Ms Kathrin Paal

I am a PhD candidate and Research Assistant at the Plymouth Institute of Education.

Qualifications

BA Educational Science and Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke- Universität Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany (2016)

MA Educational Research, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany (2018)

Professional membership

BERA - The British Educational Research Association

Roles on external bodies

Reviewer for Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning

Reviewer for Early Years: an international research journal

Research interests

My research interest is the contribution of the use of a preschool garden on preschoolers' attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. As a keen gardener and environmentalist, I am interested in how a preschool garden could promote the development of children’s environmentally friendly and sustainable attitudes and behaviour.

Early Childhood Education for Sustainability, (Pre-)school gardening, Participatory research, Quantitative research methods, Qualitative research methods

Other research

“Chest Health Through the Lens of a Child with Neurodisability” project (05/2022 - present) (role: research assistant)

• aims to explore child-focused perceptions of exercise-based chest health interventions
  
• principal investigators: Katherine Gulliver / Rachel Knight Lozano 
• funded by Explore Awards and Arts – Health Collaboration Fund

Devon Wildlife Trust program evaluation (01/2022 - present) (role: principal investigator)

UPPScale Erasmus+ (01/2021 - present) (role: research assistant)

• aims to create an innovative, non-hierarchical space for sustainable, collaborative transnational working that responds to the needs and interests of educators and staff in early years settings, schools and universities (uppscaleeu.wordpress.com)
• funded by Erasmus+

UPPScale (01/2021 - present) (role: research assistant)

• University Practice Partnerships: Sustaining collaboration across learning environments

Evaluation of the "Rebuilding Bridges" project (06/2021 - 01/2022) (role: principal investigator)

• an intergenerational music intervention that aimed to (re-)connect young children and elderly at care homes in the Torbay area (Evaluation Report)
• funded by Arts Council England National Lottery Fund, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Torbay Music Hub and Torbay Early Years Advisory Team
  

Conferences organised

Other academic activities

Conference presentation

• "Gardening with children: exploring preschoolers' attitudes and behaviour towards the environment and the use of a preschool garden", BECERA Conference 2022 (22nd/23rd February 2022)
  
• "Preschoolers' awareness of what is good or healthy for the planet and how we can help the earth", Symposium "Exploring young children's views through the mosaic approach - examples from research", EECERA Conference 2021 (6th September 2021)
• "Gardening with children: how a preschool garden can encourage preschoolers’ pro-environmental behaviour", Sustainable Earth Conference 2021 (24th/25th June 2021) [Video]

• "Gardening with children: how a preschool garden can encourage preschoolers’ pro-environmental behaviour", EECERA Conference 2021 (8th September 2021)

Conference Chairing

• Chair of Symposium "The development of educational values and beliefs in teaching", EECERA Conference 2021 (6th - 10th September 2021)
• Chair of various sessions, FoAHB Doctoral Conference 2021, University of Plymouth (3rd/4th June 2021)