Executive Board

Sachiko Kitano is a Professor of Early Childhood Care and Education in the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University. Her thesis on Professionalization of Early Childhood Education: the Works of Early American Kindergarten Professional Organizations” received Ph. D in education from Hiroshima University. She is interested in the professionalism in early childhood education and her most recent research interests are in the areas of the function of professional organizations, preparation and in-service training, action research in ECE, and policy. She is the chairperson of PCERA Japan and a member of the executive board of Japan Society of Research on ECCE, Japanese Society for the Education of Young Children, and etc.

Her recent publication in English are The praxis of local professional groups exploring alternatives for the banking concept of early childhood education in Japan (2020); The Benefits of Children’s Outdoor Free Play Activities: Examining Physical Activity in Japan (2017); Building Children’s Sense of Trustworthiness towards Empathy and Social Morality (2014); Promoting Action Research in Early Childhood Education (2012); Promoting Professionalism of Early Childhood Care and Education in Japan (2011); and Current Issues in Assessment in Early Childhood Care and Education in Japan (2011).

Prof. Soyoun Bae was re-elected as the President of PECERA at its Annual Conference in July 2021. She previously served as the President, Treasurer and the Secretary of PECERA between 2003 and 2021. Prof. Bae graduated from Ewha Women’s University in South Korea, majoring in early childhood education. She earned M.Ed. in early childhood education from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; and a Ph.D in education with a concentration in early childhood education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. She was a research assistant of Dr. Bernard Spodek while studying at the U of I; and a recipient of William Chandler Bagley Fellowship in 1988. Dr. Bae taught early childhood teacher candidates since 1989 both in Korea and in the USA. She was an Associate Professor of Child Study, Kyungwon University in Korea from 1990 to 2003; and Tenured Associate Professor of Teacher Education, Rowan University, New Jersey in the USA, from 2003 to 2013. While working at Rowan University, she was a coordinator of the Early Childhood Education Program. She was also a recipient of Wall of Fame, which is awarded by graduates of Rowan University, in every year from 2007 to 2013. Lately, she worked as Dean of Studies at Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education (YCCECE), HKSAR, China, and retired from teaching in August of 2020. Prior to her work with YCCECE, she worked in the Dept. of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, William Paterson University in New Jersey, USA. Currently, she is working as a researcher at the Virtual Works in Early Learning and Development, in Korea.

Dr. Worawan Hemchayart was the Founding President of the PECERA Thailand Chapter since 2008. Dr. Hemchayart is the Treasurer of PECERA at its annual conference in July 2021. She was elected as Head of Division of Early Childhood Education from 2007 to 2008. She is Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, where she has been teaching for 16 years. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Chulalongkorn University, and her doctorate from Teachers College, Nebraska University at Lincoln, USA. Dr. Hemchayart’s research and academic areas of interest are multicultural education, curriculum, teaching and teacher education in early childhood education. Her teaching courses are in both undergraduate and graduate levels; such as Methodology of Teaching at the Early Childhood Education Level, Learning Areas Integration for Young Children, Teaching and Developing Strategies for Early Childhood Professionals, and Practice and Research in Early Childhood Education. Furthermore, she works as a member of the dissertation proposal approval committees and as a member of the annual book contest approval committees. She is a guest speaker of the Local Administrative Organization and a peer reviewer of Journal Education Studies, of Online Journal of Education (OJET), and of Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education (APJRECE).

Dr. Jeehyun Lee was the former editor of the APJRECE from 2010 to 2016 and now is working as a co-editor. She previously served as an associate editor of the APJRECE from the year of 2006 when the PECERA had launched its journal, APJRECE, until the year of 2010. Dr. Jeehyun Lee is currently working as a Professor in the Dept. of Education, College of Education, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea, where she has been teaching for more than 20 years since 1997 in both undergraduate and graduate level. She graduated from Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, Korea. She received M.A. in early childhood education from Ewha Women’s University and her doctorate (Ed.D) with concentration of early childhood education from Boston University, USA. She was a recipient of Fulbright Graduate Study Award in 1989. Her academic interests are young children’s language & literacy, mathematics, curriculum & instruction, and early childhood teacher education. She has worked to improve quality of early childhood education in Korea serving as a member of many committees in Korea such as Child Care Policy Committee, Evaluation Committee of Kindergarten Specialized Program, Comprehensive Kindergarten Consulting Committee, etc. She also has served as an editorial board member of many journals of early childhood education in Korea.

Dr Lydia L.S. Chan is the Deputy CEO of the non-profit Yew Chung Education Foundation (YCEF), and Member of the Board of Governors and Chairperson of the Council of YCEF’s degree-awarding arm, the Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education (YCCECE). Apart from being an elected member of the PECERA International Council and Executive Board, she also serves as Vice President and Executive Council member of the PECERA Hong Kong Chapter. She was previously appointed Advisor (Professional) to the
Center for Childhood Research and Innovation at The Education University of Hong Kong, and remains a Hong Kong Representative on the China National Society of Early Childhood Education. She contributes to several academic journals, including the Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education (APJRECE) as an Associate Editor. In her early career, Dr Chan was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford’s Department of Education, where she had obtained her DPhil and MSc degrees, and also studied at the Saïd Business School on the Organizational Environment, Research Management, and the Practice of Social Science. She read Land Economy at the University of Cambridge as an undergraduate Cambridge Overseas Trust Honorary Scholar, and has a Graduate Diploma in Law.

Coming Soon

Dr Shirley Wyver chaired the PECERA International conference in Sydney,2015．She is a senior lecturer in early childhood at Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University and a member of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education (CRECE). University of Sydney awarded her the H. Tasman Lovell Memorial Medal for her doctoral thesis which focussed on pretend play and divergent thinking. Shirley’s main research is in the area of outdoor play and learning. She is interested in children’s play in nature and risky play, with consideration to cognitive, social and physical development. She also conducts research in the area of early bilingualism. She is an editorial board member for the Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education and for the Behavioral and Mental Health section of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Prof. Dr. Sofia Hartati is a Professor of Early Childhood Education at Universitas Negeri Jakarta (State University of Jakarta) and the Chairperson of the Indonesia Early Childhood Education Association (APG-PAUD Indonesia). She also serves as an assessor for the National Accreditation Agency for Higher Education in Indonesia and is an Executive Board member of PECERA (Pacific Early Childhood Education
Research Association) representing Indonesia. Her research focuses on social studies for early childhood and social development for children aged 0 to 8 years, as well as teacher professional development and curriculum in early childhood education. She has authored books and published various articles on early childhood education in Indonesia context.