Judith Duncan

Judith Maree Duncan (1963 – 26 March 2015) was a New Zealand academic, and was a full professor at the University of Canterbury, specialising in early childhood education. She died of motor neurone disease in 2015.

Career

Duncan trained as a teacher at Dunedin Teachers' College, graduating in 1983, and then taught at kindergartens in Dunedin and Invercargill until 1993. During this time she formed the opinion that kindergarten teaching should be done in collaboration with parents, but is difficult when parents are dealing with issues such as family violence and poverty. From 2001, Duncan worked as a researcher with Anne Smith at the Children's Issues Centre at Otago, bringing her kindergarten experience to research on early childhood education and family resilience, and learning dispositions.

Personal life Duncan was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2014, and given a maximum of two years to live. She died on 26 March 2015 in Christchurch Hospital. She is survived by her husband and son. At her memorial service, collaborator Professor Atushi Nanakida of the University of Hiroshima paid tribute to Duncan by presenting a copy of her latest book in Japanese.

Selected works

Books

Duncan, Judith and Nanakida, Atushi. Early childhood education and care: Weaving with dialogue. New Zealand and Japan. (2015)

Duncan, Judith and Nanakida, Atushi. Kosodate senshinkoku nyujirando no hoiku: Rekishi to bunka ga tsumugu kazoku shien to yoji kyoiku. (2015) ISBN 978-4571110382

Journal articles