Rosalind's childhood was little different from that of her school friends, except that she did not attend school very much. But home-life was not child's play either when you lived with a violent father, whose shadow lay across her childhood like the smoke that drifted and fell from every chimney. Set in a Yorkshire mining village, Rosalind's story provides an insight into family and village life in the 1910s and 20s in a community that could teeter on the edge of starvation but still absorb an orphaned family of nine. But looming over it all was Rosalind's father, a man as tough as any in the pit who felt the need to keep proving it at home.
In the New Testament, Jesus is explicit in communicating God’s heart for children. Yet what does it look like for that heart to encounter the contextual realities of life in the twenty-first century? This book explores the theological implications and practical realities of ministry with children in a globalized world. Affirming eight core beliefs regarding the place of children in creation – that they are created with dignity and intended to be placed in families, cared for in community, advocated by society, secured in hope, affirmed in God’s church, included in God’s mission, and engaged in creation care – this book traces the impact of such far-reaching issues as displacement, climate change, human trafficking, persecution, and gender discrimination on childhood development. Written by over twenty contributors from around the world, each section roots its premise in contextual theology, examines the implications for praxis, provides a case study, and includes questions for discussion and reflection. Through each chapter the conversation around childhood development is broadened, prioritizing the experiences of children and practitioners to truly reflect the realities of our changing world. This is an excellent resource for all those concerned with the current risks facing children, especially among the world’s most vulnerable populations, and what best practice looks like as the people of God work to bring God’s heart, and hope, to children in their communities and beyond.
This book examines differing classroom pedagogies in two early childhood programs serving vulnerable populations in Chicago, one program Reggio Emilia-inspired, while the other uses a more didactic pedagogy. The structure of classroom pedagogies is defined using Basil Bernstein's theories of visible and invisible pedagogy.
In contemporary western societies, there are increasing emphases on children being the responsibility of their parents, contained within the home, and on their compartmentalisation into separate and protected organised educational settings. Thus 'home' and 'school' form a crucial part of children's lives and experiences. This book explores the key institutional settings of home and school, and other educationally linked organised spaces, in children's lives, and the relationships between these. It presents in-depth discussions concerning new research findings from a range of national contexts and focuses on various aspects of children's, and sometimes adult's, own understandings and activities in home and school, and after school settings, and the relationship between these. The contributors assess children from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances and consider how these children see and position themselves as autonomous within, connected to or regulated by home and school. Discussion of the impact of policy and practice developments on the everyday lives of these children is also included.
History of Early Childhood Education presents a thorough and elegant description of the history of early childhood education in the United States. This book of original research is a concise compendium of historical literature, combining history with the prominent and influential theoretical background of the time. Covering historical threads that reach from ancient Greece and Rome to the early childhood education programs of today, this in-depth and well-written volume captures the deep tradition and the creative knowledge base of early care and education. History of Early Childhood Education is an essential resource for every early childhood education scholar, student, and educator.
How do we understand, imagine and remember childhood? In what ways do cultural representations and scientific discourses meet in their ways of portraying children? Childhood, Literature and Science aims to answer these questions by tracing how images of childhood(s) and children in Western modernity are entangled with notions of innocence and fragility, but also with sin and evilness. Indeed, this interdisciplinary collection investigates how different child figures emerge or disappear in imaginative and social representations, in the memories of adult selves, and in expert knowledge. Questions about childhood in Western modernity, culture and science are also addressed through insightful analysis of a variety of materials from the Enlightenment age to the present day – such as fiction, life narratives, visual images, scientific texts and public writings. Analysing childhood as a discursive construction, Childhood, Literature and Science will appeal to scholars as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in fields such as: Childhood Studies, History, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Literature and Sociology of the Family.
Childhood & Adolescence in Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture counters the generally received wisdom that early medieval childhood and adolescence were an unremittingly bleak experience. The contributors analyse representations of children and their education in Old English, Old Norse and Anglo-Latin writings, including hagiography, heroic poetry, riddles, legal documents, philosophical prose and elegies. Within and across these linguistic and generic boundaries some key themes emerge: the habits and expectations of name-giving, expressions of childhood nostalgia, the role of uneducated parents, and the religious zeal and rebelliousness of youth. After decades of study dominated by adult gender studies, Childhood & Adolescence in Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture rebalances our understanding of family life in the Anglo-Saxon era by reconstructing the lives of medieval children and adolescents through their literary representation.
This book meets the needs of today's early childhood teachers, administrators, and community leaders who are seeking to become better acquainted with critical issues in early education and to develop their own advocacy and leadership skills. It provides the tools and knowledge necessary for early childhood professionals to advocate for and address the implications of child-related policies. KEY TOPICS: The book's articles and activities involve readers in an investigation of and reflection on issues and advocacy action. Readers are presented with various viewpoints that engage their critical thinking skills and expand their advocacy abilities, both inside and outside their immediate professional settings. Incorporated into the chapters are cases and vignettes, discussion questions, advocacy and leadership activities, advocacy strategy guidelines, fact sheets, and suggestions for additional resources and further readings. MARKET: For anyone interested in policy or issues in Early Childhood Education.
Early childhood education and child care are now widely perceived to be among the central social needs of the nation. Used by more than 100 universities and colleges, the new second edition of this anthology is a collection of over 70 articles which together provide a comprehensive overview of the early childhood situation from a historical, theoretical and practical perspective. These articles enable the reader to understand human development in young children, identify their intellectual strengths and weaknesses, and develop the most effective teaching techniques. Also included is a review of events and conditions resulting in current educational practices. Classroom theory and techniques are examined not only within the U.S., but also run the gamut from the Israeli kibbutz program to current teaching practices in the Soviet Union and China. Contents: National and Historical Perspectives; Philosophical and Theoretical Issues; Critical Issues; Exceptional Children; Curri