Rate My Professor Emily Goodacre

Dr Emily Goodacre is a Research Associate at the Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) Research Centre in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge. She completed her PhD at PEDAL, where her research examined children's play communication and early relationships, including intersubjectivity in children's social play, father-infant book sharing, and children's play with friends and non-friend peers. Her doctoral work earned her the Salje Medal from Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.

Goodacre's current research focuses on children's play with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) toys in the early years, exploring risks, opportunities, and implications particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. She has co-authored publications including a 2023 paper on influences on children's connected talk with peers in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, a 2021 rapid review on the impact of quarantine on children's play, and multiple 2025-2026 works on GenAI toys and innovative methods in play research. As a specialist in developmental psychology, she contributes to projects examining social play, communication skills, and emerging technologies in early childhood settings.