Dr Angela Hodgkins

A photo of Angela

Senior Lecturer & Course Leader for BA (Hons) Integrated Working with Children and Families

Children and Families

Contact Details

email: a.hodgkins@worc.ac.uk
tel: 01905 855261

Angela started her professional career as an NNEB qualified nursery nurse, working in special schools and supporting children with special needs in mainstream provision. She has had a varied 20-year career in Early Years, including working as a nanny and a child-minder, as a nursery nurse in a Primary School, a Learning Support practitioner, a pre-school leader and manager of out of school provision.

She has also worked as an inclusion worker for a local SureStart programme and as a Development Officer for Children with Special Needs and Disabilities, where she advised Early Years settings on inclusion.

Angela is also a qualified counsellor and has worked at Victim Support, a GP surgery, and Childline Birmingham. Angela taught in F.E. Colleges for 12 years and spent 5 years as the Course Leader of the Foundation Degree in Early Years at Halesowen College before moving to UW in 2014, where she now leads the BA (Hons) Integrated Working with Children and Families.

Angela completed a PhD in 2023, in which she investigated the practice of empathy in the early years profession.

 

Qualifications

  • PhD in Education
  • MA in Education
  • BA (Open) Degree
  • NCFE Diploma in Counselling
  • PG Cert Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
  • Cert HE/FE
  • CACHE Advanced Diploma in Childcare and Education
  • NVQ3 Playwork
  • NNEB

Teaching & Research

Current teaching responsibilities

  • IWCF3003 Professional Practice and Inquiry
  • IWCF3005 Integrated Support for Families: policy, practice and leadership
  • FDEY2002 Social Policy

Research interests

  • Empathy and compassion
  • Reflective Practice
  • Strength-based practice
  • Practitioner Wellbeing

Professional Bodies

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Publications

Hodgkins, A., Malomo, M. and Solvason, C. (2024) Teaching Assistants, respected enough to teach, but not enough to be paid accordingly. International Journal of Changes in Education. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42024033

Hodgkins, A., Gossman, P., Paige, R. and Woolley, R. (2023), ‘We cry together every day’ - expressing emotion in early childhood empathy research’, Early Years, published online 27th October 2023.

Solvason, C., Allies, S., Hodgkins, A., Weston, R. and Malomo, M. (2023) ‘Occasionally there are moments of light’: the challenges of primary school teaching in England, and the factors that motivate teachers to stay in the profession, Education 3-13, https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2023.2287547

Hodgkins, A. and Boddey, J. (2023) Supporting parents with empathy and compassion, International journal of birth and parent education, 10 (2), pp. 29-33

Hodgkins, A. (2022), Exploring early childhood practitioners’ perceptions of empathy with children and families: initial findings, Educational Review https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2021.2023471

Hodgkins, A. (2022), Chapter 5: Empathy, Compassion and Emotion, In: Richards, H. and Malomo, M. (2022), Developing your professional identity: a guide for working with children and families, St Albans: Critical Publishing

In production:

Hodgkins, A. (2025) Nurturing Compassionate Connections: A Guide to Practitioner Empathy in the Early Years, London: Speechmark, Routledge.

Presentations

EECERA European Early Childhood Education Research Association Conference – Cascais, Portugal (September 2023) Chair of symposium, Presentation: ‘Exploring Early Childhood Practitioners’ perceptions of empathic interactions with children and families’

Early Childhood Studies Degree Network Research Conference (2022) ‘Preparing students for the emotion work of early childhood practice’

EECERA European Early Childhood Education Research Association – International online festival (August 2021). Chair of symposium ‘Workforce support and development’ Presentation – ‘Empathy and Compassion in the early years’

EECERA European Early Childhood Education Research Association Conference – Budapest (August 2018) “Advanced Empathy – a Risky Strength?”

“A Child’s World” Conference, University of Aberystwyth (July 2018) “Advanced Empathy in the Early Years”

External Roles

  • External Examiner for University of Chichester 2022-present
  • External Examiner for Wolverhampton University 2025-present