Beyond listening

Children's perspectives on early childhood services

Clark, Alison, Kjørholt, Anne Trine

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Year: 2005
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781447342403
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Children's Studies in Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

More young children than ever before are spending their time in some form of early childhood service.But how do we know what they think about it?While there has been a move to take children's views into account more generally, very little attention has been given to listening to young children below the age of six or seven. This book is the first of its kind to focus on listening to young children, both from an international perspective and through combining theory, practice and reflection.With contributions and examples from researchers and practitioners in six countries it examines critically how listening to young children in early childhood services is understood and practised. Each chapter is rooted in the everyday lives of young children and presents a range of actual experiences for students and practitioners to draw from.Beyond listening goes further to address key questions emerging from early childhood services and research.These are What do we mean by listening?Why listen?How do we listen to young children?What view of the child do different approaches to listening presume?What risks does listening entail for young children? The authors are leading experts in this area of rapidly growing interest and have themselves developed innovative methods such as the Mosaic approach, which is discussed in the book.

Table of contents

• BEYOND LISTENING Children’s perspectives on early childhood services
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• List of contributors
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Documentation and assessment: what is the relationship?
• 3. Ways of seeing: using the Mosaic approach to listen to young children’s perspectives
• 4. Participant observation: a way to learn about children’s perspectives
• 5. From the children’s point of view: methodological and ethical challenges
• 6. Channels for listening to young children and parents
• 7. Small voices ... powerful messages
• 8. Beyond listening: can assessment practice play a part?
• 9. The competent child and ‘the right to be oneself’: reflections on children as fellow citizens in an early childhood centre
• 10. Beyond listening: future prospects
• Index