Dr Sabina Savadova

Thesis title: Living Journals: Young children and digital media practices in Azerbaijani families

Biography

Background

My PhD study explored the role of digital media in young children's everyday lives and its influences on family dynamics in a domestic environment in Azerbaijan, my home country. My PhD study was funded by the University of Edinburgh, through College Research Student Award Scheme. 

I hold Master's degree from the University of Ruse in Bulgaria, and the University of Regensburg in Germany with distinction. My BA in English philology is from the Azerbaijan University of Languages in Azerbaijan with distinction. 

Prior to starting this PhD programme, I have worked as a research assistant and head adviser in the Ministry of Education in Azerbaijan. I was also involved in teaching English to adults in different organizations in Baku, alongside with teaching Azerbaijani to American volunteers in Peace Corps/Azerbaijan for two terms. Currently, I am also working as a research assistant at Edinburgh College of Art, and as a master dissertation supervisor at Moray House School of Education and Sport, the University of Edinburgh.

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 - Azerbaijan University of Languages (Hons), Azerbaijan

Undergraduate teaching

Undergraduate Dissertation Supervisor - BA in Childhood Practice, MHSES - October 2020 - April 2021

Master Dissertation Supervisor - MSc Education, MHSES - February, 2018 - present

Postgraduate teaching

Teaching Assistant for the following courses:

Integrated Working in Children's Services, BA in Childhood Practice, MHSES, September, 2021 - present

Children, Education and Social Justice, BA in Childhood Practice, MHSES - September, 2021 - present

 

 

Current research interests

My research interest includes young children and digital technologies, the impact of digital technologies on a family environment, play and technology, children's learning with technology, and interpretative phenomenology analysis. 

Affiliated research centres

Current project grants

Graduate 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. 2019 - 2020. Sum awarded $ 4992.

Past project grants

My PhD study is funded by the College Research Award of the University of Edinburgh - £54600
Erasmus Mundus Programme - €20000

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

Papers delivered

2021:

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

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

2020:

Living journals: Families interpreting their young children's everyday lives in Azerbaijan, Paper presentation in the AERA annual meeting, 17-21 April 2020, San Francisco (Funded by the MH graduate school) (the conference postponed due to Covid-19)

2019:

Creating living journals for young children in Azerbaijan, Pecha Kucha presentation at the SERA conference, 20 – 22 November 2019, the University of Edinburgh (Funded by the SERA conference support fund).

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

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

Affects and Emotions in Research, Poster presented at Interweaving Conference, 10-11 October 2019, University of Edinburgh

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

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

CollaboratED: Collaborative Learning in a Shared Studio Environment, Poster presented at the Learning and Teaching Conference, 29 June 2019, University of Edinburgh.

 

Journal articles: 

A living journals approach for the remote study of young children’s digital practices in Azerbaijan, Global Studies of Childhood https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20436106211034179

Conference Proceedings:

Understanding the Role of Digital Technologies in the Transitions of Refugee Families with Young Children into A New Culture: A Case Study of Scotland, Interaction Design and Children (IDC) Conference (with Valentina Andries) https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3459990.3465185 

Living Journals: Families interpreting young children's everyday lives in Azerbaijan, American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference, 2020 (with Lydia Plowman)

Collaborative Learning in a Shared Studio Environment for Digital Media Design Students – International Conference on design & digital communication, 15 – 16 November 2019, Barcelos, Portugal (with Denitsa Petrova and Eli Appleby-Donald)

Book Chapters: 

Collaborative Learning in a Shared Digital Studio, in Martins N., Brandão D., Raposo D. (eds) Perspectives on Design and Digital Communication. Springer Series in Design and Innovation, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49647-0_12  (with Denitsa Petrova)

 

 

 

 

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