Sara Baker
Biographic Data
| ID | 3590705 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sara Baker |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sara |
| FAMILY NAME | Baker |
| SIGNATURE | BAKER S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cambridge |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8239-2882 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Assessing the person or the project? How disciplinary ontological and epistemological assumptions shape doctoral admissions in elite UK institutions
Research suggests there are notable differences in approaches to doctoral admissions and the criteria employed to select doctoral candidates. Through interviews with 65 academic staff involved in doctoral admissions at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, this paper examines how these different approaches to admissions play out in different disciplines, driving the disciplinary divergence in conceptualisations of the PhD and, in turn, admiss…
Staying self‐regulated in the classroom: The role of children's executive functions and situational factors
BACKGROUND: Self-regulation is crucial for children's learning and development. Several studies have explored children's inter-individual differences in self-regulation, but little is known about sources of intra-individual variation. AIMS: This study addressed the variability of children's self-regulation across typical classroom situations and how this might be associated with children's executive functions (EFs). SAMPLE: = 56.73 months). METHO…
Learning through play in Global Majority countries: Reflections from the Pedal centre on understanding and adapting the concept in four different contexts
Research on play tends to consider its relevance as universal: all children play. Whilst research is increasingly pointing to the benefits of play to children’s development and learning, there is also increasing recognition that this research is predominantly carried out in Western contexts, and that its conclusions may not carry over to other contexts. In this paper, we explore the implications of investigating the concept of learning through pl…
Playing with change: Insights and lessons from researching play during the Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic presented widespread disruption to our day-to-day lives and our ongoing and planned research projects at the PEDAL Centre. As the situation unfolded, it was necessary to rapidly adapt our projects to ensure continuity of work and delivery of outcomes. These adaptations were initially quick-thinking responses to huge challenges; however, upon reflection, it became clear that important lessons would be learned from these exper…
A synthesis of the quantitative literature on autistic pupils' experience of barriers to inclusion in mainstream schools
Autistic pupils' full engagement with education can be limited by characteristics of their autism and features of the learning environment. We sought to identify which barriers to inclusion are most commonly and most frequently experienced and where gaps exist in the quantitative literature. In this systematic review, we followed the PRISMA guidelines to identify relevant literature and used the Research Domain Criteria (National Institute of Men…
Actuality bias in verb learning: The case of sublexically modal transfer verbs
The study investigates semantic development of sublexically modal verbs of transfer, throw and send , in English-speaking children. For adults, sublexical modality of these verbs can be seen in the fact that the subevent of transfer of the object to the recipient need not take place in the actual world, e.g. Mary sent/threw a book to John does not entail a successful transfer of the book to John. Yet in two experiments (Experiment 1: 3–4 year-old…
Participant engagement with play research - examples and lessons learned from the Centre for Play in Education, Development and Learning
Participatory approaches to play research emphasise the active engagement of key stakeholders in all aspects of the research. Ranging from children, parents and educators to policy makers, the Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK, actively engages with a variety of play research stakeholders. The current paper focuses on the ways PEDAL Centre involves c…
Integrating metacognition and executive function to enhance young children’s perception of and agency in their learning
Introducing the Play in Education, Development and Learning (Pedal) Research Centre
This paper provides an overview of the work being conducted at the Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) Research Centre, based in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK. PEDAL has three main aims, (1) To conduct world-class research, (2) To build capacity in play research and (3) To influence policy and practice. The present paper provides an overview of the history and rationale for PEDAL, followed by some detailed …
We want that for ourselves’: How girls and young women are using ICTs to counter violence and demand their rights
Established in 2006, Take Back the Tech! is a global campaign that encourages women and girls to use technology to counter gender-based violence. Through interviews with women in the Philippines, South Africa, Kenya, and India, this article explores how, ten years later, girls and young women are ‘taking back’ technology to demand their rights and challenge violence. Despite gender norms based on patriarchal traditions, and the constant threat of…
Culture-specific links between maternal executive function, parenting, and preschool children's executive function in South Korea
BackgroundResearch on the relationships between parental factors and children's executive function (EF) has been conducted mainly in Western cultures.AimThis study provides the first empirical test, in a non-Western context, of how maternal EF and parenting behaviours relate to child EF.SampleSouth Korean mothers and their preschool children (N = 95 dyads) completed EF tasks.MethodTwo aspects of parental scaffolding were observed during a puzzle …
Integrating metacognition and executive function to enhance young children’s perception of and agency in their learning
Introducing the Play in Education, Development and Learning (Pedal) Research Centre
This paper provides an overview of the work being conducted at the Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) Research Centre, based in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK. PEDAL has three main aims, (1) To conduct world-class research, (2) To build capacity in play research and (3) To influence policy and practice. The present paper provides an overview of the history and rationale for PEDAL, followed by some detailed …
Playing with change: Insights and lessons from researching play during the Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic presented widespread disruption to our day-to-day lives and our ongoing and planned research projects at the PEDAL Centre. As the situation unfolded, it was necessary to rapidly adapt our projects to ensure continuity of work and delivery of outcomes. These adaptations were initially quick-thinking responses to huge challenges; however, upon reflection, it became clear that important lessons would be learned from these exper…
We want that for ourselves’: How girls and young women are using ICTs to counter violence and demand their rights
Established in 2006, Take Back the Tech! is a global campaign that encourages women and girls to use technology to counter gender-based violence. Through interviews with women in the Philippines, South Africa, Kenya, and India, this article explores how, ten years later, girls and young women are ‘taking back’ technology to demand their rights and challenge violence. Despite gender norms based on patriarchal traditions, and the constant threat of…
Culture-specific links between maternal executive function, parenting, and preschool children's executive function in South Korea
BackgroundResearch on the relationships between parental factors and children's executive function (EF) has been conducted mainly in Western cultures.AimThis study provides the first empirical test, in a non-Western context, of how maternal EF and parenting behaviours relate to child EF.SampleSouth Korean mothers and their preschool children (N = 95 dyads) completed EF tasks.MethodTwo aspects of parental scaffolding were observed during a puzzle …
We want that for ourselves’: How girls and young women are using ICTs to counter violence and demand their rights
Established in 2006, Take Back the Tech! is a global campaign that encourages women and girls to use technology to counter gender-based violence. Through interviews with women in the Philippines, South Africa, Kenya, and India, this article explores how, ten years later, girls and young women are ‘taking back’ technology to demand their rights and challenge violence. Despite gender norms based on patriarchal traditions, and the constant threat of…
Culture-specific links between maternal executive function, parenting, and preschool children's executive function in South Korea
BackgroundResearch on the relationships between parental factors and children's executive function (EF) has been conducted mainly in Western cultures.AimThis study provides the first empirical test, in a non-Western context, of how maternal EF and parenting behaviours relate to child EF.SampleSouth Korean mothers and their preschool children (N = 95 dyads) completed EF tasks.MethodTwo aspects of parental scaffolding were observed during a puzzle …
Integrating metacognition and executive function to enhance young children’s perception of and agency in their learning
Introducing the Play in Education, Development and Learning (Pedal) Research Centre
This paper provides an overview of the work being conducted at the Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) Research Centre, based in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK. PEDAL has three main aims, (1) To conduct world-class research, (2) To build capacity in play research and (3) To influence policy and practice. The present paper provides an overview of the history and rationale for PEDAL, followed by some detailed …
A synthesis of the quantitative literature on autistic pupils' experience of barriers to inclusion in mainstream schools
Autistic pupils' full engagement with education can be limited by characteristics of their autism and features of the learning environment. We sought to identify which barriers to inclusion are most commonly and most frequently experienced and where gaps exist in the quantitative literature. In this systematic review, we followed the PRISMA guidelines to identify relevant literature and used the Research Domain Criteria (National Institute of Men…
Actuality bias in verb learning: The case of sublexically modal transfer verbs
The study investigates semantic development of sublexically modal verbs of transfer, throw and send , in English-speaking children. For adults, sublexical modality of these verbs can be seen in the fact that the subevent of transfer of the object to the recipient need not take place in the actual world, e.g. Mary sent/threw a book to John does not entail a successful transfer of the book to John. Yet in two experiments (Experiment 1: 3–4 year-old…
Participant engagement with play research - examples and lessons learned from the Centre for Play in Education, Development and Learning
Participatory approaches to play research emphasise the active engagement of key stakeholders in all aspects of the research. Ranging from children, parents and educators to policy makers, the Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK, actively engages with a variety of play research stakeholders. The current paper focuses on the ways PEDAL Centre involves c…
Playing with change: Insights and lessons from researching play during the Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic presented widespread disruption to our day-to-day lives and our ongoing and planned research projects at the PEDAL Centre. As the situation unfolded, it was necessary to rapidly adapt our projects to ensure continuity of work and delivery of outcomes. These adaptations were initially quick-thinking responses to huge challenges; however, upon reflection, it became clear that important lessons would be learned from these exper…
Staying self‐regulated in the classroom: The role of children's executive functions and situational factors
BACKGROUND: Self-regulation is crucial for children's learning and development. Several studies have explored children's inter-individual differences in self-regulation, but little is known about sources of intra-individual variation. AIMS: This study addressed the variability of children's self-regulation across typical classroom situations and how this might be associated with children's executive functions (EFs). SAMPLE: = 56.73 months). METHO…
Learning through play in Global Majority countries: Reflections from the Pedal centre on understanding and adapting the concept in four different contexts
Research on play tends to consider its relevance as universal: all children play. Whilst research is increasingly pointing to the benefits of play to children’s development and learning, there is also increasing recognition that this research is predominantly carried out in Western contexts, and that its conclusions may not carry over to other contexts. In this paper, we explore the implications of investigating the concept of learning through pl…
Assessing the person or the project? How disciplinary ontological and epistemological assumptions shape doctoral admissions in elite UK institutions
Research suggests there are notable differences in approaches to doctoral admissions and the criteria employed to select doctoral candidates. Through interviews with 65 academic staff involved in doctoral admissions at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, this paper examines how these different approaches to admissions play out in different disciplines, driving the disciplinary divergence in conceptualisations of the PhD and, in turn, admiss…
Psychology (10 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Developmental psychology (4 works) · Early Childhood Education and Development (4 works) · Pedagogy (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Cognition (3 works) · Computer Science (3 works) · Medicine (3 works) · Artificial Intelligence (2 works)