Dr Sabina Savadova

Teaching Fellow in Childhood Studies and Practice

Biography

Qualifications

       PhD in Education - the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK 

       MBA in European Studies and Regional Cooperation (Hons) - University of Ruse/University of Regensburg, Bulgaria/Germany 

      MA in American Literature - Khazar University, Azerbaijan 

      BA in the English Language (Hons) 

Responsibilities & affiliations

 

  • Co-Cohort Lead (together with Maggie Morrison) for BA Childhood Practice Programme
  • Co-Lead for Knowledge, Exchange and Impact for Children and Young People Hub
  • Editorial Board Member for International Journal of Early Years Education
  • Affiliate in Media & Communications Research Cluster, Edinburgh Futures Institute
  • Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Childhood, Education and Society

Undergraduate teaching

BA Childhood Practice Programme:

Course Organizer:

Academic Study Skills, 

Children and the Family

Children, Education and Social Justice

Children's Health and Wellbeing

Postgraduate teaching

PG tutor: 

Conceptualizing Research: Foundations, Assumptions and Praxis (2021- 2022)

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

No

Current research interests

My research interests include young children and their digital media practices, early childhood education, parenting, parental ethnotheories, family context, children and families, play, digital play, refugee children's digital media practices, children's rights in the digital age, and parenting in the digital age. In my research, I usually use qualitative research methods including visual methods, participatory methods, ethnography, and creative methods with children.

Affiliated research centres

Past project grants

2022-2024 The student experience grant award by the University of Edinburgh: Project title: Enriching Practitioner students' learning experiences and co-constructing peer support, £3535 (PI)
2019 - 2020 Collaborative Research Award (GCRA) by Universitas 21. The project "How can interactions with digital media foster refugee families' transition to a new culture: A case study of refugee families in Auckland, New Zealand" . Co-investigator together with Valentina Andries (https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/valentina-andries-student)). Lydia Plowman - Lead Supervisor. University of Edinburgh - Leading Institution, University of Maryland and University of Auckland. Sum awarded $ 4992.
2017-2021 My PhD study is funded by the College Research Award of the University of Edinburgh - £54600
2011 - 2013 Erasmus Mundus Programme - €20000

Conference details

Tracing Pathways of Disclosure: A Narrative Review of Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Lash-Ballew. A, Alaggia R., Ahmed. R, Fry D., Lavoie. J, Lu. M, Savadova. S (2025): Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) 29th Annual conference, 2025, Seattle, US

Exploring 0-3s' Digital Learning in Family Homes, Arnott L., Dalziell A., FLewitt, R., El Gemayel S., Gillen J., Goodall J., Savadova, S., Timmins, S., and Winter, K. European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA), 3rd - 6th September 2024, Brighton, England

"I ask Alexa to play some nursery rhymes, so that was the first word my daughter learnt."  Play, learning and wellbeing with smart speakers in the homes of children aged 0-36 months, Gillen, J. Savadova, S., FLewitt, R., El Gemayel S., Arnott L., Dalziell A.,Goodall J., Timmins, S., and Winter, K. European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA), 3rd - 6th September, 2024, Brighton, England

Influences of Family Context on Young Children’s Digital Media Practices in Azerbaijan. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference. April 11 – 14, 2024, Philadelphia.

Development of a global index on online child sexual exploitation and abuse: ISPCAN 2024 Symposium, August, 18-21, 2023; Uppsala, Sweden. Fry, D., Krzeczkowska, A., Vermeulen, I., and Stevenson, J.G. Fang, X., Salter, M., Whitten, T., Woodlock, D., Ren, J., Anderson, N., Lu, M., Harker-Roa, A., Diaz, K.J., Marmolejo Lozano, M.P., and Savadova, S.

The prevalence of child sexual abuse: a global systematic review. ISPCAN conference: September, 24-27, 2023, Edinburgh, UK.  Xiangming Fang, X., Zhang, J., Lu, M., Ren, J.,Jaramillo, K., Jinwu, W., Kurdi, Z., Liu, W., Marmolejo Lozano, M. P., Lu, Y., Savadova, S.,  Shangguan, S., Vermeulen, I., Zhu, Y., Zhu, H., Fry, D.

Refugee families’ integration into a new culture through their children’s digital media practices during Covid-19. Savadova, S. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference. April 13 – 16, 2023, Chicago.

Subterfuge: Azerbaijani parents’ mediation strategy of their young children’s digital media practices, Savadova, S. British Educational Research Association (BERA) Conference, 12-14 September 2023; Birmingham, England.

Young children's digital media practices and parental influences in Azerbaijan, Savadova, S. European Early Childhood Education Research Association Annual Conference (EECERA), 30th August – 2nd September 2023; Lisbon, Portugal (paper submission accepted, but did not register for in-person presentation).

Fathers’ Involvement in the Mediation of their Young Children’s Digital Media Practices in Azerbaijan, Savadova S. the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), 22-25 August 2023; Glasgow, Scotland.

Understanding the Role of Technology in the Transitions of Refugee Families with Young Children into A New Culture: A Case Study of Scotland, Savadova, S and Andries, V., Interaction Design and Children (IDC) Conference, 24 - 30 June, Worldwide Online.

How can interactions with digital media foster refugee families' transitions to a new culture in Edinburgh? Savadova, S. and Andries, V., British Educational Research Association (BERA) Conference, 13 - 16 September, Virtual Conference.

Living journals: Families interpreting their young children's everyday lives in Azerbaijan, Savadova, S. and  Plowman, L., Paper presentation in the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting, 17-21 April 2020 San Francisco (Funded by the MH graduate school) (the conference was cancelled due to Covid-19).

Creating living journals for young children in Azerbaijan, Pecha Kucha presentation, Savadova, S. Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA) conference, 20-22 November 2019, University of Edinburgh (Funded by SERA conference support fund).

Using interpretative phenomenology analysis to explore mothers’ approach to their children’s use of digital media in Azerbaijan, Savadova, S. Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA) conference, 20 – 22 November 2019, University of Edinburgh (Funded by the SERA conference support fund).

Children's daily experiences as shown in their living journals in Azerbaijan, Savadova, S. Pecha Kucha Presentation at Interweaving Conference, 10-11 October 2019, University of Edinburgh.

Affects and Emotions in Research, Poster. Savadova, S. Interweaving Conference, 10-11 October 2019, University of Edinburgh.

Returning to Azerbaijan as a researcher: the role of affective engagement, Savadova, S. the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Annual Conference, 10-12 September 2019, University of Manchester (Funded by BERA bursary scheme).

Affects and Emotions in Research, Interactive Poster, Savadova, S.  The European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) Conference, 2 -7 September 2019, University of Hamburg (Funded by the MHSES Graduate School).

CollaboratED: Collaborative Learning in a Shared Studio Environment, Poster. Savadova, S. The Learning and Teaching Conference, 29 June 2019, University of Edinburgh.

 

Invited speaker

"I ask Alexa to play some nursery rhymes, so that was the first word my daughter learnt." Smart speakers in the homes of children aged 0-36 months, with Professor Julia Gillen (Lancaster University), LAEL Research Colloquium, Lancaster University

Participant

Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Literacies, 7 - 8 March 2019, the University of Manchester, Funded for participation - £450

Children's Media, 2 - 4 July 2019, Volunteer, funded by the conference organizers

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