Shipra Suneja
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Child development
- Care and inquiry perspectives in early childhood studies
- Curriculum in early years
- Ethnographic methods in studying childhoods in contexts
Biography
Shipra Suneja is Associate Professor at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India. She teaches courses in Early Childhood Care and Education and Child Development. Besides this, she has been involved in curriculum development and teacher education in ECCE with government and non-profit organisations. She completed her PhD from Delhi University studying children’s experiences of their ecology and construction of caring relationships with an especial focus on sibling relationships.
Her research interests include care and inquiry perspectives in early years education, Curriculum in early years and ethnographic methods in studying childhoods in contexts.
Courses
Childhoods in Contexts
Critically engage with multiple perspectives on children, childhoods and the diverse contexts (both Indian and global) in which children live
Field Research
Identify and investigate research questions grounded in education practice.
Child Development and Learning
Study how children learn and develop within school contexts.
Early Childhood Education: Policies, Principles and Practices
Early Childhood Education (ECE) is the teaching of children of ages up to eight years.
Curriculum and Pedagogy in Early Years II
A course to bring your knowledge of child development and curriculum studies to understand the linkages between theories of development, children’s developmental trajectory in early years and pedagogy with reference to early years of a child’s education.
Curriculum and Pedagogy in Early Years I
A course bringing knowledge of child development and curriculum studies to understand the linkages between theories of development, children’s developmental trajectory in early years and pedagogy with reference to early years of a child’s education.
Publications
Book chapters
- Suneja, S., & Sharma, B. (2017). Children finding their ways through life spaces: Glimpses from the Indian ecology. In N. Chaudhary, P. Hviid, G. Marsico, & J. W. Villadsen (Eds.), Resistance in everyday life: Constructing cultural experiences (pp. 65 – 77). Springer.
- Suneja, S., & Pandya, K. (2025). Play and early learning environment: Concept note. In J. Shastri & K. Pandya (Eds.), Play and early learning environment. Azim Premji University.
- Suneja, S., & Viruru, R. (2025). Postcolonial perspectives on gender and sexuality in young children. In J. Prioletta, A. Davies, & K. Smith (Eds.), The Bloomsbury handbook of gender and sexuality in early childhood (pp. 89 – 100). Bloomsbury Academic.
Journal paper
- Suneja, S., Chaudhary, N., & Sharma, B. (2015). Children as carers for their siblings in Indian families: Using dialogical self theory to examine children’s narratives. International Journal of Dialogical Sciences, 9(1), 97 – 114. https://ijds.lemoyne.edu/journal/9_1/pdf/IJDS.9.1.05.Suneja.pdf
Articles and other publications
- Dhankar, E., Lall, J., Suneja, S., & Puri, V. (n.d.). How Gramin Shiksha Kendra (GSK) works to develop functional competency in English. Learning Curve, Azim Premji University.
- Suneja, S. (2019, March 29). Community bonds crucial for retaining children in school. Teachers and Schools for Inclusive Society, Azim Premji University.
- Suneja, S., & Devi, R. (2019, December 6). Bringing Santhali traditions to mainstream schooling: Lessons from Lakshmi Murmu Smriti Vidyalaya. Teachers and Schools for Inclusive Society, Azim Premji University.
- Suneja, S., Gupta, R., & Devi, R. (2019, May 14). Safeguarding tribal languages: Lessons from Bhasha’s Adivasi Academy. Teachers and Schools for Inclusive Society, Azim Premji University.