Dr Lorna Arnott
Reader
Strathclyde Institute of Education
Personal statement
Lorna Arnott is a Reader in the Strathclyde Institute of Education, specialising in Early Childhood Lived Experiences and Play. She previously did a term as Director for Early Years within the Institute.
The majority of her work focuses on children's exepriences before the age of five and therefore much of her research and teaching focuses on nursery provision.
Lorna completed her Ph.D at the School of Education, University of Stirling in 2011, focusing on young children’s social interactions around technologies in preschool.
Internationally, Lorna is the founder and co-convener for the European Early Childhood Educational Research Association (EECERA) Digital Childhoods, Multimodality and STEM Special Interest Group. She is also Deputy Editor for the International Journal of Early Years Education and an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Early Childhood Research.
Lorna is the Editor of Digital Technology and Learning in the Early Years, SAGE, Co-Editor of Research Through Play: Participatory Methods in Early Childhood and Co-Editor of The Theory and Practice of Voice in Early Childhood: An International Exploration.
Prize And Awards
- Nomination: Best EdTech Paper presented at BERA Conference
- Recipient
- 2023
- Nominated for a HASS Teaching Excellence Award, for Early Years team working on the BA Childhood Practice Programme (Education) (2022)
- Recipient
- 2022
- Nomination: Strathclyde Medal (BACP Team)
- Recipient
- 2022
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Recipient
- 2013
Publications
- Parental attitudes and digital parenting in the early years : development and validation of the PADTS scale
- McLaughlin Katrina, Bunting Lisa, Connolly Paul, Winter Karen, Flewitt Rosie, El Gemayel Sandra, Arnott Lorna, Dalziell Andrea, Gillen Julia, Goodall Janet, Liu Min-Chen, Savadova Sabina, Timmins Sarah
- Child: Care, Health and Development Vol 52 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.70199
- Parental mediation of very young children's early experiences with digital media at home
- Goodall Janet, Flewitt Rosie, Gemayel Sandra El, Arnott Lorna, Dalziell Andy, Gillen Julia, Savadova Sabina, Timmins Sarah, Liu Min-Chen, Winter Karen
- Educational Review, pp. 1-26 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2025.2579531
- The rights of very young children in the digital environment of the family home : findings from a UK survey of children 0–36 months and their parents
- Winter Karen, Flewitt Rosie, El Gemayel Sandra, Bunting Lisa, Arnott Lorna, Connolly Paul, Dalziell Andrew, Gillen Julia, Goodall Janet, Liu Min‐Chen, McLaughlin Katrina, Savadova Sabina, Timmins Sarah
- Children and Society Vol 39, pp. 995-1011 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12968
- Starting from pedagogy : supporting children’s ethical and playful involvement in early childhood research
- Arnott Lorna, Mevawalla Zinnia, Wall Kate
- International Journal of Early Years Education Vol 32, pp. 791-795 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2024.2440234
- Detective mystery play : play-based research methods for facilitating young children's critical thinking
- Martinez-lejarreta Loreain, Arnott Lorna, Wall Kate
- International Journal of Early Years Education Vol 32, pp. 871-884 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2024.2407471
- Participatory methods for understanding 0-3s' technology use in family homes
- Arnott Lorna, Mevawalla Zinnia
- Early Years Educator Vol 24, pp. 1-3 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.12968/eyed.2024.24.9.12
Teaching
Lorna’s teaching generally covers:
- Early Childhood Education, specifically focused on children's experiences and play.
- Qualitative research methods and those related to research with very young children.
Lorna most often teaches on the BA Childhood Practice, Master's of Education Early Years Pedagogue, PGDE Nursery and the BA Education Nursery.
Lorna is also interested in delivering research methods training, particularly in relation to qualitative approaches and contributes to both practice-based and academic research training.
Lorna currently supervises PGR students at Masters, PhD and Ed.D level.
Research Interests
Research Interests
Lorna’s research explores young children’s lived experiences and play, typically in relation to technology, creativity and social play for learning and development. Her work attempts to understand how the environments and culture, children's agency and the artefacts children use contribute to learning and development. She is interested in a broader definition of technology which moves beyond the computer towards exploring technological toys, both digital and non-screen based. Lorna has completed a wealth of research in early childhood settings but more recently have explored informal learning contexts, such as the family home.
Secondly, Lorna's other research focuses on innovative methods for consulting with children in early childhood (typically under 6 years old). She's interesting in voice work broadly with young children.
Lorna is currently Co-I and Scottish lead for an ESRC project, Toddlers, Tech and Talk.
Completed Students:
- Zainab Attar (Competed) - Innovative methods with young children and literacy. PhD.
- Loreain Martinez Lejarreta (completed) Developing young children's critical thinking skills through teacher-children interactions in Early Childhood Education and Care settings. PhD
- Marion Burns (Completed) Early education with a specific focus on transitions. Ed.D
- Jennifer Zike (Completed) Using Pupil Views Templates to investigate the development of thinking across children at point of school entry in Scotland. Ph.D
- Charlotte Allan (Completed) - Shared Experience: How attending Theatre for Early Years influences early attachment and bonding. MPhil.
Professional Activities
- University of Melbourne Melbourne Australia
- Visiting researcher
- 2/2027
- Pilot Workshop at a Primary School
- Recipient
- 19/3/2026
- Pilot Workshop at a Primary School
- Recipient
- 18/11/2025
- ARC Centre for Excellence for the Digital Child
- Visiting researcher
- 2024
- International Journal of Qualitative Methods (Journal)
- Guest editor
- 2024
- Participatory approaches and practitioner enquiry in early childhood
- Invited speaker
- 11/2023
Projects
- AI in Early Learning: Building Foundations for AI Literacy in Primary and Early Years Education
- Nikou, Stavros (Principal Investigator) Anderson, Damien (Research Co-investigator) Arnott, Lorna (Co-investigator) Roper, Marc (Academic)
- The project will explore pupils and teachers understanding and experiences with AI aiming to enhance their AI literacy levels and develop AI-focused curriculum resources.
- 30-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2025
- Toddlers, Tech and Talk
- Arnott, Lorna (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2028
- 0-3-year-old Children's language And Literacy Learning at Home in a Digital Age (0-3s, Tech and Talk)
- Arnott, Lorna (Principal Investigator)
- Full project FEC: £850,442, Funded Contribution £688,654); Strathclyde element £83,601.00.
- 06-Jan-2022 - 05-Jan-2024
- Early Years and Early Primary Science and Technology through Exploration
- Moore, Iain (Principal Investigator) Arnott, Lorna (Co-investigator) Gray, Laura (Co-investigator)
- A project looking to increase the confidence of early years and early level primary practitioners in the delivery of science.
- 01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2023
- Wee People, Big Feelings Research and KE Grant
- Wall, Kate (Co-investigator) Arnott, Lorna (Co-investigator)
- £6000 funding
- 01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2022
- Renfrewshire Council Research Academy for Teacher Practitioners
- Wall, Kate (Co-investigator) Arnott, Lorna (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2022
Contact
Dr
Lorna
Arnott
Reader
Strathclyde Institute of Education
Email: lorna.arnott@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 444 8109