Dr Alex Morfaki
BSc, QTS, M.Ed, EYPS, EdD
Senior Lecturer in Early Years
Areas of specialism:
Inclusion in the early years, special educational needs and disability, leadership and management in the early childhood education and care sector, interprofessional partnerships for inclusion, neoliberalism and policy in education
External roles:
External Examiner for the FdA Early Years Foundation Degree and online top-up for the University of Northampton

Biography
Dr Alexandra Morfaki holds a successful record of setting up and managing early years settings in the private and independent sector which spans 20 years. Alexandra initially trained as a reception class teacher and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Athens and Bath Spa College University, where she attended a trimester on an Erasmus scholarship. Following her graduation, she worked briefly as a trainee vocational counsellor in Athens before returning to Bristol to complete her master’s degree in Education with a focus on counselling.
Alexandra worked as an early years teacher before becoming a manager and has a thorough insight of the early years sector. Her skills and knowledge cover diverse areas such as recruitment, the management of budgets and various operational aspects of early years leadership. Alexandra completed her Early Years Professional Status in 2008 at the University of the West of England (UWE) and holds extensive experience of mentoring early years teacher trainees on placement. She has also taught on a range of modules on the Early Years Teacher Status course at UWE.
Parallel to her managerial role, Alexandra completed her doctoral thesis in 2021. Her research explored the moral and practical dilemmas faced by early year educators in their quest for inclusion as enacted in and through their partnerships with other professionals and parents. Alexandra has a passion for inclusion in the early years and is dedicated to supporting Norland students to become inclusive early years educators.
Publications and scholarly activities
Forthcoming
Brown, J. & Morfaki, A. The Neo-Liberal Child: Current consumers, future workers in J. Brown & T. Clark Debating Childhoods: Critical Perspectives in Early Childhood (forthcoming 2025). Sage Publishing
2022
Morfaki, C. & Morfaki, A. (2022) Managing Workforce Diversity and Inclusion: A Critical Review and Future Directions. International Journal of Organizational Leadership. 11 (4), 426-443.
Events and public engagement
13/07/2023
The expanding role of Early Years SENDCOS: challenges and implications for policy and practice, Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network Research Conference
12/07/2022 - 15/07/2022
Challenges and barriers in the operationalization of inclusive partnerships for children with special educational needs: The implications for the role of early years educators. 74th OMEP World Conference and Assembly





