Zeynep Ozlem Cankaya
Associate Professor – MacEwan University, Department of Early Learning and Curriculum Studies
- PhD- Cognitive Science-Carleton University, M.A. in Educational & Counselling Psychology-McGill University, B.Sc. in Early Childhood Education-Middle East Technical University
- Email Zeynep Ozlem Cankaya
Before joining MacEwan University, Dr. Cankaya worked as a research scientist at PolicyWise for Children & Families, where she contributed to research on issues, policies, and practices affecting Alberta’s children through the linkage and analysis of cross-government administrative data. She has also worked as a long-term consultant at the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and as a kindergarten teacher in Thailand, experiences that inform her interdisciplinary and practice-oriented perspective.
Dr. Cankaya’s research examines how cultural artifacts, cognitive domains, interpersonal contexts, and individual characteristics shape children’s play and development. Her current studies explore how play with everyday objects and loose parts supports children’s cognitive development. Through this research, she aims to generate evidence that supports educators and parents in fostering children’s learning. Her doctoral research examined the roles of culture, language, and home environments in shaping young children’s early numeracy knowledge.
Dr. Ozlem Cankaya – MacEwan University