Jane O’connor
Biographic Data
| ID | 3857134 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jane O’connor |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jane |
| FAMILY NAME | O’connor |
| SIGNATURE | O’CONNOR J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Birmingham City University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9548-8392 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Resisting hyperreality? Talking to young children about YouTube and YouTube Kids
This article reports on a study investigating how 13 young children in English-speaking countries (England, Scotland, Australia and the USA) watch and engage with digital content on YouTube and YouTube Kids. Given the increasing amount of time children spend viewing these platforms, and related concerns around the commercial algorithms that direct their viewing choices, the research aims were to understand how young children make choices about wh…
Navigating digital integration in early childhood
The integration of digital tools in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings, particularly for children under three, requires careful consideration. While research has predominantly focused on children aged 4–6, limited attention has been given to infants, toddlers, and the critical role of their educators. This study examines how early childhood educators in six countries incorporate digital technologies into their daily practices with…
‘Making potions and jumping on the moon’
This study explores young children's understanding of scientists' roles using the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) and semi-structured interviews with children aged 4-8 (n = 75) who were visiting a Science Museum in England. A mixed methods design was adopted in order to address the following questions: (i) How do young children represent scientists? (ii) What do children's drawings reveal about their understanding of scientists' gender, appearance, …
International Perspectives on the Dynamics of Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Digital Competences
Researchers and society in general seem to be conflicted regarding the use of digital technology in early childhood education (ECE). Some are focusing on the positive aspects of using digital technology, while others are critical and position it as an enemy of early childhood practice. It has been argued that digital technology is not appropriate for young children’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. Nevertheless, supporting …
Lessons from the pandemic
This article reports on responses from an online survey designed to explore the before, during and after lockdown experiences of higher education teacher educators in Vietnam (n = 145) who were required to use digital technologies and pedagogies exclusively in their teaching during the 2020/21 lockdown. The data is interpreted using the TPACK framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2009) which enables analysis of the participants’ technological, pedagogical…
Using rhythmanalysis to explore the synchronicities and disruptions in children's everyday lives in England and Greece during the 2020 lockdown
This article addresses the methodological challenge of capturing and comparing children's experiences of everyday life by using a novel rhythmanalysis approach to explore the experiences of a small sample ( N = 16) of home based children aged 7-10 in England and Greece during the 2020 global lockdown. The children kept a 1 day diary in which they recorded their activities and feelings at regular intervals during their waking hours. The data colle…
Use of touchscreen technology by 0–3-year-old children
This paper discusses findings from online surveys completed by parents of 0–3-year-old children in Norway, Portugal and Japan concerning their young children’s use of touchscreen technology. The study investigated parental practices, views and perspectives related to children’s digital practices and explored these in relation to wider cultural discourses around early childhood in the participant countries. The study adopted Bronfenbrenner’s ecolo…
A cross-cultural exploration of early childhood educators’ beliefs and experiences around the use of touchscreen technologies with children under 3 years of age
This paper will discuss the beliefs and experiences of early childhood educators across three countries, England, Norway and Greece, in relation to the use of touchscreen technology with the youngest children in their settings. Building on previous research which explored parents’ perspectives, this study now extends the investigation to early childhood educators who play a key role in children’s learning and development. A detailed online survey…
Orphans and Rich People’
In 2012, an art gallery in Birmingham, England presented an exhibition of ‘Children's Lives’. Through its curation of photography, fine art, objects, video and text, ‘Children's Lives’ claimed to ‘let childhood through the ages speak for itself’ and to contribute ‘to a debate over what it means to be a child’. In this article, we offer a critical analysis of the exhibition, examining the relationship between the exhibition as discourse and the ‘e…
An analysis of British Newspaper Coverage of the Teenage Swimming Gold Medallists at the London 2012 Olympics
The London 2012 Olympics saw a number of medallists across events who were 16 years old or younger. This article examines the British print media coverage of three of the youngest gold medallist swimmers, namely: Ye Shiwen of China (16), Ruta Meiluyte of Lithuania (15) and Kate Ledecky of the USA (15). The aim of the analysis is to highlight the ways in which dominant discourses around childhood, exceptional ability, ethnicity and gender, are pla…
Is It Good to be Gifted? The Social Construction of the Gifted Child
There is growing evidence that children labelled as academically gifted are subjected to negative attitudes from others and that this impacts on their self‐esteem and motivation to succeed. Through an analysis of British newspaper stories about gifted children, this article explores the socially constructed nature of the concept of the ‘gifted child’ and finds that children identified as gifted academically are framed more negatively than those w…
From Jackie Coogan to Michael Jackson
The death of former child star Michael Jackson in 2009 reignited public debates around the potential dangers of early fame. This article explores the ways in which the status of child stars has changed over the course of the twentieth century in line with shifting attitudes toward childhood in general and with the proliferation and diversification of media formats. Starting with the Hollywood “Child Star” era and moving on to child stars of telev…
The Demonisation of Charlotte Church
This paper traces the media coverage of former child prodigy Charlotte Church over the period 1998–2007 as she moved from a charmed childhood through a turbulent adolescence and into young womanhood. Through an analysis of newspaper stories about the young star, I argue that Church is presented as a tragic figure who became symbolic of the metaphorical struggle between good and evil, and between childhood and adulthood, in British society. I demo…
Beyond Social Constructionism
This article challenges the dominance of social constructionist theories of childhood by presenting a structural analysis of the child star as a recurrent, universal feature in the myths and legends of the world. The article argues that by conceptualising our understanding of children and childhood as being due solely to the socio‐historical context in which they live, an important dimension of childhood may be overlooked. Through looking at medi…
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The Demonisation of Charlotte Church
This paper traces the media coverage of former child prodigy Charlotte Church over the period 1998–2007 as she moved from a charmed childhood through a turbulent adolescence and into young womanhood. Through an analysis of newspaper stories about the young star, I argue that Church is presented as a tragic figure who became symbolic of the metaphorical struggle between good and evil, and between childhood and adulthood, in British society. I demo…
Beyond Social Constructionism
This article challenges the dominance of social constructionist theories of childhood by presenting a structural analysis of the child star as a recurrent, universal feature in the myths and legends of the world. The article argues that by conceptualising our understanding of children and childhood as being due solely to the socio‐historical context in which they live, an important dimension of childhood may be overlooked. Through looking at medi…
From Jackie Coogan to Michael Jackson
The death of former child star Michael Jackson in 2009 reignited public debates around the potential dangers of early fame. This article explores the ways in which the status of child stars has changed over the course of the twentieth century in line with shifting attitudes toward childhood in general and with the proliferation and diversification of media formats. Starting with the Hollywood “Child Star” era and moving on to child stars of telev…
Is It Good to be Gifted? The Social Construction of the Gifted Child
There is growing evidence that children labelled as academically gifted are subjected to negative attitudes from others and that this impacts on their self‐esteem and motivation to succeed. Through an analysis of British newspaper stories about gifted children, this article explores the socially constructed nature of the concept of the ‘gifted child’ and finds that children identified as gifted academically are framed more negatively than those w…
An analysis of British Newspaper Coverage of the Teenage Swimming Gold Medallists at the London 2012 Olympics
The London 2012 Olympics saw a number of medallists across events who were 16 years old or younger. This article examines the British print media coverage of three of the youngest gold medallist swimmers, namely: Ye Shiwen of China (16), Ruta Meiluyte of Lithuania (15) and Kate Ledecky of the USA (15). The aim of the analysis is to highlight the ways in which dominant discourses around childhood, exceptional ability, ethnicity and gender, are pla…
Orphans and Rich People’
In 2012, an art gallery in Birmingham, England presented an exhibition of ‘Children's Lives’. Through its curation of photography, fine art, objects, video and text, ‘Children's Lives’ claimed to ‘let childhood through the ages speak for itself’ and to contribute ‘to a debate over what it means to be a child’. In this article, we offer a critical analysis of the exhibition, examining the relationship between the exhibition as discourse and the ‘e…
Use of touchscreen technology by 0–3-year-old children
This paper discusses findings from online surveys completed by parents of 0–3-year-old children in Norway, Portugal and Japan concerning their young children’s use of touchscreen technology. The study investigated parental practices, views and perspectives related to children’s digital practices and explored these in relation to wider cultural discourses around early childhood in the participant countries. The study adopted Bronfenbrenner’s ecolo…
A cross-cultural exploration of early childhood educators’ beliefs and experiences around the use of touchscreen technologies with children under 3 years of age
This paper will discuss the beliefs and experiences of early childhood educators across three countries, England, Norway and Greece, in relation to the use of touchscreen technology with the youngest children in their settings. Building on previous research which explored parents’ perspectives, this study now extends the investigation to early childhood educators who play a key role in children’s learning and development. A detailed online survey…
International Perspectives on the Dynamics of Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Digital Competences
Researchers and society in general seem to be conflicted regarding the use of digital technology in early childhood education (ECE). Some are focusing on the positive aspects of using digital technology, while others are critical and position it as an enemy of early childhood practice. It has been argued that digital technology is not appropriate for young children’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. Nevertheless, supporting …
Lessons from the pandemic
This article reports on responses from an online survey designed to explore the before, during and after lockdown experiences of higher education teacher educators in Vietnam (n = 145) who were required to use digital technologies and pedagogies exclusively in their teaching during the 2020/21 lockdown. The data is interpreted using the TPACK framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2009) which enables analysis of the participants’ technological, pedagogical…
Using rhythmanalysis to explore the synchronicities and disruptions in children's everyday lives in England and Greece during the 2020 lockdown
This article addresses the methodological challenge of capturing and comparing children's experiences of everyday life by using a novel rhythmanalysis approach to explore the experiences of a small sample ( N = 16) of home based children aged 7-10 in England and Greece during the 2020 global lockdown. The children kept a 1 day diary in which they recorded their activities and feelings at regular intervals during their waking hours. The data colle…
Resisting hyperreality? Talking to young children about YouTube and YouTube Kids
This article reports on a study investigating how 13 young children in English-speaking countries (England, Scotland, Australia and the USA) watch and engage with digital content on YouTube and YouTube Kids. Given the increasing amount of time children spend viewing these platforms, and related concerns around the commercial algorithms that direct their viewing choices, the research aims were to understand how young children make choices about wh…
Navigating digital integration in early childhood
The integration of digital tools in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings, particularly for children under three, requires careful consideration. While research has predominantly focused on children aged 4–6, limited attention has been given to infants, toddlers, and the critical role of their educators. This study examines how early childhood educators in six countries incorporate digital technologies into their daily practices with…
‘Making potions and jumping on the moon’
This study explores young children's understanding of scientists' roles using the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) and semi-structured interviews with children aged 4-8 (n = 75) who were visiting a Science Museum in England. A mixed methods design was adopted in order to address the following questions: (i) How do young children represent scientists? (ii) What do children's drawings reveal about their understanding of scientists' gender, appearance, …
Psychology (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Developmental psychology (6 works) · History (6 works) · Media studies (6 works) · Art (5 works) · Child Development and Digital Technology (5 works) · Early childhood (4 works) · Gender and Technology in Education (4 works) · Literature (4 works)