Scientific Committee

Dr. Derwin Chan is an applied social psychologist with diverse research interests in the areas of health education, sport and exercise science, and behavioural medicine. He is an Associate Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Early Childhood Education at the Education University of Hong Kong. He is appointed as the Editor-in-Chief in Stress and Health, Executive Editor in Health Psychology Bulletin, and editorial board member in 6 scholarly journals.

Dr. Carrey Siu Tik-Sze is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Early Childhood Education at The EdUHK. She is interested in social-cognitive and social-emotional development in infants/toddlers and preschoolers. She studies how early experiences in familial and early childhood settings affect children’s social understanding and behaviour. She is working on projects related to infant-toddler pedagogy in Hong Kong and across cultures. She is also interested in young children’s early sensitivity to music and studies their social responses during music-making.

Dr. Alberto Cabedo Mas is an Associate Professor in the Music Education Department of the University Jaume I in Castellón, Spain. He is the author of several books and has published scientific articles in journals indexed in major international databases. He has conducted research stays and taught at various universities in Spain, the United Kingdom, Nicaragua, Singapore, Sweden and Australia. He has been principal investigator and participated in numerous national and international research projects

Dr. Alex Viegut is an educational psychologist whose research focuses on cognitive development, especially in mathematics. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, where she teaches classes in educational and developmental psychology. Her current projects focus on measuring and supporting students' understanding of fractions and algebra, using an interdisciplinary approach. Her research also investigates how visual models and instructional moves influence learning in mathematics.

Dr. Ana Clara Ventura is a Researcher at CONICET (National Council of Scientific and Technological Research, Argentina). She teaches Developmental Psychology at National University of Comahue and she serves as Associate Editor in the Journal for the Study of Education and Development / Infancia y Aprendizaje. Her studies focus on authentic familial and scholar practices that support children’s cognitive and socioemotional development. She currently investigates metacognition, self-regulation, and emotion regulation in preschoolers and first graders in writing and number domains.

Dr. Angie Crawford is a Research Scholar at Boise State University with expertise in mathematics instruction, learning trajectories, and measure validity. She uses primarily qualitative methods and embodied learning and socio-cognitive perspectives, and she is particularly interested in work at the intersection of three areas: 1) mathematical cognition and reasoning of neurodivergent students, 2) assessment of understanding and reasoning, and 3) responsive implementation of asset-based instruction. 

Dr. Andrea Khalfaoui holds a Ph.D. in Education at the University of Deusto. She is currently a teacher at the University of the Basque Country, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Edinburgh. Her work focuses on the improvement of coexistence in multicultural contexts, learning, and development in early childhood education and the promotion of vulnerable groups. She has participated in different RTD competitive projects focused on developing interactive learning environments for academic and social success. 

Dr. Bonnie Yim is an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean (International & Engagement) of the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University. Bonnie’s research interests include teacher education, child development, curriculum development and evaluation, cross-cultural studies, and engagement in learning. She undertakes research that focuses on positive outcomes of learners in the Asia-Pacific region through collaborative partnerships with Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and philanthropic organisations. She also serves on the Editorial Board for premier scholarly journals and has participated in high-level international meetings and has undertaken consultancies for international organisations. Her research is framed by mixed-method analysis, teacher professionalism, and sociocultural theories. Bonnie has been conducting joint-research with the University of South Australia, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Yew Chung Education Foundation in Hong Kong, and NTUC First Campus in Singapore. She is also an early years consultant in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, China (including Hong Kong), Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. 

Dr. Chen Cheng is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Social Science at HKUST. She studies cognitive development. She is interested in understanding the foundation of human knowledge through the examination of object representation, supported by lower-level (e.g., working memory) and higher-level (e.g., mathematical learning, logical reasoning) cognitive processes.   

Dr. Dan Liu is a postdoctoral scholar at the Florida State University in the United States. Her research explores the importance of individual and environmental factors to the overall development of children and adolescents. Her current research focuses on understanding academic functioning, neurocognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral development in children with a rare genetic disease (i.e., neurofibromatosis type 1 or NF1). She has also established research in examining the role of sleep, self-control, family processes, and neighborhood factors in youth academic performance, internalizing problems, and deviance.

Dr. David Munez is a Research Scientist at the Center for Research in Child Development, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He received his Ph.D. (European Doctorate Mention) from University of Salamanca in 2011. He was a recipient of the University of Salamanca Extraordinary Awards for Doctoral Dissertations in 2012. His research interests include the development of early numeracy skills and the role of environmental factors on such development. His research is at the intersection of cognitive science and education, but also draws on developmental psychology. He has conducted research with children and adults and has extensive experience conducting longitudinal research. 

Dr. David Ng is Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Academic at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University Singapore. He provides overall leadership, management and improvement in academic, student, and programs quality. He also leads in the planning, review and effective implementation of the Strategic Planning Academic Quality’s initiatives, research and evaluation studies that guide future strategic directions of the institute. 

Dr. Elisa Delvecchio, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Psychology at the Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education at the University of Perugia (Italy).  

She is the coordinator of the “Psychology and Cultures Lab” at the International Human-being Research Centre (IHRC). She has authored or co-authored more than 70 articles in international peer-reviewed scientific journals. She is involved as coordinator/researcher in EU and national projects aimed to promote well-being and inclusion of vulnerable groups. She is the representative for the University of Perugia for the national Network “University for Peace”. 

Dr. Hannah is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Assumption University. She is also a senior research fellow at the AIMS Center for Math and Science, a non-profit center focused on increasing access to STEM.  Her research considers multiple facets of STEM education across PreK-12 contexts, including students and the systems they use in learning as well as teachers and how they are supported to effectively implement STEM activities in their classrooms.

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Dr. Jin Sun is Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Macau. Her research focuses on early mathematics learning and education, early development of self-regulation and executive function, the socioeconomic gradients in early development, Chinese socialization, and early childhood educators’ wellbeing. She is an associate editor of Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Frontiers in Psychology, and Journal for the Study of Education and Development and on the editorial board of Scientific Reports. 

Dr. Julia Lo is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Special Education and Counselling, the Education University of Hong Kong. She is also the Programme Leader of the Master of Arts in Educational Counselling. Julia is a registered social worker in Hong Kong. She is also a fellow of the Asian Academy of Family Therapy.  Her research focuses on the use of family-based intervention, such as family therapy and Multiple Family Therapy, in helping Chinese families of children and adolescents with special education needs. 

Dr. Maire Tuul has worked in the field of early childhood education as a teacher, head teacher and lecturer for a total of more than 30 years. Her main research areas are STEAM-education, curriculum development and different pedagogical approaches. She has participated in more than 30 national or international projects, has been head of curricula of early childhood education (BA and MA) at Tallinn University and is a member of European Early Childhood Education Research Association and Association for Childhood Education International.

Dr. Mary DePascale is a postdoctoral research fellow in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology at Boston College. Her research focuses on math cognition and development in early childhood. Specifically, she examines the role of caregiver-child interactions and playful and informal learning opportunities in development and the role of individual, family, and contextual factors for mathematical learning and problem solving in early childhood.

Dr. Min Lan is a research expert in the field of information technologies in education. His research focuses on online self-regulated learning, engagement analysis, and online instructional design from a regulatory perspective. Dr. Lan's interests also include digital literacy, digital resilience, and anti-cyberbullying. His work aims to enhance online learning experiences by understanding self-regulation and designing effective instructional strategies. 

Dr. Minyi Li is an Associate Professor at Beijing Normal University and a guest researcher at Peking University's Data Center of Management Science. She also serves as a Co-Associate Editor for the Journal of Research in Childhood Education and the Associate Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Bio-Education. With a focus on early childhood education, her research encompasses areas such as national development strategies, continuing professional development for early childhood educators, and early childhood curriculum and pedagogy for sustainability education. 

Dr. Nicola Abbott is an Assistant Professor in Social Psychology at UCL Faculty of Education and Society, Institute of Education. Her research focuses on when, and how, peer bystanders can reduce bullying in schools. She is particularly interested in bias-based bullying, which refers to bullying that is directed towards an individuals' social identity (e.g., race/ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexuality etc.). More broadly, she is interested in group processes and group-based behaviours such as prejudice, discrimination and intergroup contact, and cross-group friendships.

Dr. Qianqian Pan is an Education Research Scientist at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, USA, and completed her post-doctoral training at the University of Hong Kong. Her expertise lies in psychometrics and advanced statistical methodology, with a particular emphasis on multilevel models (including growth models) and diagnostic classification models. Her research is primarily dedicated to the study of children's development and learning in the digital age. 

Dr. Qianru Liang is an Assistant Professor at Guangdong Institute of Smart Education, Jinan University. She obtained her Ph.D. and post-doctoral training from The University of Hong Kong. Her research mainly focuses on (a) 21st century skills, especially on students’ digital literacy development, and (b) educational measurement and assessment, especially on cognitive diagnosis models, item response theory models, latent variable models, and their applications to psychological/educational research. She has published papers in top journals and international conferences, and published research reports. 

Dr. Susana Mendive Criado is an Associate Professor at the School of Education, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She studied educational psychology and holds a doctorate in psychology. Her expertise lies in the field of early communication, language, and literacy development. As an educator, she focuses on training pre- and in-service preschool teachers, equipping them with the skills necessary to support children's language and literacy growth. Dr. Mendive Criado is dedicated to bridging the gap in language and early literacy development among children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Additionally, she contributes to the academic community as an associate editor in JSED and a consulting board member for Reading Research Quarterly.

Dr. Suzannie K. Y. Leung is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She has an interdisciplinary background in visual arts, psychology, and early childhood education. She is a registered kindergarten teacher and a qualified kindergarten principal. Her academic works explore multidisciplinary and integrative approaches in Hong Kong education settings, and her works have been published in several overseas academic journals. 

Dr. Wei Jun is currently an assistant professor and PhD supervisor of Institute of Education, Tsinghua University. He received PhD degree in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research mainly concerns how socialization processes (e.g., parenting and teaching practices) and personal attributes (e.g., self-concept, self-worth, and self-regulation) influence youth’s academic and emotional functioning. He serves as an editorial board member of SSCI journal International Journal of Educational Research and ad hoc reviewers of international and domestic top-tier academic journals.

Dr Xiang Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Before joining PolyU, she worked as a Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Dr Li has strong research and professional interest in child development, antisocial behavior, and assessment. She published in many high-tier journals, such as Psychological Assessment, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and Development and Psychopathology. She also has obtained more than HK$3,000,000 funding from many competitive grants (e.g., ECS, GRF) as a PI over the past few years.   

Prof. Yaoying Xu is a Professor in Early Childhood Special Education of the Counselling and Special Education Department at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research focuses on social aspects of children with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and how social interaction affects children’s academic performance. Additionally, she intends to investigate children’s social skills as mediators and home language as moderators in young dual language learners’ language and literacy skills. Prof. Xu has been a Principal Investigator of numerous federally funded grant projects generating over $15 million. In addition, she was the principal investigator leading Virginia’s first unified Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) project. Prof. Xu has published over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in addition to over 200 presentations at national and international professional conferences. 

Dr. Yuwei Xu is an Associate Professor and MA Education course leader at the University of Nottingham, UK. His research interests include gender and men’s participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC), child agency, 0-3 curriculum, child-centred pedagogy, parenting and family relationships, play-based pedagogy, and teacher professional development. Yuwei is co-editor-in-chief for British Educational Research Journal (BERJ), Children & Society, and Pedagogy, Culture & Society; editor for Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice; and editorial board member for Early Years. He is also a council member of the British Educational Research Association, and an executive committee member for the Gender and Education Association and The Education and Development Forum (UKFIET).