Jesus College News 2022

Advancing Research in Early Childhood
Education and Care
Lydia L.S. Chan, (2005, DPhil) Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education
A new Junior Research Fellowship focused on early childhood education and care
(ECEC) has been established by Oxford University’s Department of Education in
collaboration with Jesus College. Made possible by a generous gift from alumna
Dr Lydia L.S. Chan (2005, DPhil), the Sylva-Chan Junior Research Fellowship
ensures continued momentum for research in this important field.
Dr Lydia L.S. Chan.
Lydia L.S. Chan came up to Jesus
in 2005 to read for a DPhil in
the Department of Education,
supervised by Professor Kathy
Sylva, Emeritus Fellow and
Professor of Educational Psychology,
Department of Education. Now
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
of the non-profit Yew Chung
Education Foundation (YCEF)
and Member of the Board of
Governors and Chairlady of the
Council of the Yew Chung College
of Early Childhood Education
(YCCECE) in Hong Kong, Lydia’s
interest in progressive education
was piqued initially by her paternal
grandmother, Madam Chan-Tsang
Chor Hang. Madam Chan-Tsang
founded the first Yew
Chung School in Hong
Kong in 1932, later passing
the baton to her eldest
daughter (Lydia’s aunt),
Dr Betty Chan Po-king,
in the 1970s.
The YCEF philanthropically
operates a wide
spectrum of education
provision from “Babies
to Bachelor Degrees”,
spanning Early Childhood,
Primary, Secondary, and
Tertiary education. The
Yew Chung International
Schools and Kindergartens
are well-known for their
pioneering bilingual
(Chinese and English) and
co‐cultural (Eastern and
Western) programmes, catering
for children as young as six months
old. The YCCECE, which is the
first and only Higher Education
Institution specialising in the Early
Years in Hong Kong, also made
history as the first private nonprofit
organisation to train teachers
and child care practitioners. Apart
from its pre-service and in-service
programmes, YCCECE is active in
research and community projects,
most notably through its flagship
Pamela Peck Discovery Space – an
innovative learning-through-play
centre designed for children from
birth to age eight.
Lydia has maintained strong ties
with Oxford and Jesus College,
emphasising that her years as a
DPhil student and post-doc taught
her everything she knows about
research, as well as giving her a
deep appreciation for the art and
science of education. But it is the
important skills of leadership and
mentoring which she attributes
directly to observing Kathy Sylva,
the Convenor of the then Families,
Early Learning & Literacy (FELL)
Research Group at Oxford, that
had the greatest impact on Lydia.
According to Lydia, it was Kathy’s
ability to spot and quietly nurture
young talent that set her apart
from others in the field. It is fitting
therefore that the establishment of
the new Sylva-Chan Junior Research
Fellowship acknowledges the
important contribution that Kathy
Sylva has made in informing policy
and practice in the UK and beyond,
Professor Kathy Sylva, Emeritus Fellow
and Professor of Educational Psychology,
Department of Education.
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