Early Childhood Studies

A Student′s Guide

Damien Fitzgerald, Heloise Maconochie, Damien Fitzgerald, Heloise Maconochie

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781526454263
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Curricula

"Underpinned by ecological theories of development concerned with children, families and communities, this book provides the reader with philosophical, economic and sociological insights and with the latest thinking emerging from post-humanism.In so doing, it provides tools that enable students to research childhood, to understand the complexities of often seemingly simple matters and to navigate critically ever-changing policy and practice in early childhood.Its breadth, depth and currency cannot fail to impress."

- Ian Barron, Professor of Early Childhood Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University

Student focused and designed to support critical thinking, this brand new textbook is mapped to early childhood degrees and is designed to cover the breadth and depth of content across the course. Focused on seeing children in the context of the world they live in, it provides students with a range of perspectives andinsights tohelpthem understand the complexities of early childhood, develop their own critical ideas and apply theory to practice. A range of features in the book and resources online help students:
Get to grips with the basic with:
Spotlights on people, policy and practice
An extensive Glossary in the book along withonline Flashcards
Learn from others with:
Video insights from academics and practitioners
Student perspectives at the start of each chapter
Prepare for Assignments with:
Further reading resources in the book and online toenable wider reading
Spotlights on research and reflection points to develop critical thinking skills
Relate to practice with:
Case study scenarios of real-life settings
Action point activities to put theory into practice

Part 1 The Individual Child

• 1. The emergence of Early Childhood Studies: an historic overview - rita winstone
• 2. The brain and children’s early development - Heloise Maconochie
• 3. Children as thinkers: Philosophy for Children - Fufy Demissie
• 4. Children as learners: multimodal perspectives on play and learning
  - Karen Daniels and Roberta Taylor
• 5. Creativity, curiosity and resilience - Sarah Rawding

GO TO

https://study.sagepub.com/fitzgeraldandmaconochie for free access to SAGE videos on topics covered in this book

Chapter 1 The Emergence of Early Childhood Studies: An Historic Overview

Rita Winstone

This chapter is an extremely interesting read. It will help you improve your knowledge and understanding of the history and philosophy of early childhood with helpful examples throughout.

The section on key theorists has improved my knowledge and I am now able to identify the impact and influence that each key theorist has had on early childhood. The chapter also includes the impact of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). I haven’t found many other books during my studies that cover this. It has also made me reflect on my own experiences when it comes to implementing policy and where I have seen it be a success but also when I have seen it fail.

FRANCESSCA JENNINGS

BA (HONS) EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDIES

TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY

learning outcomes

By actively reading this chapter and engaging with the reading material, you will be able to:

• discuss the concept of childhoods and how this has been a fluid concept throughout history
• consider the impact and influence of Urie Bronfenbrenner and his ecological theory
• evaluate the current understanding of childhoods considering the impact of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and how this has influenced policy
• question the current philosophy, political and social stance on children and early childhoods in society today.

Introduction

This chapter positions childhood in a broad context – historically, socially and culturally – and explores the fluidity of the concept mainly within a Western European context. The aim is to help readers understand that childhood is a socially constructed concept and to appreciate that different families, groups and cultures will have different views on childhood. The chapter will explore how childhood is linked to where and how children are situated in their family context and the broader social environment. This draws on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory which facilitates an understanding of the dynamics of the influences on children within families and society and the impact this has on their development and experiences. Children and childhood are considered as a holistic whole.

The chapter will also explore the emergence of the field of Early Childhood Studies, which is presented as an alternative to the dominant paradigm of developmental psychology and theories of socialisation. It considers the importance of Early Childhood Studies being a multi-disciplinary field in that it is not just educationally focused but also embraces other academic disciplines such as sociology, psychology, history, social care, health, children’s geographies and social policy. This multi-disciplinary approach reflects the ecology of young children’s lives in their different contexts. Within the chapter, some of the key theorists relating to our understanding of children and early childhood will be explored, including Ariès and the social construction of childhood. In addition, the chapter will critically consider the work of Bronfenbrenner and explore the impact of his work on our current understanding of children and early childhood (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).

The Perception of Childhood in History and the Fluidity of the Concept

This section presents an overview of the perception of childhood in history which demonstrates the fluidity of the notion of childhood and the movement towards the multi-disciplinary approach and the emergence of the focus on the agency of the individual child.

Plato (428–327 BC)

Children and childhood have been viewed differently by society throughout the ages. In the time of Plato, the child was considered the responsibility of the whole community (Giardiello, 2014). Childhood was simply considered as the forerunner to engaging in full society. Children would be encouraged to play but it was perceived as functional. In this context, anticipatory socialisation was based on an assumption of trade. For instance, the children were encouraged to practise sword fighting if their trade was anticipated as being a soldier, and to play with clay-making bricks and moulds if they were destined to be a mason. Free play was considered unwelcome. This was not based on the fear of children learning to fight but rather on the basis that play often involves rules and, more importantly, making rules to fit the game. Again, with anticipatory socialisation in mind, this could well have led to changing society’s rules – a situation not to be encouraged. There was an understanding implicit in this that society and the social bearings were a key factor in a child’s development and learning. Play and work were inextricably linked. Play was purposeful and the child’s future role the responsibility of the state, with childhood considered by society as the path to citizenship and support of the state (Giardiello, 2014).

Since the education of children was key to citizenship, Plato advocated a control of the curriculum within education.

Aristotle (384–322 BC)

Aristotle was a student of Plato, incorporating some of his ideas. However, Aristotle also advocated stages of learning, each of seven years, as he determined that education should be lifelong learning. The first stage embraced early childhood, and the responsibility for the child and their learning and development remained with the family. There was no formal education until age 7 and play was encouraged. Aristotle recognised the importance of early childhood in learning and development, and that the child’s experiences during that period were key. He also identified that it was most successful when it harnessed the child’s interests and talents.

Quintilian (35–100 AD)

Over 200 years after Plato, Quintilian drew on the central philosophy inherent in Plato’s work but extended this to his own ideas about the purpose and value of education – children need a strong foundation of education and should enjoy learning. Quintilian also had some strikingly familiar rhetoric – arguments we still hear today. He considered that observations were important as they provided an insight into the child’s abilities and that teachers needed to be well-educated. However, Quintilian also cited poor parenting as an issue. Uneducated and disengaged parents could have a detrimental effect on the child (Giardiello, 2014). Importantly, this in itself suggests that the influences and responsibility for the child were shared between society...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Acknowledgements
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Guide To Your Book
• About the Editors and Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Glossary
• Introduction
• Part 1 The Individual Child
• Chapter 1 The Emergence of Early Childhood Studies: An Historic Overview
• Chapter 2 The brain and children’s early development
• Chapter 3 Children as Thinkers: Philosophy for Children
• Chapter 4 Children as learners: multimodal perspectives on play and learning
• Chapter 5 Creativity, Curiosity and Resilience
• Part 2 Children Interacting
• Chapter 6 Children as communicators
• Chapter 7 Children’s friendships
• Chapter 8 Children withinthe family context
• Chapter 9 Supporting play
• Part 3 Supporting Children
• Chapter 10 Inclusion and participation
• Chapter 11 Children’s Public health
• Chapter 12 The politics of children’s services
• Chapter 13 Safeguarding Children
• Chapter 14 Young children’s wellbeing: Conceptualising, assessing and supporting wellbeing
• Chapter 15 Children, Families and English as an additional language
• Part 4 The Social Environment
• Chapter 16 The educational environment
• Chapter 17 Working with Families and Professionals from other Agencies
• Chapter 18 Childhood in a global context
• Chapter 19 Contemporary issues
• Chapter 20 Young Children, Childhood and Gender
• Chapter 21 Technologyand early digital culture
• Part 5 Your Journey
• Chapter 22 Observing and assessing children
• Chapter 23 Researching With children
• Chapter 24 Becoming a Professional: entanglements with Identity and practice
• Chapter 25 Learning through Placements
• Chapter 26 Leading Quality Practice
• Index