Dr. Marie-Lyne Smadja

Head of the Early Childhood Education Program

Contact

About

Dr. Marie-Lyne Smadja serves as the Head of the Early Childhood Education Program within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Originally an educator, she spent several years teaching under the Ministry of Education. Dr. Smadja also undertook a mission for the Jewish community in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she championed children’s rights, with a focus on those with special needs. She collaborated with educators in revising the special education law in Switzerland. Additionally, she volunteers her time in the Knesset, contributing to committees related to education, children’s rights, women’s rights, and their participation in politics.

Education

Ph.D

Education - Tel Aviv University, 2013

M.A.

Special Education - Tel Aviv University, 2008

M.Ed.

Education Administration - University of Derby, 2004.

B.Ed.

Special Education (with a teaching certificate) - David Yellin College, 1985.

Teaching Areas

Lecturer and researcher in the field of the theory of mind (social and emotional understanding). Lecturer in research methods - quantitative and qualitative. Lecturer in the field of autism.

Selected Publications

Smadja, M., Ziv, M., & Aram, D. (2021). Children's contribution to discourse and Theory of Mind references during different book sharing contexts in preschool. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 56, 333-343.
Smadja, M., Aram, D., & Ziv, M. (2019). The impact of variations in text presence in children's storybooks on preschool teachers' discourse. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 1-18.
Ziv, M., Smadja, M., & Aram, D. (2015). Preschool teachers' reference to theory of mind topics in three storybook contexts: Reading, reconstruction and telling. Teaching and Teacher Education, 45, 4-24.
Ziv, M., Smadja, M., & Aram, D. (2014). Mothers' and teachers' mental-state discourse with preschoolers during storybook reading. Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 13(1), 103-119.
Ziv, M., Smadja, M., & Aram, D. (2013). Mothers' mental-state discourse with preschoolers during storybook reading and wordless storybook telling. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28, 177-186.