Jane Waters-Davies

Associate professor, applied research lead education
Headshot of Jane Waters-Davies

Background

Dr Jane Waters-Davies is an Associate Professor in Early Childhood. Originally a primary school teacher working in London, she has worked in Higher Education in Wales for over 25 years. Jane has extensive experience as a lecturer, researcher, doctoral supervisor, and programme manager, having led programmes in Early Childhood Studies, and Initial Teacher Education (ITE). 

She is an experienced strategic leader, having overseen significant change in ITE provision, designed and led an innovative professional doctorate programme, and developed education research at the University leading to its first submission in Education for the Research Excellence Framework. 

Jane sits on the Welsh Government advisory panel for early years. She is passionate about the importance of early childhood educators understanding the complexities of the work they do, being able to advocate for playful learning on behalf of children and being respected for their tremendous professionalism

Specialist Subjects

  • Young children’s participation
  • Play and learning in early years
  • Outdoor play and early concept development
  • Professional learning for primary teachers and those working with young children

Professional and/or Research Experience

Jane's doctorate explored the child-adult interaction in the outdoor and indoor spaces of the early years at school. She is an experienced qualitative researcher, with research interests in young children’s participation, play and learning, outdoor play and early concept development, and the professional education of teachers and those working with young children. She has been involved in various research projects, funded and unfunded, as PI and Co-I, most recently exploring: the role of the adult in supporting concept development in early childhood; learners' experiences of education through the Covid-19 pandemic; and, the experiences of teacher educators during a period of structural change in ITE provision. Her current research project, funded by the ESRC, explores young children’s participation in early childhood classrooms: https://childrens-participation.org/

Qualifications

  • PhD
  • Ma[Ed]
  • PGCE
  • BSc

Languages Spoken

English

External Recognition or Rewards

Senior Fellow HEA

Link to Orcid Profile

ORCID Research profile

Professional Publications

  • Selected publications:
  • Mart, M., Gessiou, G. & Waters-Davies, J. [Eds] (2025) Exploring the Pedagogy of Learning and Playing Outdoors. London, Routledge
  • Waters-Davies, J. & Livingston, K. (2024) Enabling relational agency in Initial Teacher Education Partnerships in Wales. BERA Research Intelligence. Special Issue 161, pp.25.
  • Rekers A, & Waters J. (2024) Young Children’s Outdoor Play-Based Learning. In: Tremblay RE, Boivin M, Peters RDeV, eds. Brussoni M, topic ed. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development [online]. https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/outdoor-play/according-experts/young-childrens-outdoor-play-based-learning . Updated: July 2024.
  • Stewart, S., MacDonald, N. & Waters-Davies, J. (2024) Early Childhood Education in Wales: Policy, Promises and Practice Realities. Wales Journal of Education 26 (2) pp.124-139. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16922/wje.26.2.9
  • Murphy, A., Roberts, L., Williams, J., Clement, J., Chicken, S., Waters-Davies, J. & Tyrie, J. (2024) Participative rights in Welsh primary schools: Unpicking the policy rhetoric. Policy Futures in Education 23 (2) pp. 295-315 https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103241257281
  • Livingston, K. & Waters-Davies, J. (2024) Agency in negotiating partnerships in initial teacher education: shifting sands. European Journal of Teacher Education Special Issue 47 (5) The Practicum in Initial Teacher Education: Enduring Challenges, Evolving Practices, and Future Research Directions pp. 1073–1090. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02619768.2024.2384477
  • Waters-Davies, J., Murphy, A., Tyrie, J., Chicken, S. & Clement, J. (2024) Constructing child participation in early years classrooms: an exploration from Wales. Children and Society, 38(50 pp. 1824-1841. Available online: http://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12848
  • Waters-Davies, J., Tyrie, J., Chicken, S., Knight, C.,& Grout, E. (2023) Belonging, community and capability: Listening to the voices of young children to realise process quality in early childhood curriculum enactment in Wales. Education 3-13 https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2023.2276854
  • Chapman, S., Ellis, R., Beauchamp, G., Sheriff, L., Stacey, D., Waters-Davies , J., Lewis, A., Jones, C., Griffiths, M., Chapman, S.J., Wallis, R., Sheen, E., Crick, T., Lewis , H., French, G. and Atherton, S. “My picture is not in Wales”: Pupils’ Perceptions of Cynefin (Belonging) in Primary School Curriculum Development in Wales, (in press 2023) Education 3-13 51:8, 1214-1228 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03004279.2023.2229861
  • Tyrie, J., Chicken, S., Knight, C., Mannay, D., Porres, G.T., Waters–Davies, J., Waites, T. & Westall, A. (2023) COVID–19, Education and Learning: Amplifying Young Children’s Voices. Welsh Government Research document no: 73/2023. Cardiff. Available at: https://hwb.gov.wales/api/storage/0b6492be-c863-4168-b301-6f3fef4eade5/cen-18-report-eng-final.pdf
  • Waters-Davies, J. (2022) [Ed] An introduction to play. London: SAGE
  • Waters-Davies, J. & MacDonald, N. (2022) The capable child as a threshold concept for inclusive early childhood education and care. In Conn, C. & Murphy, A. [Eds] Inclusive Pedagogies for Early Childhood Education: Respecting and Responding to Differences in Learning. London: Taylor and Francis
  • Waters-Davies, J., Davies,P., Underwood, C., Lloyd-Williams, S., Jones, S., James, S., ThomasWalters, J., Morgan, C., Southern, A., Ward, A. & Evans A.R. (2022 research report) Exploring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on learners in Wales. Cardiff: Welsh Government. Available online: https://hwb.gov.wales/professional-development/the-national-strategy-for-educational-research-and-enquiry-nsere/research-studies-on-the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-the-welsh-education-system/research-study-2
  • Waters, J. & MacDonald, N. (2020) Exploring the use of a rating scale to support professional learning in early years pre-school staff: the experience of one local authority in Wales. Early Years: an international research journal. 42 (3) 263-277 https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2020.1742666
  • Waters, J. & Sharpling, E. (2020) Changing the Lens: mapping the development of research dispositions in programmes of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Wales Journal for Education 22 (1)
  • Tinney, G., MacDonald, N., Waters, J. & Gealy, A-M. (2020) A socio-constructivist approach to developing a professional learning intervention for early childhood education and care practitioners in Wales Professional Development in Education https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2020.1742187
  • Bateman, A. & Waters J. (2018) Risk-Taking in the New Zealand Bush: Issues of Resilience and Wellbeing. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education; Special issue. 12 (2) 7-29. http://www.pecerajournal.com/?page=3&vol=12&no=2
  • Waters, J., Payler, J. and Jones, K. (2018) The Professional Development of Early Years Educators [Eds] Routledge: Abingdon
  • Bilton, H. and Waters, J. (2017) Why take young children outside? A critical consideration of the professed aims for outdoor learning in the early years by teachers from England and Wales. Social Sciences: special issue: Equality and Social Inclusion: The Role of Education 6 (1) 1; doi:10.3390/socsci6010001
  • Waters, J. (2017) ‘Affordance Theory’, in The SAGE Handbook of Outdoor Play and Learning, eds Tim Waller, Eva Ärlemalm-Hagsér, Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, Libby Lee-Hammond, Kristi Lekies and Shirley Wyver. London: SAGE.
  • Lewis, A., Sarwar, S., Tyrie, J., Waters, J. and Williams, J. (2017) Exploring the Extent of Enactment of Young Children's Rights in the Education System in Wales, Wales Journal of Education, 19(2), 27-50.
  • Barnes, J., and Waters, J. (2016) Initial Teacher Education in Wales; Innovation Inspired Across Borders, in proceedings of Teacher Education Policy in Europe Network, Malta.
  • Waters, J. (2016) The Foundation Phase in Wales – time to grow up? Wales Journal of Education, 18.1 179-198.

Available to Supervise Doctoral Students

Yes