Dr Emma Cooke
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Child Health Research Centre
Postdoctoral Research Fellow/Research Officer
Queensland Brain Institute
Researcher biography
Dr Emma Cooke is a sociologist and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland working in the Child Development, Education and Care Research Group at the Queensland Brain Institute and the Kids Sleep Research Group at the Child Health Research Centre. Dr Cooke works with interdisciplinary teams to research the lived experiences of children, families, educators, and clinicians – focusing on sleep, gender, disability, healthcare, and inequality.
As the qualitative research lead in the Kids Sleep Research Group, Dr Cooke facilitates research training and support, and collaborates with clinicians, students, and researchers to conduct qualitative research. She also has expertise in DRAWing (Departing Radically in Academic Writing) and knowledge translation. Dr Cooke is currently working on research projects investigating young children's understandings of gender; families' experiences of having a child or sibling with Down syndrome and sleep difficulties; and clinicians' experiences of explaining prenatal screening and delivering genetic syndrome diagnoses.
In her PhD thesis, Dr Cooke utilised a crystallization methodological framework to gain multifaceted insights into children's rights, early childhood discourses, and children's relaxation and unrestful experiences in Early Childhood Education and Care. She has extensive experience interviewing children and adults across a range of contexts, and uses different qualitative analysis methodologies, including thematic analysis, discourse analysis, and creative analytical practices. An active member of the DRAW Group, Dr Cooke's recent academic work is written creatively to have an emotional as well as intellectual impact.
Publications
Book Chapters
Cooke, Emma, Coles, Laetitia, Thorpe, Karen and Houen, Sandy (2024). Crystallising the everyday emotional work of women working in childcare during Covid-19. Departing radically in academic writing: alternative approaches to writing and methods in qualitative research. (pp. 15-25) edited by Elizabeth Mackinlay and Karen Madden. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003360766-2
Coles, Laetitia, Cooke, Emma and Chawla, Jasneek (2023). Confronting meanings of motherhood in neoliberal Australia: six crystallised case studies. Biographical Research and the Meanings of Mothering. (pp. 158-193) edited by Lyudmila Nurse, Lisa Moran and Kateřina Sidiropulu-Janků. Bristol, United Kingdom: Policy Press. doi: 10.56687/9781447365648-013
Allotta, Elizabeth, Andriani, Dewi, Cooke, Emma, Doherty, Eloise, Green, Mel, Madden, Karen, Mickelburgh, Renee, Musofer, Muhammad Ali, Ream, Rebecca, Vayada, Preeti and Mackinlay, Elizabeth (2022). 100 words exactly: the art of thesis drabbling. Doing Rebellious Research In and beyond the Academy. (pp. 168-187) edited by Pamela Burnard, Elizabeth Mackinlay, David Rousell and Tatjana Dragovic. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004516069_014
Allotta, Elizabeth, Doherty, Eloise, Andriani, Dewi, Burke, Kathy, Cooke, Emma, Evans, Bonnie, Green, Mel, Madden, Karen, Mickelburgh, Renee, Musofer, Muhammad Ali, Vayada, Preeti, Mackinlay, Elizabeth and Wyatt, Jonathan (2022). The affect of writing to it: a collaborative response to encountering Deleuze and Guattari for the first time. Doing Rebellious Research In and beyond the Academy. (pp. 188-207) edited by Pamela Burnard, Elizabeth Mackinlay, David Rousell and Tatjana Dragovic. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004516069_015
Cooke, Emma (2022). Playfully rethinking the pandemic’s pivot imperative: an early childhood researcher’s reflections. Massive/micro autoethnography: creative learning in COVID times. (pp. 155-169) edited by Daniel X. Harris, Mary Elizabeth Luka and Annette N. Markham. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-8305-3_10
Cooke, Emma, Brady, Michelle, Alipio, Cheryll and Cook, Kay (2018). Researching the experiences of young children using graphic elicitation: A case study of the use of drawing diaries in semi-structured interviews. SAGE Research Methods Cases Part 2. (pp. 1-19) London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.4135/9781526439208
Journal Articles
Cooke, Emma, Smith, Caitlin, Miguel, Maria Carmen, Staton, Sally, Thorpe, Karen and Chawla, Jasneek (2023). Siblings’ experiences of sleep disruption in families with a child with Down syndrome. Sleep Health. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.10.002
Searle, Bonnie, Cooke, Emma, Staton, Sally and Thorpe, Karen (2023). Poverty for lunch: a case study of agency and food scarcity in mealtimes in disadvantaged ECE. Children & Society: the international journal of childhood and children's. doi: 10.1111/chso.12782
Cooke, Emma, Zheng, Zhaoxi, Houen, Sandy, Thorpe, Karen, Clarke, Andrew, Oakes, Candice and Staton, Sally (2023). Discursive tensions: Outcomes and rights in educators’ accounts of children’s relaxation. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 24 (1), 70-81. doi: 10.1177/1463949120983480
Cooke, Emma, Coles, Laetitia, Staton, Sally, Thorpe, Karen and Chawla, Jasneek (2023). Communicating the complex lives of families that include a child with Down syndrome. Health Sociology Review, 32 (1), 19-41. doi: 10.1080/14461242.2022.2161405
Chawla, Jasneek K., Cooke, Emma, Miguel, Maria Carmen, Burgess, Scott and Staton, Sally (2022). Parents’ Experiences of Having a Child with Down Syndrome and Sleep Difficulties. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 21 (5), 1-15. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2022.2143359
Cooke, Emma, Coles, Laetitia, Clarke, Andrew, Thorpe, Karen and Staton, Sally (2022). Discarded data: an Ahmedian engagement with young children’s gendered accounts of violence and power. Gender and Education, 34 (7), 787-803. doi: 10.1080/09540253.2022.2078795
Gehret, Hannah, Cooke, Emma, Staton, Sally, Irvine, Susan and Thorpe, Karen (2021). Three things I learn at sleep-time: children’s accounts of sleep and rest in their early childhood education programs. Early Years, 41 (5), 556-573. doi: 10.1080/09575146.2019.1634010
Oakes, Candice, Staton, Sally, Houen, Sandra, Cooke, Emma, Pattinson, Cassandra, Teo, Sue-Lynn and Thorpe, Karen (2020). Correction to: “Did my child sleep today?”: communication between parents and educators in early childhood education and care settings (Child & Youth Care Forum, (2019), 10.1007/s10566-019-09527-3). Child and Youth Care Forum, 49 (2), 285-286. doi: 10.1007/s10566-019-09531-7
Cooke, Emma, Thorpe, Karen, Clarke, Andrew, Houen, Sandy, Oakes, Candice and Staton, Sally (2020). “Lie in the grass, the soft grass”: Relaxation accounts of young children attending childcare. Children and Youth Services Review, 109 104722, 104722. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104722
Oakes, Candice, Staton, Sally, Houen, Sandra, Cooke, Emma, Pattinson, Cassandra, Teo, Sue-Lynn and Thorpe, Karen (2019). “Did my child sleep today?”: communication between parents and educators in early childhood education and care settings. Child & Youth Care Forum, 49 (2), 265-283. doi: 10.1007/s10566-019-09527-3
Marston, Greg, Zhang, Juan, Peterie, Michelle, Ramia, Gaby, Patulny, Roger and Cooke, Emma (2019). To move or not to move: mobility decision-making in the context of welfare conditionality and paid employment. Mobilities, 14 (5), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/17450101.2019.1611016
Cooke, Emma, Brady, Michelle, Alipio, Cheryll and Cook, Kay (2019). Autonomy, fairness and active relationships: children’s experiences of well-being in childcare. Children and Society, 33 (1), 24-38. doi: 10.1111/chso.12294
Conference Papers
Searle, Bonnie, Cooke, Emma, Staton, Sally and Thorpe, Karen (2023). A case study of agency and food scarcity in mealtimes in disadvantaged ECEC. 31st EECERA Conference, Estoril, Portugal, 30 August – 2 September 2023.
Cooke, Emma, Coles, Laetitia, Clarke, A., Thorpe, Karen and Staton, Sally (2023). A performance of discarded data: an Ahmedian engagement with young children’s gendered accounts of violence and power. 31st EECERA Conference, Estoril, Portugal, 30 August – 2 September 2023.
Staton, S., Houen, S., Rankin, P., Cooke, E., Zheng, Z. and Thorpe, K. (2022). The when, what, and how of observing practice in Early Childhood Education and Care: development of the Assisting Observations Toolkit for Authorised Officers. AARE2022, Adelaide, SA Australia, 27 November - 1 December 2022.
Cooke, E. (2022). Families’ Experiences of Having a Child/Sibling with Down Syndrome and Sleep Difficulties. Sleep DownUnder 2022 - 33rd annual scientific meeting of Australasian Sleep Association, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 8-11 November 2022. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpac029.037
Miguel, M., Cooke, E. and Chawla, J. (2021). Parents’ experiences of having a child with Down Syndrome and sleep difficulties. Sleep DownUnder 2021 - 32nd annual scientific meeting of Australasian Sleep Association, Online, 10-13 October 2021. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpab014.016
Cooke, Emma, Houen, Sandy, Zheng, Zhaoxi and Staton, Sally (2020). The importance of understanding children’s perspectives: research with children. Paediatric Sleep Medicine Research Group (PSMRG) Research Mentorship Program Clinical Nurses Introduction Day, Queensland Children's Hospital, 19 October 2020.
Cooke, Emma (2020). Playfully rethinking the pandemic’s pivot imperative. Departing Radically in Academic Writing (DRAW)ing, our zeal, Virtual, 7-10 July 2020.
Staton, S., Rankin, P., Thorpe, K., Oakes, C., Houen, S., Cooke, E. and Smith, S. (2019). Improving sleep health in early childhood: pilot rct of an educator professional development program to improve sleep practices in childcare services. World Sleep 2019, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 20-25 September 2019. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2019.11.1013
Oakes, C., Staton, S., Houen, S., Cooke, E., Pattinson, C., Teo, S.-L. and Thorpe, K. (2019). “Did my child sleep today?”: communication between parents and educators in childcare settings. 15th World Sleep Congress, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 20-25 September 2019. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2019.11.1070
Cooke, Emma, Thorpe, Karen, Clarke, Andrew, Houen, Sandy, Oakes, Candice and Staton, Sally (2019). “I like relaxing on the trees when the leaves are falling”: children’s experiences of relaxation in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). International Society for Child Indicators, Tartu, Estonia, 27-29 August 2019.
Cooke, Emma (2019). Children’s experiences of relaxation and spiritual well-being in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Emerging Scholars Workshop at the International Society for Child Indicators conference, Tartu, Estonia, 26 August 2019.
Cooke, Emma, Thorpe, Karen, Clarke, Andrew, Houen, Sandy, Oakes, Candice and Staton, Sally (2019). Stress and relaxation in early childhood education and care: Experiences of relaxation: the voices of young children in early education and care. Australian Association for Research in Education, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 2-5 December 2019.
Houen, Sandy, Cooke, Emma, Kraemer, E., Oakes, Candice, Thorpe, Karen and Staton, Sally (2019). Experiences of relaxation: the voices of early childhood education and care educators. Australian Association for Research in Education, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 2-5 December 2019.
Cooke, Emma, Houen, Sandy, Thorpe, Karen, Oakes, Candice and Staton, Sally (2019). Methodological observations on the secret life of children's play: children's subversive behaviour during mandated sleep times in prior to school classrooms. EECERA Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece, 20-23 August 2019.
Oakes, Candice, Staton, Sally, Houen, Sandy and Cooke, Emma (2019). "Did my child sleep today?": communication between parents and educators in childcare settings. World Sleep Conference, Vanouver, BC, Canada, 21-25 September 2019.
Cooke, Emma (2018). 'Play outside with no one': engaging with children to understand their experiences and protect their rights to relaxation in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). HDR Scholar Masterclass facilitated by Professor Phil Scraton, Sydney, NSW Australia, 4 December 2018.
Cooke, Emma, Brady, Michelle, Alipio, Cheryll and Cook, Kay (2018). Police and nurses’ children’s experiences of wellbeing in their childcare arrangements. Addressing Childcare Flexibility Symposium, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 19 November 2018.
Cooke, Emma (2018). 'Lie in the grass, the soft grass': children’s experiences of relaxation in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The School of Social Science Postgraduate Conference , Brisbane, QLD Australia, 2 November 2018.
Cooke, Emma, Cook, Kay and Brady, Michelle (2018). Power dynamics at play in graphic elicitation interviews with children. International Sociological Association (ISA) World Congress, Toronto, Canada, 15-21 July 2018.
Cooke, Emma (2017). The need for a mentoring program in the Bachelor of Arts Honours year. Bachelor of Arts Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 25-26 September 2017.
Cooke, Emma, Brady, Michelle, Cook, Kay and Alipio, Cheryll (2016). Children of nurse and police shift workers’ perspectives on their care. The Australian Sociological Association, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 28 November-1 December 2016.
Thesis
Cooke, Emma (2021). Relaxation and unrest: a crystallization of children’s experiences in early childhood education and care. PhD Thesis, Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/e3db069
Video Document
Research Reports
Cooke, Emma, Anderson, Mark, Langdon, Grace, Feltham, Madeline, Staton, Sally, Coles, Laetitia, Thorpe, Karen and Chawla, Jasneek (2023). Clinicians’ experiences of explaining prenatal screening and delivering genetic syndrome diagnoses. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Down Syndrome Queensland.
Staton, Sally, Pattinson, Cassandra, Houen, Sandy, Coles, Laetitia, Westwood, Emily, Cooke, Emma, Searle, Bonnie-Ria and Thorpe, Karen (2022). KindyLinQ Program Pilot: Pilot evaluation report and executive summary. Online: Evidence for Learning.
Staton, S., Thorpe, K., Smith, S.S., Irvine, S., Pattinson, C,, Rankin, P., Oakes, C., Teo, Y. and Cooke, E. (2017). Professional development package and resources for guiding sleep practices in early childhood education and care services in Queensland - Phase 2 Follow-up Final Report. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Department of Education, Queensland Government.
Newspaper Articles
Cooke, Emma (2022, 07 29). Discarded Data Sociology Lens
Cooke, Emma (2019, 09 16). Guest Post: A First-Time EECERA Conference Attendee’s Experience and Learnings European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) Blog
Cooke, Emma, Brady, Michelle, Alipio, Cheryll and Cook, Kay (2019, 01 14). Children’s experiences of childcare in Australia Sociology Lens
Cooke, Emma, Staton, Sally, Houen, Sandy, Thorpe, Karen and The Choosing Rest Research Team (2019, 01 01). What exactly is rest-time in childcare? Childmags.com.au
Cooke, Emma, Houen, Sandy, Staton, Sally, Thorpe, Karen and The Choosing Rest Research Team (2018, 01 01). “Get all cosy…. it’s like chill out”: children’s perspectives on relaxation in early childhood education and care Reflections Gowrie Australia Publication 1-2.
Generic Documents
Houen, Sandy, Cooke, Emma, Zheng, Zhaoxi, Nuttall, Gina, Thorpe, Karen and Staton, Sally (2021). Supporting educator relaxation in early childhood education and care. ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course.
Staton, S., Houen, S., Rankin, P., Beatton, T., Zheng, Z., Cooke, E., Irvine, S. and Thorpe, K. (2020). Observing ECEC quality: development of an observation strategy for authorised officers. Queensland Government, Department of Education.
Cooke, E., Staton, S., Houen, S. and Thorpe, K. (2019). Rest-times in childcare. Child Magazine.
Cooke, E., Houen, S., Staton, S., Thorpe, K. and The Choosing Rest Team (2019). “Getall cosy…. it’s like chill out”: children’s perspectives on relaxation. Cascades Magazine, Creche and Kindergarten Association (C&K).
O'Flaherty, M., Thorpe, K., Staton, S., Cooke, E. and Povey, J. (2019). National Community Awareness Raising (NCAR) evaluation interim report. Australian Government, Department of Social Services (DSS).
Staton, S., Thorpe, K., Smith, S.S., Pattinson, C., Irvine, S., Houen, S., Cooke, E., Oakes, C., Harding, M., Groth, K., Spall, P. and Evans, A. (2018). Choosing rest: finding effective alternatives to mandatory sleep times in early childhood education and care. Department of Education, Queensland Government.