Mr Stefan Kucharczyk

Professional biography

I am a Staff Tutor (ECYS) based in northern England. I am Lead Cluster Manager on E225, Child Development: birth to adolescence. 

I am one of the founders of the You & Me podcast which explores Associate Lecturer identities. Youtube: @youandmeOU

I joined the OU in 2018 as an Associate Lecturer and taught on the Education Studies (Primary) pathway. Previously, I worked as a primary school teacher (2009-2014), as a consultant in primary education (literacies) (2014-2020) and as a lecturer in primary/early years education (2015-present). 

I am currently studying for a PhD at the University of Sheffield (2021-2027). My research explores children’s emergent play-literacies through their engagement with the videogame Minecraft. My broader research interests include children’s writing and filmmaking, Shakespeare in primary education, and videogames and curatorship.

My publications (selected)

Books

Kucharczyk, S. and Kucharczyk, M. (2021) Teaching Shakespeare in Primary Schools: All the World’s A Stage, London: Routledge

Book chapters

Gill, A., Kucharczyk, S. and Lenahan, C. (2021) ‘Reading and children’s lives’. In A. Gill, M. Stephenson, and D. Waugh (Eds.) Developing a Love of Reading and Books. London: Sage.

Journal articles

Kucharczyk, S., Pettersen, K. and Rowsell, J. (2025), "Play and passion: framing children’s rich moments of responding and making meaning", Qualitative Research Journal, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-09-2024-0211

Kucharczyk, S. (2024), ‘Getting to children’s eye level: Learning to be a teachable researcher’, BERA Blog Series  [online] Available at: Getting to children’s eye level: Learning to be a teachable researcher | BERA

Kucharczyk, S. (2024) ‘Knowledge, affinity and identity: Using Gee to explore children’s postdigital play-literacies’ in A. Bacalja, T.P. Nichols, B. Robinson et el. (2024) ‘Postdigital Videogames Literacies: Thinking With, Through and Beyond James Gee’s Learning Principles’, Postdigit Sci Educ. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-024-00510-3.  

Hanna, H. and Kucharczyk, S. (2021) ‘Example of best practice: Participatory film-making with migrant learners in practice’. Intercultural Education, 32:3, pp. 348-351. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2021.1886428

Kucharczyk, S. (2020) 'Teacher identity in a performative age: Coming to research through autoethnography' BERA Blog Series, 5 May 2020 [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/teacher-identity-in-a-performative-age-coming-to-research-through-autoethnography

Kucharczyk, S., and Hanna, H. (2020). ‘Balancing teacher power and children’s rights: rethinking the use of picturebooks in multicultural primary schools in England’. Human Rights Education Review, 3(1), 49-68. https://doi.org/10.7577/hrer.3726

Kucharczyk, S. (2018) ‘Ode to nowhere’, Storymakers Dialogues: Making Sense of Ourselves in the World, Issue 1, June 2018 [Online] Available at: http://anyflip.com/lcyg/uosj/basic

Media

Hanna, H. and Kucharczyk, S. (2017) ‘How to use picture books to get your class talking about emotions’, The Guardian Teacher Network, 26 October 2017 [Online] Available at: www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2017/oct/26/how-to-use-picture-books-to-get-your-class-talking-about-emotions

Hanna, H. and Kucharczyk, S. (2016) ‘Five ways to help migrant children settle in your class.’ The Guardian Teacher Network, 22 November 2016 [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/nov/22/five-ways-to-help-migrant-children-settle-in-your-class