Full Description
This groundbreaking book explores the interactions of three powerful concepts in early childhood education: early childhood settings as sites for democracy, belonging as a human need and basis for participation, and relationships with land. Through exemplars of pioneering practice, it renews thinking about democracy and broadens understanding of belonging in culturally diverse societies.
Drawing from three research projects undertaken with teachers as collaborators in eleven early childhood settings, the book showcases examples grounded in Aotearoa New Zealand's renowned bicultural curriculum, Te Whāriki. It demonstrates how participatory design methodologies can reimagine the theory-practice nexus and privilege diverse voices often marginalized in traditional research settings. Woven throughout are "glimpses of hope" that illustrate new possibilities for pedagogical practice in the country's bicultural context. In a time marked by significant societal shifts and neoliberal pressures, the authors argue that layering and interweaving these three concepts enables the creation of innovative approaches to policy thinking and practice that challenge existing frameworks and advocate for public, democratic early childhood education systems.
This essential resource will interest postgraduate students, researchers, teachers, student teachers, early childhood managers and policy makers. It offers valuable insights for advanced students and practitioners of early childhood education seeking to understand democratic practice and belonging in diverse cultural contexts around the globe.
Contents
List of figures
Acknowledgements
Author biographies
Chapter 1: Introduction. Setting the scene
Background
Conceptual framing
Definitions
Outline/structure of the book
Theme 1: Democracy in education
Chapter 2: Democracy as a value and purpose for a public education system
Chapter 3: Early childhood education creating a world
Chapter 4: Creating a democratic living philosophy (a new chapter with Berhampore Kgtn)
Chapter 5: Kōhanga reo and transformational directions for education
Chapter 6: Teachers as democratic professionals and the child as citizen
Theme 2: Belonging, connections to others and the environment
Chapter 7: A human rights analysis of early childhood policy
Chapter 8: Pōwhiri - the traditional māori ceremony of welcome as a process for supporting belonging
Chapter 9: Participation in cultural processes of food preparation and belonging
Chapter 10: Connecting homeland with EC settings
Theme 3: Relationships with land
Chapter 11: Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua ko au - I am the land and the land is me
Chapter 12: Walking with young children to story and read the land
Chapter 13: Maunganui Kindergarten: Developing connectedness with land and with people
Theme 4: Renewing the thinking and practice of democracy in researching early childhood education. Research as a palimpsest
Chapter 14. Research partnerships for exploring pedagogical practice in Aotearoa New Zealand
Chapter 15. Research as a palimpsest. Possibilities for research, pedagogy and policy
Glossary References for all chapters
