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Dr Karen Horsley

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Senior Lecturer in Education (Early Years)
  • Faculty of Wellbeing, Education & Language Studies
  • School of Education, Childhood, Youth & Sport
  • Education
  • karen.horsley

Professional biography

Karen is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood. Karen's first degree is in Early Childhood Studies which she completed at the University of East London. Karen was a Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at the University of East London before joining The Open University in January 2015. Karen has worked with children, parents and professionals in a variety of early years settings including local primary schools, nurseries, a women's refuge and child development centre. Karen has been awarded Early Years Professional Status (EYPS), and she is a Senior Fellow of The Higher Education Academy. 

Karen's Doctorate in Education explores young migrant children's ‘funds of knowledge’ through documentary photography.

Research interests

Karen is interested in how documentary photography can facilitate young children's voices and partcipation in Early Childhood. 

Karen was awarded her Doctorate in Education:

'Exploring young migrant children's ‘funds of knowledge’ through documentary photography'

Horsley, K. (2022) Exploring Young Migrant Children's 'Funds of Knowledge' Through Documentary Photography. EdD thesis. The Open University. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.0001428d

In this qualitative participatory case study, the ‘funds of knowledge’ (González et al., 2005) of three young children, whose families have migrated to the UK, are foregrounded, and rendered visible, through documentary photography. The children’s intuitive and wise photography, at home and in a nursery, expresses the richness of their aesthetic authorial voices, with others, as pedagogical resources. At a time of unpreceded global migration, this study interweaves theoretical insights from early childhood, documentary photography and visual sociology, to offer a new framework for layered listening. The framework challenges deficit perspectives of diversity in ECEC with ongoing potential possibilities for re-imagined ECEC contexts as spaces and channels for ongoing conversation.

Karen's research has also explored the use of documentary photography to 'slow down' with practitioners and children:

Horsley, K. (2021) Slowing Down: Documentary Photography in Early Childhood. International Journal of Early Years Education. vol. 29, no.4, pp.438-454 [Online]. DOI: 10.1080/09669760.2020.1850430

Karen's research interests are: Young children's diverse voices and participation; visual research methods; participatory and creative approaches; young migrant and refugee children's funds of knowledge; visual stories, slow pedagogies; digital pedagogies; and globalisation

Teaching interests

Karen's teaching interests and experiences span a wide variety of Early Childhood / Early Years modules with students on the Extended degree at the University of East London (UEL) and Undergraduates at UEL and The Open University.

The Open University

  • E109 Exploring Perspectives on Young Children's Lives and Learning (Module Chair)
  • E110 Young Children's Play and Creativity
  • E229 Listening to Young Children Living and Learning: Critical Reflections
  • E105 Professional Practice in the Early Years (Module Chair)
  • E100 The Early Years: Developing Practice

UEL

  • ED0007 Key Concepts in Early Childhood (Extended degree)
  • ED0003 Becoming an Early Childhood Undergraduate (Extended degree)
  • ED1009 Introduction to Early Childhood Studies
  • ED1034 Developing Learning in Early Childhood
  • ED1000 Critical Reading and Writing
  • ED2037 International Placement in International Settings
  • ED3000 Research Project supervisor
  • ED6014 Children, Culture, Globalisation

Karen holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PGTLHE).

 

Publications

Slowing Down: Documentary Photography in Early Childhood (2021)
Horsley, Karen
International Journal of Early Years Education, 29(4) (pp. 438-454)

Researching Children’s Curiosity and Imagination Through the Our Story Tablet App (2019-05-20)
Canning, Natalie; Horsley, Karen and Payler, Jane
BERA Research Intelligence(140) (pp. 22-23)

An innovative methodology for capturing young children’s curiosity, imagination and voices using a free app: Our Story (2017)
Canning, Natalie; Payler, Jane; Horsley, Karen and Gomez, Chris
International Journal of Early Years Education, 25(3) (pp. 292-307)

Remembering childhood: Do our memories and experiences influence our understanding of early childhood and our practice with young children? (2014-10-01)
Horsley, Karen and Penn, Helen
Management in Education, 28, Article 9(4) (pp. 175-179)

Using digital resources to document young children’s everyday moments. (2017-07-14)
Horsley, Karen
In: Goodliff, Gill; Canning, Natalie; Parry, John and Miller, Linda eds. Young children’s play and creativity: Multiple Voices.
ISBN : 9781315446844 | Publisher : Routledge and The Open University

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum in England: a missed opportunity? (2013-10-04)
Silberfeld, Carolyn Helena and Horsley, Karen
In: Ang, Lynn ed. The Early Years Curriculum: The UK context and beyond (pp. 12-32)
ISBN : 1408223325 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : Abingdon

A new theoretical and pedagogic framework, PhotoSoundscapes, for deep listening with young children from migrant backgrounds (2024-10-23)
Horsley, Karen
In : Children’s Research Centre 20th Anniversary Conference: Sharing research methods and processes for empowering children and young people (23 Oct 2024, The Open University, UK)

Exploring young migrant children's ‘funds of knowledge’ through documentary photography (with a focus on revision and wisdom) (2021)
Horsley, Karen
In : 29th EECERA (European Early Childhood Education Research Association) 2021 Online festival. (1-17 Sep 2021, University of Zagreb, Croatia.)

The ‘Listening Project’: Seeing and hearing young children’s stories,voices and imaginations through documentary photography in one day nursery. Possibilities and dilemmas (2016-08-31)
Horsley, Karen
In : 26th EECERA (European Early Childhood Education Research Association) Conference, 2016 (31 Aug - 3 Sep 2016, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland)

Children’s imagination and curiosity: Facilitating and documenting through technology (2016)
Canning, Natalie; Payler, Jane and Horsley, Karen
In : 26th EECERA (European Early Childhood Education Research Association) Conference, 2016 (31 Aug - 03 Sep 2016, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland)

Exploring Young Migrant Children's 'Funds of Knowledge' Through Documentary Photography (2022-03-17)
Horsley, Karen
edd thesis The Open University

Waitangi Day- learning in collaboration with kaiako (educators), tamariki (children) and places in two Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres in New Zealand (2024-02-05)
Horsley, Karen
Early Childhood Blog, EC@OU; The Open University

Seeing the bigger picture: exploring the knowledge and stories of young children from migrant backgrounds through documentary photography (2020-07-30)
Horsley, Karen
The Open University