Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Marilyn Fleer holds the Foundation Chair in Early Childhood Education and Development at Monash University where she is also a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellow.
She researches in the areas of early childhood science, engineering and technologies with particular attention on digital visual methodology framed through cultural-historical theory. Her Laureate Fellowship on the theme ‘Imagination in play and imagination in STEM’ investigates how families and teachers create conditions for children’s conceptual thinking in play-based settings.
She has published widely in international journals including Mind, Culture and Activity, Research in Science Education, Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, and Cultural Studies of Science Education. She founded the International Journal of Research in Early Childhood, which is an open access journal designed to support scholarship in early childhood education research. Some of her recent publications include:
- Fleer, M. and van Oers, B (Eds.) International handbook on early childhood education, Volume 1, (pp. 1-31), and Volume 2, (pp. 955-967), The Netherlands:Springer;
- Fleer, M (2018). Examining the psychological content of digital play through Hedegaard’s model of child development, Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, /doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2018.04.006
- Fleer, M. (2017). Digital role-play: Creating new conditions for children’s play. Mind, Culture and Activity. 24 (1), 3-17, DOI: 10.1080/10749039.2016.1247456;
She was the President of the International Society of Cultural-historical, Activity, Research, held numerous Government appointed advisory positions related to the development of quality early childhood education provision, and led key research projects value at over ten million dollars (including 5 Australian Research Council Discovery Projects).
The Laureate project expects to:
- Build world class research into early childhood Science, Engineering and Technologies concept formation
- Generate scholarly knowledge about the nature of conceptual play for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers across broad range of early childhood settings and family homes
- Build research capacity and innovations in early childhood Science, Engineering and Technologies, leading to an International Centre of Excellence in play-based SET learning
For further information, please see Fleer's Conceptual Playworld.
Research area keywords
- Cross-Cultural Research
- Family studies
- Early childhood science education
- Technology education
- Building of new theoretical tools to support early childhood development and education
Network
Projects
-
Science and engineering concept formation in homes and playbased settings
Australian Research Council (ARC)
19/03/19 → 19/03/24
Project: Research
-
KINDERGARTEN KNOWLEDGE - Centre for Systemic Research on Diversity and Sustainable Futures
Eriksen, E., Fleer, M., Boge, M., Gjendemsjo, V., Garred, R. & Hacket, A.
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Arctic University of Norway, Universitetet i Stavanger, City of Bergen
7/11/18 → 7/11/23
Project: Research
-
Respectful Relationships Early Childhood Professional Learning
Hammer, M., Agbenyega, J., Fleer, M., Monk, H., Adams, M., Li, L., Veresov, N., Rivalland, C., Quinones Goytortua, G., Hansen, J., Babaeff, R., Laletas, S. & Hamdillah, C.
Department of Education and Training (Victoria)
24/10/17 → 30/06/20
Project: Research
-
Building executive function in imaginary play
Fleer, M., Duhn, I., Veresov, N. & Walker, S. P.
Australian Research Council (ARC)
1/01/15 → 31/12/19
Project: Research
-
Evaluation of PLAN Vietnam early learning programs
Fleer, M., Li, L., Monk, H., Quinones Goytortua, G. & Rivalland, C.
1/07/14 → 31/10/18
Project: Research
Research output
-
An analysis of a child's experiences in playing a gendered character during playworld
Utami, A. D., Fleer, M. & Li, L., Mar 2021, In : Learning, Culture and Social Interaction. 28, 11 p., 100454.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
-
How Conceptual PlayWorlds in preschool settings create new conditions for children's development during group time
Fleer, M., Mar 2021, In : Learning, Culture and Social Interaction. 28, 11 p., 100438.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
-
Theorising digital tools: mutual constitution of the person and digital in a conceptual PlayWorld
Rai, P., Fleer, M. & Fragkiadaki, G., 2021, (Accepted/In press) In : Human Arenas. 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
-
Understanding the child in relation to practice and rethinking inclusion: a study of children with autism spectrum disorder in mainstream preschools
Johora, F. T., Fleer, M. & Hammer, M., Mar 2021, In : Learning, Culture and Social Interaction. 28, 12 p., 100469.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
-
Understanding the complexity of young children's learning and development in science: a twofold methodological model building on constructivist and cultural-historical strengths
Fragkiadaki, G., Fleer, M. & Ravanis, K., Mar 2021, In : Learning, Culture and Social Interaction. 28, 13 p., 100461.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Prizes
-
Dean's Award for Research Impact (Economic and Social) Team Award
Hilary Monk (Recipient), Fleer, Marilyn (Recipient), Rivalland, Corine (Recipient), Li, Liang (Recipient) & Quinones Goytortua, Gloria (Recipient), 2019
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Press / Media
-
Assessing gender inequity in academia for International Women’s Day: opinion
Kelly-Ann Allen, Kerryn Butler-Henderson, Andrea Reupert, Fiona Longmuir, Ilana Rosenbluh, Emily Berger, Christine Grove, Amanda Heffernan, Nerelie Freeman, Sarika Kewalramani, Shiri Krebs, Levita D'Souza, Grace Mackie, Denise Chapman & Marilyn Fleer
5/03/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
-
International Women's Day 2021: The realities of being a woman at the top of academia
Kelly-Ann Allen, Andrea Reupert, Marilyn Fleer, Amanda Berry, Jane Wilkinson & Ruth Jeanes
2/03/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature