From research to policy: Learning through play in Mexican pre-schools

24 February 2026, 13:00-14:00 GMT

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This is an in-person event at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, with the option of also joining online.

Speakers:

• Dr Dina Fajardo Tovar, Emerging Technologies and AI in Education Project Manager, Theirworld
• Dr Elisa Bonilla Rius, DIrector, Bonilla & Torres-H Educational Consulting (BOTH)

One important aspect of research development is identifying ways in which research can meaningfully inform policy and practice. However, this process is not always easy or straightforward.

In this seminar, Dr. Dina Fajardo-Tovar, a recent PhD graduate from the Faculty of Education, will share key insights from her doctoral research exploring teachers’ perspectives and practices of learning through play in Mexico, as well as her efforts to translate these findings into implications for educational practice and policy.

The presentation will be followed by a response from Mtra. Elisa Bonilla-Rius, a former senior official at Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education (SEP), who will draw on her extensive experience in educational policy and practice to reflect on how this type of research can inform decision-making, and how research can be further tailored to better respond to the needs and realities of policy and practice.

Presenters

Elisa Bonilla-Rius has over three decades of professional experience. Through her career she has combined her academic work with high-level executive positions, both in the public and private sectors. Her extensive experience in designing and implementing public policies to ensure educational quality –from early childhood to the end of compulsory education– encompasses the following areas: literacy, curriculum development, innovative educational solutions (printed & digital), teacher professional development, improvement of educational infrastructure (especially concerning school and classroom libraries), as well as teacher training and their professional development.

At the Mexican Ministry of Public Education (SEP) she first served as Director General for Educational Methods & Didactical Materials (1993-2007) and later as Director General for Curriculum Development (2016-2018).

Currently, as Director for Quality Education Assurance at Bonilla & Torres-H Educational Consulting (BOTH), she advises various public and private institutions. She has an Honours BA in Mathematics, (UNAM, Mexico), an MPhil in Mathematics Education as well as have been enrolled in the doctoral program (Cantab).

Dina Fajardo-Tovar has over a decade of experience working at the intersection of research, policy and practice. She recently completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, where her research examined how learning through play is understood and implemented by rural and urban early childhood educators in Mexico. Dina is committed to bridging research and practice through international collaborations in educational research, programme design, and evidence-based evaluation.

She is currently Emerging Technologies and AI in Education Project Manager at Theirworld, a non-profit organisation focused on supporting education worldwide, and is also the founder of Kmbal A.C., where she co-designs and implements educational programmes in Mexico.