Dr Cathy Kilburn
Lecturer
My research interests focus on preschool children and gender, in particular on the impact of gender on young children's lives and the inequalities that they face due to gender stereotypes and norms.
My PhD research focused on pre-school children’s experiences with their peers, in particular how this impacts their understanding and experience of gender. Prior to starting my PhD, I completed a MA in Early Childhood Education at the University of Sheffield, whilst working as a deputy manager in a large private nursery in Southampton. My interest in early childhood education and care started when my children were young, and I started volunteering in pre-school. Since then, I have worked in a variety of early childhood care and education environments, including a community pre-school, as a childminder, as a supply teacher and private nurseries.
Publications
Gender in Preschool: How do young children experience gender stereotypes and norms?
Cathy Kilburn
Early Years Educator, vol. 24(16), 2025, pp. S1-S3
Cathy Kilburn
University of Hull, 2024
Blog Posts
Ensuring children’s voices are heard in research
Content coming soon References Greig, A., Taylor, J. & MacKay, T. (2013) Doing research with children: A practical guide, 3rd edition. SAGE Publications. Hart, R. A. (1992) Children's participation: From tokenism to citizenship. UNICEF Interna...
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My experience and reflections on attending EECERA 2024
EECERA 2024 took place in Brighton, UK, from the 4th-6th September, with special interest group meetings and registration taking place from the 3rd. This was my third year of attending and presenting at EECERA, and this year I was chairing a symposium...
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'Boy kittens play over there'
This blog post is based on a talk that was initially presented at EECERA 2024: Developing sustainable early childhood systems: Comparisons, contexts and the cognoscenti. Research has been undertaken into the role that parents, early childhood settin...
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