Dr Sandra El Gemayel
Research Associate
My profile
Biography
I am a Research Associate on the ‘Toddlers, Tech and Talk’ project at Manchester Metropolitan University. The project aims to investigate how very young children (0-3 years old) from diverse families across the UK use digital technologies in the home to develop early talk and literacy, and how families support their learning and wellbeing.
I have a PhD in Education from UCL, Institute of Education. My PhD research looked into the impacts of armed conflict and forced displacement on the childhoods and play of young Iraqi and Syrian child refugees living in Lebanon.
I hold research experience in the fields of early childhood, play, refugee studies, and qualitative and innovative research methods. I am interested in cross-cultural research, and working with young children to gain insights into their lives and experiences, their digital and non-digital play, and their learning.
Research outputs
Book Chapters
El Gemayel, S. [In Progress]. From ‘real spaces’ to ‘other spaces’ in young refugee children’s free-flow play. In T. Bruce, N. Yukiyo, S. Powell, H. Wasmuth, & J. Whineettt (Eds.), Bloomsbury Handbook to Friedrich Froebel. London, UK: Bloomsbury.
Jones, P., El Gemayel, S., Salema, Y., and Flewitt. R. (2021). Play and childhoods: How are the relationships between researching play and children changing? In S. Jennings & C. Holmwood (Eds.), International Handbook of Play, Therapeutic Play and Play therapy.London, UK:Routledge.
Journal Articles
El Gemayel, S. and Salema, Y. [Submitted]. Establishing and developing researcher-child relationships: how do children and researchers practice co-reflexivity and use meaning-making to negotiate power dynamics within their research relationship? Children & Society.
Reports and Thematic Briefs
El Gemayel, S. and Rigon, A. (2020). Working with children affected by displacement. DeCID Thematic Brief #1, London: University College London. Retrieved from https://decid.co.uk/2020/05/26/working-with-children-affected-by-displacement/
Book Reviews
El Gemayel, S. M. (2016, October 3). Review of Chapter 19, The Human Rights of Children in the Context of International Migration, by P. Ceriani Cernadas. In P. Alderson & R. Rosen, Book Review Meets Book Club. Children & Society, 30(6), 520-527. doi:10.1111/chso.12182
Blog Posts
El Gemayel, S. (2019, March 12). The colouring book information sheet: Involving young children in the research process through informed assent [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/global-youth/2019/03/12/the-colouring-book-information-sheet-involving-young-children-in-the-research-process-through-informed-assent/
Theses and Dissertations
El Gemayel, S. (2020). Childhood and play ‘in-between’: The play of young Iraqi and Syrian child refugees following armed conflict and forced displacement to the northern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University College London, Institute of Education, London.
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Chapters in books
Jones, P., El Gemayel, S., Salema, Y., Flewitt, R. (2020) 'How are the relationships between researching play and children changing?.' In Jennings, S., Holmwood, C. (ed.) Routledge International Handbook of Play, Therapeutic Play and Play Therapy. Routledge,
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Journal articles
El Gemayel, S.M. (2023) 'Barriers and lifelines for young refugee children’s education: the experiences of one young Iraqi refugee living in the northern suburbs of Beirut.' International Journal of Early Childhood, 55(3) pp. 369-385.
El Gemayel, S.M., Salema, Y. (2023) 'Negotiating power dynamics through co‐reflexivity in research with young children in disadvantaged communities.' Children and Society,
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Non-peer reviewed articles / reviews
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Conference papers
El Gemayel, S., Flewitt, R. (2021) 'The childhood and play of young Iraqi and Syrian refugee children living in Lebanon.' In AERA Annual Conference 2021: Accepting Educational Responsibility. Online, 8/4/2021 - 12/4/2021. American Educational Research Association (AERA),
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Theses and dissertations
El Gemayel, S.M. (2020) Childhood and play ‘in-between’: The play of young Iraqi and Syrian child refugees following armed conflict and forced displacement to the northern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon.
Career history
July 2022 - Present
Joined the ‘Toddlers, Tech and Talk’ project team as a Research Associate, Department of Health and Education, Manchester Metropolitan University
October 2020 - June 2022
Worked with Amna, Refugee Healing Network as Learning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Officer
February 2020 and July 2020
Worked as a Research Consultant with CatalyticAction & Bartlett Development Planning Unit on the Co-designing social infrastructure with children affected by displacement (DeCID) project
January 2016 - June 2020
Awarded PhD in Education from the University College London, Institute of Education
September 2014 - September 2015
Awarded MA in Early Years Education from the University College London, Institute of Education