Debra Laxton
Early Childhood Lead & Senior Lecturer in Education
About
Debra has spent the whole of her career, spanning over thirty years, involved in the care and education of young children. She worked in schools and nurseries within the London Borough of Hounslow before moving to West Sussex and working in a Nursery School and Children Centre. She then moved to the Further Education Sector within the Childhood Studies department and now works at the University of Chichester as Early Childhood Lead & Senior Lecturer.
Interests
Debra is passionate about the importance of reflective practice and supporting trainee teachers and education studies students to develop the knowledge, skills and experience to develop practice and improve the experiences and outcomes for children in their care. Debra takes a keen interest in the areas of attachment theory and engaging all parents and carers, aware of the positive impact this can have on children and families.
Key Publications
Laxton, D. (2012). Confusion Reigns: Key person approach or key worker system. Early Years Educator. Vol. 14. No.1. pp. 38-44.
Laxton, D. (2016). The Future of Teachers. Early Years Educator. Vol. 18. No.4. pp. 14-16.
Laxton, D. (2016). Everyone Gets Better. Early Years Educator. Vol. 18. No.5. pp. 14-16.
Laxton, D. (2017). Trainee Teachers Really Can Be Change Agents. Early Years Educator. Vol. 18. No.8. pp. 18-20.
Laxton, D. (2018). We Are Beginning to Hear the Male Voice in Childcare. Early Years Educator. Vol. 19. No.9. pp. 18-20.
Laxton, D. & Leask, M. (2019). Early Childhood Education in Emergencies MESH guide. [online]. Available from http://meshguides.org/guides/node/1343
Research Output
Articles
Laxton, D. and Horn, A. (2023) An early years model of transformative leadership: Becoming a change agent. Early Years Educator, 23 (21). pp. 20-21. ISSN 2052-4617 10.12968/eyed.2023.23.21.20
Parker, E., Laxton, D. and Horn, A. (2023) An empathetic leader. Early Years Educator, 23 (19). pp. 23-24. ISSN 2052-4617 10.12968/eyed.2023.23.19.23
Rayner, L., Laxton, D. and Horn, A. (2023) Helicopter stories to support children's development. Early Years Educator, 23 (18). pp. 38-39. ISSN 2052-4617 10.12968/eyed.2023.23.18.38
Laxton, D. and Horn, A. (2022) Kate as a Pedagogical Leader: Inspiring practice improvements through block play and beyond. Early Years Educator, 24. ISSN 2052-4617
Laxton, D., Cooper, L. and Younie, S. (2021) Translational research in action: The use of technology to disseminate information to parents during the COVID‐19 pandemic. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52 (4). pp. 1538-1553. ISSN 1467-8535 10.1111/bjet.13100
Laxton, D., Cooper, L., Younie, S. and Shresth, P. (2020) Translational research to support early childhood education in crisis settings: A case study of collaborative working with Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar. Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 49 (181318). pp. 1-19. ISSN 0300-4279 10.1080/03004279.2020.1813186
Laxton, D. (2018) We are beginning to hear the male voice in childcare. Early Years Educator, 19 (9). pp. 18-20. ISSN 1465-931X 10.12968/eyed.2018.19.9.18
Laxton, D. (2017) Trainee teachers really can be change agents. Early Years Educator, 19 (8). pp. 18-20. ISSN 1465-931X 10.12968/eyed.2017.19.8.18
Laxton, D. (2016) Everyone gets better. Early Years Educator, 18 (5). pp. 14-16. ISSN 1465-931X 10.12968/eyed.2016.18.5.14
Laxton, D. (2016) The future of teachers. Early Years Educator, 18 (4). pp. 14-16. ISSN 1465-931X 10.12968/eyed.2016.18.4.14
Other department members
Bex Drummond
Lecturer in Primary Education (Mathematics and Computing)
