Dr Shaddai Tembo AFHEA is an Early Childhood Studies Lecturer at Bath Spa University who is a City of Bristol College alumni, having completed our Early Years course. He believes that the course allowed him to be challenged as an individual and provided him with a multitude of benefits.
We asked Dr Tembo what sparked his inspiration to study within the area of Early Years. His response highlighted that these of courses often open many pathways that you wouldn’t necessarily expect, he stated: ’I failed my AS levels when I was 17 (2 Ds and 2 Es!) and I had to drop out of college.
“I didn’t necessarily consider working with young people until I had to make the decision between an apprenticeship in childcare or catering. Of course, I chose the former and never looked back.”
By pursuing his education through the Early Years course, Dr Shaddi Tembo felt incredibly inspired to continue his studies even further. He stated: “Studying at CoBC had given me a real desire to pursue my academic studies further, so following my undergraduate degree I went on to complete a Master’s qualification in social science research methods at the University of Bristol. The opportunity then arose to complete a funded PhD in Scotland.’’
To conclude our conversation, we asked Dr Shaddi Tembo if he had any advice for someone thinking of starting their career journey in Early Years. He was very transparent about his career path and the challenges that come hand-in-hand with it. Despite this, his positivity and gratitude overshadow the struggles and he acknowledged the network of Early Years practitioners across the UK.
He commented: “Fortunately, there is a strong community of Early Years practitioners across the UK fighting for the status of this profession to be better recognised. So, please do consider a career in the Early Years and look for ways to get involved with the campaigns for high equality early years education.”
As a result, Dr Shaddi Tembo has devoted his time to building an incredible career for himself and putting building blocks in place to get him to where he is today.
If you would like to find out more about our Early Years courses, please visit our website.
