Dr. Marilyn Fleer

Biography

Marilyn Fleer holds a Foundation Chair in Early Childhood Education Development at Monash University and is a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellow. Her research focuses on early childhood science and engineering technologies, with particular attention to digital visual methodology framed by cultural-historical theory. The theme of her Laureate Fellowship, 'Imagination in Play: Imagination in STEM,' investigates how families and teachers create conditions for children’s conceptual thinking in play-based settings. In 2021, she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia in recognition of her lifetime contributions. In 2022, she was selected for the Victorian Honour Roll of Women for her outstanding work in shifting the understanding of how young children think and learn, especially regarding girls. Fleer has held honorary positions at the University of Oxford and the University of Western Norway, among others, and has published widely in international journals such as Mind, Culture, and Activity; Research in Science Education; and Learning, Culture and Social Interaction. She founded the International Journal of Research in Early Childhood, which supports scholarship in early childhood education research. Her recent publications include contributions to comprehensive handbooks on early childhood education and examination of digital play in child development.

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Experience

Awards