Early childhood education and care is a major policy issue for national governments and international organisations. This book contests two stories, both infused by neoliberal thinking, that dominate early childhood policy making today - 'the story of quality and high returns' and 'the story of markets',　 stories that promise high returns on investment if only the right technologies are applied to children and the perfection of a system based on competition and individual choice.　

But there are alternative stories and this book tells one: a 'story of democracy,...

Through a series of exquisite encounters with children, and through a lucid opening up of new aspects of poststructuralist theorizing, Bronwyn Davies opens up new ways of thinking about, and intra-acting with, children.

This book carefully guides the reader through a wave of thought that turns the known into the unknown, and then slowly, carefully, makes new forms of thought comprehensible, opening, through all the senses, a deep understanding of our embeddedness in encounters with each other and with the material world.

This book takes us into Reggio-Emilia-inspired...

Loris Malaguzzi was one of the most important figures in 20th century early childhood education, achieving world-wide recognition for his educational ideas and his role in the creation of municipal schools for young children in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia, the most successful example ever of progressive, democratic and public education.

Despite Malaguzzi s reputation, very little of what he wrote or said about early childhood education has been available in English. This book helps fill the gap, presenting for the first time in English, writings and speeches spanning 1945 to 1993,...

Loris Malaguzzi was one of the most important figures in 20th century early childhood education, achieving world-wide recognition for his educational ideas and his role in the creation of municipal schools for young children in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia, the most successful example ever of progressive, democratic and public education.

Despite Malaguzzi s reputation, very little of what he wrote or said about early childhood education has been available in English. This book helps fill the gap, presenting for the first time in English, writings and speeches spanning 1945 to 1993,...

The Posthuman Child combats institutionalised ageist practices in primary, early childhood and teacher education. Grounded in a critical posthumanist perspective on the purpose of education, it provides a genealogy of psychology, sociology and philosophy of childhood in which dominant figurations of child and childhood are exposed as positioning child as epistemically and ontologically inferior. Entangled throughout this book are practical and theorised examples of philosophical work with student teachers, teachers, other practitioners and children (aged 3-11) from South Africa and...

The Posthuman Child combats institutionalised ageist practices in primary, early childhood and teacher education. Grounded in a critical posthumanist perspective on the purpose of education, it provides a genealogy of psychology, sociology and philosophy of childhood in which dominant figurations of child and childhood are exposed as positioning child as epistemically and ontologically inferior. Entangled throughout this book are practical and theorised examples of philosophical work with student teachers, teachers, other practitioners and children (aged 3-11) from South Africa and...

Providing an accessible introduction to the seminal 'alternative narratives' in early childhood education, this book clarifies often complex theories and concepts whilst giving examples of how these have been and can be used in practice. Serving as a bridge that leads students and practitioners to new ways of thinking about their practice, it encourages explorations into an exciting and provocative world made up of a multitude of perspectives and debates. Peter Moss draws heavily on the books published in the Contesting Early Childhood series, with their rich theoretical perspectives and...

Providing an accessible introduction to the seminal 'alternative narratives' in early childhood education, this book clarifies often complex theories and concepts whilst giving examples of how these have been and can be used in practice. Serving as a bridge that leads students and practitioners to new ways of thinking about their practice, it encourages explorations into an exciting and provocative world made up of a multitude of perspectives and debates. Peter Moss draws heavily on the books published in the Contesting Early Childhood series, with their rich theoretical perspectives and...

This book explores and critiques topical debates in educational sciences, philosophy, social work and cognitive neuroscience. It examines constructions of children, parents and the welfare state in relation to neurosciences and its vocabulary of brain architecture, critical periods and toxic stress.

The authors provide insight into the historical roots of the relationship between early childhood education policy and practice and sciences. The book argues that the neurophilia in the early childhood education field is not a coincidence, but relates to larger societal changes that...