The death of Prof Judith Duncan in Christchurch on March 26 this year came 16 months after an unexpected diagnosis of motor neuron disease. It was a sad coincidence that the diagnosis of Judith's illness coincided with her promotion to professor at the University of Canterbury. Despite her illness, Judith (51) fully enjoyed her 16 months as a professor: continuing to write while she could, speak when she could, supervise postgraduate students, sort out her library and papers, pass on projects to colleagues, complete projects and see the launch of her resources for breast-feeding mothers in early childhood centres. Gratifying too were new publications she was able to see in print, including several books: Research partnerships in early childhood education: Teachers and researchers in collaboration, 2013 (with L. Comer) and Bodies as sites of cultural reflection in early childhood education, 2014 (with R. Burke).
Two weeks after her death, at Judith's memorial celebration, Prof Atushi Nanakida, from the University of Hiroshima, presented a copy of her latest book published in Japanese: Early childhood education and care: Weaving with dialogue. New Zealand and Japan, 2015 (with A. Nanakida). Evident from this glimpse into Judith's extensive CV was a generous and collaborative scholar, working across borders, in partnership with professionals, and in fields that challenged traditional assumptions, attitudes and practices. Most noteworthy was her inaugural professorial lecture, delivered during the early months of her illness. With the aid of technology, the presentation was filmed and subtitled. Judith spoke on an issue that shaped much of her professional experience and research: ''The three Ps: Parents, participation and partnership: New and old considerations'', The presentation is available on www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLvGTNKtk94. Another much-viewed YouTube series is the collaborative project with the Baptist Community Kindergarten in Wanganui in which teachers present vignettes of their good practice: ''Early Childhood: Embedded in the community'' (www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLDDFedc0zM). Making research accessible to all was always a commitment by Judith.
We can mourn the loss of Judith to the early childhood community, nationally and internationally, as there would have been more stellar projects and accolades. More important is an opportunity to celebrate the contribution Judith has made to scholarly and professional early childhood endeavours in this country, a story that started when she graduated as kindergarten teacher in 1983 at Dunedin Teachers College.
Judith taught in kindergartens in Dunedin and Invercargill, including time as a head teacher from 1986-93. Her concerns about working collaboratively with parents began during these years, as she found herself teaching in areas where parents were dealing with issues of domestic violence, illness and poverty. A good early childhood programme, in Judith's view, was as much about working with the children as supporting and empowering parents.
These were changing times in early childhood education, which for some services brought gains in funding - but not for kindergartens, upon which the National Government imposed bulk funding, something the stronger school unions were able to resist. Judith became active in the Kindergarten Teachers Association and the Combined Early Childhood Union of Aotearoa. These were not times for being ''lady-like'' or faint-hearted, as kindergarten teachers nationally protested the cutbacks that ensued. There was, for example, Black Monday in Dunedin in which everything possible at kindergarten was made black: paint, paper, water, clothing etc.
Such activities, pictured in the Otago Daily Times (March 3, 1993), were not the wisest career move for a future professor, and caused the end of her teaching career with the Dunedin Kindergarten Association. So Judith took her kindergarten career to the University of Otago, where she worked in a range of positions in the department of education and began postgraduate studies on the political times being faced by kindergartens. Judith's contribution to the kindergarten movement was recognised with a life membership of the Dunedin Kindergarten Association in 2010.
In 2001 Judith was employed as a researcher by the Children's Issues Centre at the University of Otago, a lively community of scholars led by Prof Anne Smith, championing issues of rights for children. Judith contributed to research projects, including the experience of 2-year-olds in kindergarten, family resilience and early childhood education, and dispositions to learn in early childhood and school settings.
Her appointment in 2008 as an associate professor in early childhood education at the University of Canterbury was her first permanent academic appointment, after many years in fixed-term and/or part-time roles: a not uncommon situation faced by women academics who, like Judith, have come from a non-traditional professional field. Judith had also become the mother of Lucas in 1998. Her experiences as a kindergarten teacher, researcher, mother, union advocate, university teacher etc, were central to the particular kind of scholarship that makes her work so valuable. It will continue as a resource for students and scholars far into the future.
Judith is survived by her husband, Frank Hakkaart, and son Lucas Duncan.
