Full name: Natalia Kucirkova
Degree/Graduating Year: I graduated in 2014 with a PhD from The Open University
I was a pre-doctoral fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education
Location:
Stavanger, Norway
Current Role: Professor of Early Childhood and Development (University of Stavanger)
Professor of Reading and Children’s Development (The Open University)
3 Fun Facts:
I play the harp. When I was 18, I climbed Mont Blanc. I was born in Czechoslovakia that no longer exists- my mother is Slovak and my father Czech, and I identify as “European”.
Why did you join HAEd?
I was a pre-doctoral fellow at HGSE and worked with my academic guru, professor Catherine Snow.
How did you get involved in education?
I have always been interested in children’s learning but felt that psychology was too little applied for the difference I wanted to make to children’s lives. My PhD was at the intersection of technology, psychology and education and I continued my post-doctoral and later work with an interest in educational technologies and children’s learning.
What is something that inspires you?
Courage, resilience, vulnerability.
This might sound strange, but I was very much influenced by the collection of poems of the Slovakian author Milan Rufus.
What is the most memorable experience you remember from your time at Harvard?
I don’t have one big memorable experience but when I close my eyes I see the gorgeous cherry blossoms framing the Boston streets. My memories go to the sense of possibility that was almost tangible in the air, and the welcoming library and seminars buzzing with kind and smart people.
What advice do you have for other Harvard alumni wanting to enter into the field of children’s literacy?
Remember that there are many diverse ways for children to become skilled readers and writers. Children become intrinsically motivated to read if they are given agency in choosing the texts that resonate with them and that stretch their understanding and sense of self.
What are some of the things you’re researching the most right now?
I am focusing on socially just approaches to children’s literacy, which incorporates children’s reading in all forms and formats, including multimedia apps as well as some innovative books, for example right now I am looking at books that emit various scents to engage children in multisensory reading.
