Dr Nellie Ismail

Dr. Nellie Ismail is a Co-Investigator on the Parenting within the Preschool System in Malaysia. She obtained her Diploma and Degree (1st Class Hons) in Human Development from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). She pursue her graduate study and completed her Master's and Ph.D. in Psychology from the National University of Malaysia (UKM). Dr. Nellie is now serving as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Faculty of Human Ecology, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Her main area of expertise focuses on developmental psychology in children and adolescents. She is particularly interested in children’s emotional and behavioral problems, children’s temperament, children’s problem-solving skills, and maternal scaffolding. Nellie had experience as a consultant researcher in several Malaysian government-funded consultancy projects (such as KEMAS & LPPKN) to assess program effectiveness and quality of service. In the Quality Services of the Government’s Pre-schools Project (2018-2019) her research team has contributed to the establishment of a 10-year Strategic Plan for Quality Services for the Malaysian Early Childhood Education Program. She has been a co-researcher in a policy-related project such as the UNICEF family intervention project (Parenting for Lifelong Health - e-PLH) (2020-2022). Currently, she is a co-researcher in the Global Parenting Initiative Project (2022-2025) in collaboration with the University of Oxford and funded by the Lego Foundation. She also produced numerous publications including book chapters, indexed and non-indexed journals, and proceedings. Besides, she has been selected as a reviewer for journals and book chapters. She has led two community networking projects (“B.I.J.A.K.” and “Smart Caliphs”) in Gurun, Kedah. She is also involved in other community projects such as “Happy Kids” in Malacca and “Diari Anak Milenia” in Gurun, Kedah.