1st Edition
Alternative Narratives in Early Childhood An Introduction for Students and Practitioners
Challenging dominant discourses in the field of early childhood education, this book provides an accessible introduction to some of the alternative narratives and diverse perspectives that are increasingly to be heard in this field, as well as discussing the importance of paradigm, politics and ethics.
Peter Moss draws on material published in the groundbreaking Contesting Early Childhood series to introduce readers to thinking that questions the mainstream approach to early childhood education and to offer rich examples to illustrate how this thinking is being put to work in practice. Key topics addressed include:
- dominant discourses in today’s early childhood education – and what is meant by ‘dominant discourse’
- why politics and ethics are the starting points for early childhood education
- Reggio Emilia as an example of an alternative narrative
- the relevance to early childhood education of thinkers such as Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze and of theoretical positions such as posthumanism.
An enlightening read for students and practitioners, as well as policymakers, academics and parents, this book is intended for anyone who wants to think more about early childhood education and delve deeper into new perspectives and debates in this field.
Acknowledgements
Chapter one: Dominant discourses, alternative narratives and resistance movements
Chapter two: The importance of paradigm
Chapter three: Politics and ethics as first practice
Chapter four: Reggio Emilia: a story of democracy, experimentation and potentiality
Chapter five: Michel Foucault: power, knowledge and truth
Chapter six: Gilles Deleuze: though, movement and (more) experimentation
Chapter seven: Posthumanism, the posthuman child and intra-active pedagogy
Chapter eight: What next?
References
Biography
Peter Moss
is Emeritus Professor of Early Childhood Provision at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK.