Syeda Umm-e-Salma Rizvi is an education specialist, researcher and early years professional with nearly two decades of experience spanning teaching, teacher education, educational assessment and academic leadership. Throughout her professional journey, she has demonstrated a strong commitment to enhancing educational quality and creating inclusive, nurturing and stimulating learning environments in which every child can thrive.
Her professional experience has strengthened her conviction that children’s emotional wellbeing is fundamental to their learning, relationships and holistic development. She believes that emotionally secure and happy children are better equipped to explore, communicate, develop confidence and engage meaningfully with the world around them.
Her research paper, Emotional Literacy in Early Years Setting, explores the importance of supporting young children in recognising, understanding, expressing and regulating their emotions. The paper examines how responsive relationships, emotional vocabulary, play-based learning, empathy and supportive learning environments can contribute to children’s emotional competence and overall development.
Through this research, she highlights the vital role of early years practitioners in creating emotionally supportive environments where children feel safe, heard, understood and valued. Her particular interests include intentional pedagogical approaches, inclusive practices and meaningful partnerships with families to strengthen children’s emotional literacy from the earliest years.
At the heart of her work is the belief that emotional literacy is not an additional element of early childhood education, but an essential foundation for lifelong learning, positive relationships, resilience and wellbeing. Through her research and professional practice, she seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of how early years education can nurture not only knowledgeable learners but also emotionally aware, confident and compassionate individuals.
