I started my career as a primary school teacher in the south Wales valleys and worked for several years in a nursery school before taking a secondment to be the LEA advisory teacher for early years. At the end of the secondment I took up a lecturing role on the Education and Early Childhood Studies degree programmes at University of Wales, Newport and during my time there I completed my doctorate. I then moved to Cardiff Metropolitan University where I worked as the Deputy Head of Department in the School of Education and Social Policy whilst contining to teach on the Early Childhood Studies and Primary Education programmes. In 2018 I became a Staff Tutor at the Open University before joining the Early Childhood team in 2022.
My doctoral thesis looked at the professional identities of early years practitioners and this is still an area that I am interested in. I am involved in projects that explore physical literacy in the early years and have undertaken scholarship exploring how aspects of the hidden curriculum impact on student experience.
My teaching interests are young children's physical literacy, early years' practitioners professioal identities and undertsking research with young children.
PRAXIS funded Scholarship project What is a tutorial? An exploration of ‘learning event literacy’ on student experience. (open.ac.uk)
Podcast exploring the implications of the new Welsh Curriculum for teacher training https://nape.org.uk/nape-podcast
Mini-article for OU OpenLearn https://ounews.co/education-languages-health/childhood-youth/teach-your-child-through-creative-play/
Video and mini-article for OU OpenLearn https://www.open.edu/openlearn/health-sports-psychology/sport-fitness/how-help-your-child-become-future-olympian
External evaluator for the Early Years Wales 'Welsh Active Early Years' programme Welsh Active Early Years | Early Years Wales
Tensions, assumptions and situated ethics: attuning to the unpredictability of ethics in early childhood research participation (2024)
Hendry, Helen; Teszenyi, Eleonora; Rodriguez-Leon, Lucy; Maynes, Mary-Louise; Dorrian, Jane and Edwards, Tracey
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal ((Early access))
An exploration of factors affecting the baseline assessment scores of children attending morning or afternoon sessions in nursery settings in Wales (2021)
Dorrian, Jane
Early Years, 43(1) (pp. 91-103)
Rethinking the Design of School Readiness Assessments (2022-02)
Dorrian, Jane
In: Betts, A. L. and Thai, K-P. eds. Handbook of Research on Innovative Approaches to Early Childhood Development and School Readiness. Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education (AECKE) (pp. 96-112)
ISBN : 9781799886495 | Publisher : IGI Global | Published : Hershey, Pennsylvania
Promoting Physical Development and Activity in Early Childhood: Practical Ideas for Early Years Settings (2024)
Musgrave, Jackie; Dorrian, Jane; Josephidou, Jo; Langdown, Ben and Rodriguez Leon, Lucy eds.
Little Minds Matter
ISBN : 978-1-032-47954-5 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : Abingdon, Oxon
Exploring the effects of parental involvement in children’s physical activity sessions (2024)
Dorrian, Jane
In : BECERA 2024: Early Years Education as Political Activity: Access, Choice, Agency and Voice (13 Feb 2024, Birmingham, UK)
What is a tutorial? An exploration of ‘learning event literacy’ on student experience (2022-07)
Dorrian, Jane
In : Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference 2022: Teaching in the spotlight: Where next for enhancing student success? (5-7 Jul 2022, Northumbria University, Newcastle)
What is a tutorial? Exposing the hidden curriculum of higher education (2024-08-01)
Dorrian, Jane
British Educational Research Association (BERA), London, UK.
Why getting children active is good for parents too (2023-11-21)
Dorrian, Jane
Centre for Research in Early Childhood [Blog post], Birmingham, UK.
Mind Your Policy Language (2023)
Glover, Alison and Dorrian, Jane
The Open University
Evaluation of the HAF/Welsh Active Early Years Programme (2022-04)
Dorrian, Jane
Early Years Wales (In Press)