Shaddai Tembo

Personal statement

Shaddai Tembo is a senior lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, supporting delivery to students at Bath Spa University and for the Pre-School Education (China) programme, taught at Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology (HUHST), Hunan Province, China.

His research interests centre around issues of subjectivity and identity, equality and social justice through a range of theoretical frameworks (including sociomaterial and more-than-human) in early childhood. He has published papers in the Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ethnicities, and Emotion, Space and Society. They also contribute to the academic peer-review process.

His doctoral thesis was titled ‘Affective Sociomaterialisation: An Inquiry into Early Childhood Subjectivities within Outdoor Early Childhood Provision in Scotland, UK.'. It applied a sociomaterial metaphysical framework to propose an alternative way of understanding how subjectivities come to form in early childhood environments. 

Shaddai was awarded funding by the Froebel Trust between 2022-2024 to examine Diversity in Unity: Developing an anti-racist framework within Froebelian pedagogy. From this, he has published a guide to support educators to understand how racial inequalities can emerge between children through play.

Shaddai is also a trustee for the Fatherhood Institute, the UK’s leading independent think tank on fatherhood, and part of the steering group for the MITEY campaign which aims to celebrate, support and increase the numbers of, men working in early childhood education in the UK. Shaddai was formerly a trustee for Early Education, a national charity supporting early years practitioners with training, resources and professional networks, and campaigning for quality education for the youngest children.

Shaddai is currently part of the systematic review advisory panel for the Froebel Trust funded study Froebelian Leadership in Early Years. Shaddai was previously part of the advisory group for the BERA funded study, Ethnicity and the Early Years Workforce. He was formerly part of the steering group for the ESRC funded study 'Gender Diversification in Early Years Education’.

Shaddai is currently involved with the Bristol Early Years Anti-Racist Practice Forum. They are also a 'Thought Leader' for the Family Music Hub. 

He previously co-convened the Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA) Early Years Network between 2018-2022. He was formerly part of the leadership team for the Bristol Men in Early Years (BMIEY) Network for over three years. 

Shaddai is external speaker and consultant with Critical Early Years. He has extensive experience delivering training for the early years profession

Shaddai's professional background is as a former early years practitioner. He has worked in a range of PVI settings, and he was part of the family support team within a children's centre in central Bristol.

Academic qualifications

• PhD: Education, University of the West of Scotland
• MSc Social Science Research Methods (Sociology), University of Bristol
• BA (Hons): Education: Early Years, Bath Spa University.

Professional memberships

• Early Education
• British Educational Research Association
• British Sociological Association.

Areas of expertise

• Areas of expertise
• Subjectivity and identity
• Race and racism in early childhood
• Gender and heteronormativity in early childhood
• Sociomaterial and more-than-human theories.