Next steps for the Norland Educare Research Journal
11 May 2026
In this blog, Dr Harriet Pattison, Editor in Chief, reflects on her first twelve months in post and outlines next steps for the Norland Educare Research Journal, as the publication continues to champion research in home-based care, education and holistic wellbeing.
“I am so pleased and excited to have taken over as Editor-in-Chief following the retirement of Dr Theodora Papatheodorou, the founding editor of the Norland Educare Research Journal. It has been a very busy nine months in which we have been working hard with authors, researchers, reviewers and the guest editor team of our next issue on the third issue of the journal.
“The journal concentrates on childcare and education that takes place in the home-based setting. This obviously includes childminding and nannying but also varying forms of kinship and family care and professional outreach. It also encompasses the increasing innovations of settings that seek to emulate more homely themes, such as intergenerational care. So many aspects of childhood, of course, are not confined to one setting or another – what children do at home – sleep, eat, play, form relationships and learn values and identity, is of critical importance to understanding holistic education and development when they do attend settings or school.”
The journal’s subject matter is of relevance to all those who work with or for children
“Despite its importance, home-based care is often overlooked in research in places like the UK, where the vast majority of young children attend formalised care. On the other hand, home-based education and care vary enormously in different cultural, social, political and economic contexts and may be differently understood in different contexts. All this means an immensely rich field of interest, particularly given the international reach of the journal.
“As Norland continues to extend its expertise across the globe, the journal aims to provide a reflective and academic counterpart considering the care, education, health and wellbeing of children at home – wherever that is and whatever that home looks like. In this way the journal is an integral part of Norland’s progressive and inclusive vision; encouraging research and deepening understanding of home care, whilst fostering a culture of courageous and creative research.
“The journal’s subject matter is of relevance to all those who work with or for children and who believe in holistic wellbeing – knowing and understanding children within the context of their own, and their family’s, lives. We can see this in previously published articles that focus on relationships within the home circle – grandparents, allo-parenting, nannying and childminding, for example. We can also see how other subjects like sleep, nutrition and education are framed by those relationships and cannot be separated from them.”
What children do at home is of critical importance to understanding holistic education and development
“Our forthcoming special issue is guest edited by Dr Clionagh Boyle, Dr Zoi Nikiforidou and Dr Wilma Robles-Melendez, who bring a wealth of experience and expertise to that very theme of holistic wellbeing. In fact, this issue extends the roots of wellbeing right down to the way in which politics and national events frame the day-to-day lives of even the youngest children.
“This is powerfully shown in two insightful and fascinating interviews – Dr Mary James describes the impact of both political unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic on South Africa’s children, whilst Patricia Lewsley Mooney CBE talks about the impact of policy on childminding provision. For both interviewees, relationships – personal, empathetic relationships with families and practitioners, lie at the heart of improving children’s wellbeing.
“The journal seeks to publish a wide range of academic and research articles and we offer a supportive publication pathway. Submissions may include empirical, conceptual, philosophical, or methodological studies, as well as systematic literature reviews, critical reviews, and position papers. We welcome papers from early career researchers and from students. We are also very interested in encouraging practitioner-academic partnerships.”
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