Clare Harris

Clare Harris is a Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Gloucestershire, holding Qualified Teacher Status and Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). With over twenty years’ experience as a teacher, Early Years leader and lecturer, she specialises in inclusive, learner-centred early childhood education.

Her academic qualifications include:

• BEd (Hons) Primary Education (Art & Design, 3–8 phase), University of Worcester, 1997
• PGCert Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, University of Gloucestershire, 2009
• MEd Early Years (Distinction), University of Gloucestershire, 2015
• PGCert Research Methods, University of Gloucestershire, 2017

Research Interests

Harris’s research centres on the lived experiences of children and families, with a particular focus on:

• the sociology of childhood and motherhood;
• Forest School and alternative outdoor learning environments;
• animal-assisted interventions to support children’s communication and well-being;
• the professional trajectories of Early Childhood Studies graduates in international contexts.

Her current doctoral study employs interpretive phenomenological analysis to explore the experiences of mature, professionally employed mothers navigating childcare and work.

Teaching & Professional Engagement

Harris leads and teaches on modules in Professional Practice in Early Years, Leadership & Management, Creativity & Thinking, Research Methods, and Lifelong Learning for the Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) programme. She also serves as Academic Link Tutor for partner institutions:

• Gloucestershire College – Early Years Studies FdA
• Norland College, Bath – BA (Hons) Early Years Development and Learning

Awards & Recognition

• Higher Education Academy Teaching Fellow Accreditation
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Impact & Outreach

As a certified Forest School Leader and alongside her therapy dog “Dumble-Paws,” Harris champions inclusive, nature-based and animal-assisted pedagogies that enhance children’s language development and university students’ well-being.