Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child: Time for Slow Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education | byAlison Clark | Routledge
This is a timely publication, a welcome antidote to the narrative about ‘catching up’, ‘lost learning’ and ‘filling gaps’ following the Covid pandemic. It is based on international conversations and focus groups, involving 20 early childhood and primary researchers across 11 countries. The author draws on projects such as ‘the Reggio Emilia approach’; a ‘Repeated Picture Book Reading’ from Israel; ‘Helicopter Stories’ inspired by the work of Gussin-Paley; the ‘Slow Food’ movement as in ‘Marvellous Meals’, a Scottish project; as well as the ‘Mosaic Approach’ and Froebelian teaching.
Clark introduces new terms such as ‘timefullness’ to describe a slower approach to education, particularly in the early years. Clark points out that tests, such as baseline and the phonics check, ‘put pressure on children the year before’.
In each chapter, what is happening is ‘unpicked’ and we are offered ways of slowing things down. The idea of ‘flow’, drawing on Csikszentmihalyi’s research, the features of ‘free-flow play’ (Bruce) and the ‘spiral curriculum’ (Bruner) are all ideas with which we are familiar.
This book refers frequently to the outdoor environment, in which things seem to happen more slowly. It is pointed out that ‘the relationship with time out of doors seems different’. Timetables and scheduled activities indoors seem to disrupt time. One idea is to change the environment indoors to encourage listening, lingering, conversations and contemplating.
Rather than viewing children as ‘vessels to be filled with knowledge’, this book encourages ‘waiting for children to discover problems and possible solutions’, which requires educators to be patient. The studio can be viewed as ‘an arena for the cultivation rather than the consumption of knowledge’.
One aspect I particularly admired was the idea of ‘the history on the walls’ so that children, even after a transition to a new space, can make connections with the past. There is a whole chapter on ‘pedagogical documentation’ as process rather than product. Another chapter focuses on ‘Slow Practices and Stories’, allowing children to revisit stories and to make connections between stories and their own lives.
Video can help us to revisit, notice aspects we missed in the moment, and hold memories for children, families and educators. Macrae uses the technique of slowing down video in order to notice more.
I was surprised there was no reference to meditation or mindfulness or to journaling. Overall, a very worthwhile read.
Partnership with Parents in Early Childhood Today | by Philippa Thompson and Helen Simmons | Learning Matters
This is an excellent publication underpinned by a great deal of research and bringing the issue of diversity to the fore. The overarching message is that parents can be our equal partners in decision-making, research and deciding what services are required. There are strong messages from all of the writers about inclusion, being aware of ‘unconscious bias’ and the ‘co-production’ of services. The message is that ‘everyone is an asset’ and a change from ‘you need us’ to ‘we need each other’. Children’s voices are also acknowledged.
I particularly enjoyed and learned a great deal from the chapterson ‘Food Allergies’, ‘Adoptive Families’, ‘Refugee Families’ and ‘Multilingualism’. The chapter on ‘Race and Inequality in Early Childhood Health’ picked up on ‘false theories’ about racial differences. Chapter 5 on ‘Understanding and Supporting Adoptive Families’ explored the trauma adoptive parents might have experienced and pointed out the ‘latent vulnerability’ of children and their adoptive parents. Chapter 6 on ‘Working with LGBT+ Parent-led Families’ emphasised celebrating and supporting all parents and children and pointed out that ‘nurturing’ needs to be ‘at the heart of our practice’.
In Chapter 7, on ‘Multilingualism’, Martin Needham used his own experience of working in Pakistan to offer advice about approaches, including to ‘avoid correcting’ children’s use of language. Chapter 8 on ‘Cultural Approaches to Parenting’ introduces the idea of ‘tokenism’ and the superficial ‘tourist approach’ to cultural differences.
Chapter 9 on ‘Supporting Refugee Families’ introduces the concept of ‘Alongsideness’, a power-sharing position, and teases out the difference between equity and equality. It advises using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model to plot the life of a child and points out that refugees can be positioned as ‘victims’, with professionals adopting a ‘saviour-like status’.
As far as I am aware, little attention has been paid to ‘Student Mothers in Higher Education’ (Chapter 10) up to now. Chapter 11 offers a ‘Practice Perspective’ on ‘Parents as Experts’, and says talking ‘with’ rather that ‘to’ parents is appropriate. The final chapter draws on a project in Tanzania and the unexpected success of a ‘workbook’ used by parents at home.
Dr Cath Arnold is the author of Understanding Schemas and Emotion in Early Childhood (Sage)