You can download the digital awards book here
This book, and the international research on which it is based, is set against a backdrop of acceleration in early childhood and ever more measured and assessed young children. Thinking about ‘slow’ offers possibilities for reclaiming ways of being with young children that enable an ‘unhurried child’ and less hurried adults.
It is a timely and hopeful book, rooted in examples of early childhood practice, that provides new ways to reclaim play-centred practice. Theoretical concepts about time in early childhood education and care are brought to life with practical examples of ‘how to be slow’ across 11 countries. A further strand discusses how to ‘teach slow’.
The book validates and celebrates ways of being with young children that foreground play, the importance of the present moment and enabling time to listen. The research participants bring many years of experience of early childhood research, practice and teacher education. Initial findings were also discussed with a focus group of early years professionals and students from England and Scotland. The lively discussion from this adds depth to the book.
The book and the ideas it contains have had a wide impact even within its first four months of being published, with early years professionals saying that it is helping them to feel more courageous and confident to stand up for the values they believe in. A practitioner commented on social media, ‘So much to think about and how we move away from fast forward and the emphasis on what are we going to do next rather than what we are actually doing now.’
So far, the book has sold more than 1,000 copies, with interest at a local level in Orkney – where Alison Clark is based – and a practitioner project is now under way at national and international level. Recent international events have included Alison speaking to early years researchers and educators in Japan, Germany and Iceland. A Japanese translation is under way.
The book is inspiring further ideas. For example, Donna Green, one of the members of the focus group, subsequently led her own practitioner study about slow pedagogy and Froebelian principles, involving three early years settings in Falkirk.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
The Passionate Practitioner’s Handbook – by Michele Doull and Avril Robertson (That Guys House)
This sensitively created self-help handbook seeks both to inspire and support early years practitioners working across a range of settings. Practitioners may at times lose sight of why they work in early years, so this book is an essential step to renew passion and to embrace the small things they can do to make the biggest difference.
It shows an understanding of the challenges of working with children and offers clear, actionable advice.
FINALISTS
• Developing Child-Centred Practice for Safeguarding and Child Protection: Strategies for Every Early Years Setting (Little Minds Matter)– by Rachel Buckler (Routledge)
• Early Childhood Theories Today – edited by Aaron Bradbury and Ruth Swailes (Learning Matters)
• The Neuroscience of the Developing Child. Self-Regulation for Wellbeing and a Sustainable Future – by Dr Mine Conkbayir (Bloomsbury)
• Schemas in the Early Years: Exploring Beneath the Surface Through Observation and Dialogue by Cath Arnold (Routledge)
CRITERION
Open to professional books aimed at supporting the work of early years practitioners, managers and leaders that have been published (or a new edition published) since 1 January 2022.