I started my career as a primary school teacher in the south Wales valleys and worked for several years in a nursery school before taking a secondement to be the LEA advisory teacher for early years. At the end of the secondment I took up a lecturing role on the Education and Early Childhood Studies degree programmes at University of Wales, Newport and during my time there I completed my doctorate. I then moved to Cardiff Metropolitan University where I worked as the Deputy Head of Department in the School of Education and Social Policy whilst contining to teach on the Early Childhood Studies and Primary Education programmes. In this role I was responsible for overseeing the implementation of a new personal tutoring programme within the school, and I also set up a fully equipped early education classroom that was used as a teaching resource for students. In 2018 I became a Staff Tutor at the Open University.
My doctoral thesis looked at the professional identities of early years practitioners and this is still an area that I am interested in. I am also involved in projects that explore physical literacy in the early years.
Podcast exploring the implications of the new Welsh Curriculum for teacher training
https://nape.org.uk/nape-podcast
Mini-article for OU OpenLearn
https://ounews.co/education-languages-health/childhood-youth/teach-your-child-through-creative-play/
Video and mini-article for OU OpenLearn
External evaluator for the Early Years Wales 'Welsh Active Early Years' programme Welsh Active Early Years | Early Years Wales
An exploration of factors affecting the baseline assessment scores of children attending morning or afternoon sessions in nursery settings in Wales (2021)
Dorrian, Jane
Early Years ((Early Access))
Rethinking the Design of School Readiness Assessments (2022-02)
Dorrian, Jane
In: Betts, A. L. and Thai, K-P. eds. Handbook of Research on Innovative Approaches to Early Childhood Development and School Readiness. Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education (AECKE) (pp. 96-112)
ISBN : 9781799886495 | Publisher : IGI Global | Published : Hershey, Pennsylvania
Evaluation of the HAF/Welsh Active Early Years Programme (2022-04)
Dorrian, Jane
Early Years Wales (In Press)