DoctorAndrea Delaune

As an educational and pedagogical ethicist, my research explores the moral dimensions of teaching and learning. I am interested in the complex dynamics between values and action – how values shape ethical assertions that, in turn, influence educational policy, practice, and images of the child. Drawing on a range of philosophical perspectives, my work engages concepts such as the moral imagination and the practice of attention to reimagine education in ways that recentre relationships, wellbeing, and human flourishing.

Love is a key dimension of attention, and is a key value and moral concept that informs my research inquiry. Love is not only a critical dimension of a life well-lived, it is also a lens through which teachers can interrogate the aims of their pedagogical approaches, to refine and reposition learning to see tamariki in their best light. A teacher's ability to see, empathise, and ethically respond to the child, their family members, and teaching colleagues can be greatly enhanced through an understanding and application of attention and the moral imagination in everyday situations. As co-lead of the Infant and Toddler Network and co-president of OMEP Aotearoa, my role as an early childhood ethicist supports actions of advocacy to advance Te Tiriti o Waitangi, address issues of social justice and sustainability, and enable teachers to recognise and respond to the agency of children within their everyday teaching practices.

I am interested in Masters and Doctoral level candidates that can see their work aligning with my research interests, and I welcome research proposals that may prompt or provoke new thinking about early childhood education as a relational, ethical and moral undertaking.