as RCUK Academic Fellow in February 2006, working in a highly collaborative research environment that generated many exciting new projects and excellent undergraduate and postgraduate distance teaching materials. Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the OU, I was offered the opportunity to join a cutting-edge team of academics at UCL IOE - a temptation that proved too great to resist.

1999-2006

In September 1999, I began an ESRC-funded PhD in the School of Education, University of Southampton, entitled Is every child’s voice heard? Longitudinal case studies of 3-year-old children’s communicative strategies at home and in a preschool playgroup. Following the successful completion of my PhD, I was awarded an ESRC-funded post-doctoral fellowship, and subsequently worked as a contract researcher on a couple of externally funded projects before leaving to take up an RCUK Fellowship at The Open University.

1979 - 1999

Before following an academic career in the UK, I worked as a Lectrice in Université F. Rabelais, Tours, France for two years, followed by a career as an editor in educational publishing at Longman Group Ltd (English and Modern Foreign Language publications) and then in public broadcasting with the BBC World Service (English by Radio and Television). After starting a family, I became fascinated by early learning and worked in rural preschool playgroups for 10 years, before completing a part-time Masters degree at the Open University, which led on to a funded doctorate at University of Southampton.