Ellen Beate is a Professor at the Department of Physical Education and Health, QMUC. She has a master degree in sport sciences from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NIH) and a PhD in Psychology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Her research interests primarily include children's physical active and movement play with emphasis on risky and thrilling play in ECEC, both in children's and adults' perspective. She particularly emphasizes the importance of children's right to free play, outdoor play and play where children explore their own limits and the boundaries and possibilities in their environment.
In addition, she has conducted researched on other topics such as how the physical environment influence children’s play and activity, children's well-being and participation in ECEC, and accidents and injuries among children in kindergarten.
Now she is the project manager of this project, EnCompetence, as well as working as a researcher in the project. In addition, she is the project manager of a collaborative project with the University of Washington, Seattle, which focuses on the development of ECEC outdoor environments that promotes play, learning and inclusion. She is also a member of two Erasmus + projects involving a number of European partners; one that focuses on promoting children’s social-emotional well-being in ECEC, and one that focuses on promoting outdoor play and learning in ECEC.