dr. M.I. (Marjolein) Deunk

Biography

Marjolein Deunk studied Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Groningen (1997–2001). Subsequently, she completed the European Master’s in Clinical Linguistics at the University of Groningen and the University of Potsdam. As a PhD-student at the Center for Language and Cognition Groningen, she studied the activities and interactions of young children in preschool. A Fulbright scholarship gave her the opportunity to spend a Fall semester at the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a visiting scholar. Her dissertation, named ‘Discourse Practices in Preschool. Young Children’s Participation in Everyday Classroom Activities‘, appeared in 2009. Marjolein has been working at GION since 2009. She has held the right to supervise doctoral students (ius promovendi) since October 2024.

Marjolein works from a social constructivist perspective. She endorses educational equity and, in her research, often focuses on classroom interactions and teacher reflexivity. She also promotes a culture of reading in education by incorporating literature (fiction) into her lectures, providing book recommendations in the alumni newsletter for academically trained primary school teachers (AOLB), and through projects organised by the interdisciplinary reading group of the Society of Arts, part of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences.

PhD supervision (current):

• Nina Mooij - Great Expectations: the social formation of teacher expectations and their impact on student experiences

• Viviana Herrera Castillo - Social and emotional development in Mapuche children: A deep comprehension for a complex issue in a culturally diverse society

• Jimte Ferwerda - Burgerschapsonderwijs: conceptualisaties, ervaringen van docenten en representaties in lesmateriaal binnen het Nederlandse Voortgezet Onderwijs