Elly Singer

Elly Singer (1948 – September 7, 2023) was an educationalist at the University of Amsterdam and a developmental psychologist at Utrecht University. She earned her PhD with a dissertation on the history of child-rearing and scientific research into young children in families, childcare centres, and nursery schools from the eighteenth century onwards, entitled Child Care and the Psychology of Development.

She conducted pioneering research on the social lives of young children in childcare settings and on the ways school-aged children understand and navigate conflicts with their peers and their (foster) parents. Throughout her work, she deliberately adopted the child's perspective as her starting point before examining the perspectives of parents and educators. This approach led to innovative theoretical insights that gained international recognition.

Together with Dorian de Haan, she co-authored several publications, including The Social Lives of Young Children. She also served on the boards of various international organisations, including the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). In addition, she worked closely with educational practitioners in the Netherlands, resulting in the publication of the Pedagogical Framework for Childcare (0–4 Years) and Together, Different: A Pedagogical Framework for Diversity in Childcare Centres (0–13 Years).