Ingela Naumann is a leading expert in the fields of childcare and gender equality policy with an international and comparative focus. Working at the University of Fribourg, she examines how social and education policies improve equality, fairness and social wellbeing in society
She is Professor of Social Policy and Co-Director of the Department of Social Work, Social Policy and Global Development at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. She is also Associate Director of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships CRFR, Edinburgh.
Before moving to Switzerland in 2023, she was Professor of Comparative Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh, where she taught and researched on early childhood policy and work/life balance issues for many years.
How can social and education policies improve equality, fairness and social wellbeing in society?
Professor Naumann has led on many international research projects, examining how specific sets of social and education policies can improve equality, fairness and social wellbeing in society, such as her recent UK-based research on Childcare and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic and comparative research on the Logistical challenges of parents accessing childcare in different European countries.
She is passionate about contributing to a better understanding on how policy design and practice can support better outcomes for children, further gender equality, and create more resilient and caring societies.
She uses her extensive international expertise to advice governments and other decision-makers on “best practice” examples from different countries, and she is actively involved in developing policy visions for the future that can enhance the sustainability and success of national and international policy frameworks.
She frequently gives talks for media and policy roundtables on the Nordic Model of welfare, what could be learned from it, in historic perspective and at present, and how national policy systems can be adapted to integrate new policy ideas. Amongst others, she has advised the Scottish Government, Ofsted UK, COSLA (Scotland) and third sector organisations such as Child Poverty Action Group and Children in Scotland on the development of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and Out of School Care policies.
She is currently a member of the Swiss Government’s Commission for Family Questions (EKFF). She is also involved in outreach work in schools and other education settings for young people, discussing issues around gender equality, social justice and social policy with the next generation of policy leaders and visionaries.
Examining complex social problems and policy and practice solutions of today’s interconnected world
Together with her Co-Directors and an international team at the Department of Social Work, Social Policy and Global Development, University of Fribourg, Ingela Naumann is building platforms of interdisciplinary research and education that sharpen our understanding of the complex social problems and policy and practice solutions of today’s interconnected world.
The Department fosters international dialogue between Global North and Global South research and policy expertise. The University of Fribourg/Freiburg is a bilingual Higher Education setting, and the Department of Social Work, Social Policy and Global Development offers the unique opportunity of degree studies at Bachelor and Masters level in both German and French. It also offers the Doctoral Programme PROWEL (Social Problems and Social Welfare) in English.
Four relevant publications:
- Naumann et al. (2022). ‘Child and Parental Wellbeing during the Covid-pandemic’, Working Paper 1, Childcare and Wellbeing, Edinburgh Research Area (ERA), https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/38653
- Naumann et al. (2022). ‘Developing Sustainable Childcare Solutions’, Working Paper 2, Childcare and Wellbeing, Edinburgh Research Area (ERA), https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/39276/Highland_Coproduction_WP2.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y
- Naumann (2018). ‘Early Childhood Education and Care Policy: Beyond Quantity and Quality, for Human Development’, in C. Trevarthen et al. (eds.), The Child’s Curriculum, Oxford University Press, pp. 325 – 355.
- Naumann et al. (2017). ‘Access to Childcare in Europe: Parents’ Logistical Challenges in Cross-National Perspective’, Social Policy & Administration, 51(7): pp. 1367-1385. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12242
Previous Open Access Government Publications:
The Importance of Good Childcare Services for Gender Equality, Open Access Government, April 2023, at https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/article/importance-good-childcare-services-gender-equality-pandemic/156707/