Narratives of infants’ encounters with curriculum: The benediction as invitation to participate

Abstract

Images of children as strong and capable rights-holders have nestled comfortably into the vernacular of early childhood education and care discourses. Promoting a view of children as entitled to contribute to decisions that affect them, these images are now framing themes of many curricular guides and learning frameworks. The inclusion of infants in these curricular guides suggests that they too are entitled to have a say in their learning, and yet little is understood about how we might get to the heart of what an infant thinks, intends and experiences. This article explores possibilities for visual narratives to enable a closer proximity to infants' perspectives in relation to their learning. Drawing on Levinas's ideas about ethical encounter and benediction, the authors seek ways to make visible the thinking, theorising and intent of one infant as she reveals her interests in learning.

Children’s Initiatives in the Finnish Early Childhood Education Context

“…Furthermore, in the self-determination theory, as well as in the participatory pedagogy, the social environment and the feeling of togetherness and belongingness play an important role. Being attentive to children's intentions and interests enables collaborative actions and encounters between children and educators (Cheeseman & Sumsion, 2016). Therefore, we see that the role of an educator is crucial, because of the decision to seize or not on children's initiatives towards shared actions (see Rutanen, 2012).…”

‘Belonging’ in Australian early childhood education and care curriculum and quality assurance: Opportunities and risks

“…Her study reinforces the importance of continually striving for more complex and nuanced understandings of belonging. Developing complex, nuanced and coherent understandings is not a straightforward undertaking, however, as Cheeseman’s (2017) study of infants’ encounters with the EYLF highlights. Providing some indirect empirical support for concerns raised by Peers and Fleer (2014), Cheeseman identifies complexities, tensions and contradictions when educators’ practices are informed by developmental and attachment theories and children’s rights discourses, all of which, she argues, have differing implications for conceptualising belonging and how it might be promoted.…”

Reconceptualising sleep: Relational principles inside and outside the pram

“…An alternative wakeful life is exposed, but the question then arises as to whether sleep and napping are an absolute break from play, learning and social activities. Here, I touch on a conflict, as the sleeping child does not correspond to ‘contemporary images of a strong and capable child who actively contributes to his or her learning experience’ (Cheeseman and Sumsion, 2016: 277). If spending time sleeping stops the child from fulfilling the kindergarten’s image of an ideal child, the sleeping child becomes a deviation – in other words, a child who does not conform to the required norms of playing, learning and being sociable.…”

“…In this regard, perhaps sleep touches on a broader crisis in today’s society, where ‘catching a child’s mind’ (Tesar, 2016: 401) has gained prominence in policy directions for early childhood education and care. If, as noted in the kindergarten pamphlet, ending sleep constructs an exit into play, learning and being sociable, then sleep becomes an error, as the sleeping child does not conform to the ideal child ‘who actively contributes to his or her learning experience’ (Cheeseman and Sumsion, 2016: 277). This may reveal heterotopia’s counterpart – utopia.…”