Rahel Warnatsch

Education (2024 cohort)

Tha family‘s socio-economic status (SES) as a specific distal process (Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Human Development), has highly relevant short- and long-term effects on the respective child‘s development and learning. This is mediated by the family‘s Home Learning Activities (HLA), a specific proximal process (Bronfenbrenner’s Model), for my research, operationalised as the frequency of an adult family member engaging in interactions/activities with the child, which are statistically beneficial for the child‘s learning and development (first adopted by Melhuish and collauges). This empirically indicated relationship may be further conceptualised under consideration of structure process models (e.g. Kluczniok, Lehrl, Kuger, and Rossbach, 2013) and the Family Investment Model (FIM), understanding the HLA as family process and investment behaviour into the child‘s development. Beyond these well-researched average tendencies, however, there is also strong empirical support for considerable within-group heterogeneity in HLA provision. Effects of family SES on the HLA have been found to be moderate in size, and research suggests the experience of more early HLA can counteract the risk-factors for child development imposed by a family’s ‘low-SES’ — thus acting as a protective factor (especially Siraj-Blatchford and colleagues). It is therefore important to identify the resources which can help ‘low-SES’ parents to provide their children with more HLA. Despite this clear rational, little is known about the sources of variance in HLA among families living with disadvantages. In my research, I adopt a resource-focused approach to indicate such that are relevant for the HLA and explore mechanisms of these effects.

I am passionate about early education, both through professional experience as an educator and as a researcher. I have worked with children in primary schools, early education and care centres, and after-school programs, including education-based therapeutic settings. During my MSc in Education (Child Development and Learning Path) at the University of Oxford, I focused on research in education. Before returning to Oxford to pursue a DPhil in Education, my research explored areas such as teacher education (attitudes toward inclusive education and self-efficacy through VR practice), 21st-century skills and educational robots in primary schools, as well as national and global phenomena in early education and care centres. For my DPhil, I am now focusing on the family context, specifically the preschool Home Learning Environment in families living with disadvantages. I would love to connect with anyone who shares these interests or similar experiences.