Dr Laetitia Coles

Dr Laetitia Coles is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow within the Early Childhood Education and Care group, lead by Dr Sally Staton and Prof Karen Thorpe. Dr Coles is a mixed-methods researcher and has a strong commitment to research that helps improve understandings of gender, work, and care across two distinct settings: (1) within the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) setting; and (2) within the family. Across these two settings, Dr Coles’ research focuses on the ways in which gender, work and family policy, and work-place practices (a) underpin gendered labour supply within the ECEC setting, and (b) underpin and inform the decisions families make with regards to engagement in paid and unpaid labour. In her current post-doctoral role, Dr Coles works across several projects. Dr Coles currently coordinates an ARC-funded longitudinal study (the Sleep Transitions and Regularity study (STARs)) examining the factors that impact children’s sleep over time, and the ways in which these changes influence children’s ongoing learning, development, and behaviour. In addition to this, Dr Coles examines issues related to gender within the ECEC workforce, as well as examining the social, educational, and wellbeing-related impacts of COVID-19 on individuals and families throughout 2020. Dr Coles has a strong and developing track record in research translation, including the development and delivery of reports for government and non-government organisations. Dr Coles completed her PhD in Sociology in 2020, looking at long work hours and fathers’ engagement with children and caregiving – particularly focusing on the factors that facilitate participation in caregiving.