Bringing together scholarship and examples from practice, this book explores ways in which early childhood curriculum - including classroom practices and community contexts - can more actively engage with a range of social justice issues, democratic principles and anti-oppressive practices.

Featuring a stellar list of expert contributors, the chapters in this volume present a cross-section of contemporary issues in childhood education. The text highlights the voices of children, teachers and families as they reflect on everyday experiences related to issues of social justice, inclusion and oppression, as well as ways young children and their teachers engage in activism. Chapters explore curriculum and programs that address justice issues, particularly educating for democracy, and culminate in a focus on the future, offering examples of resistance and visions of hope and possibility.

Designed for practitioners, graduate students and researchers in early childhood, this book challenges readers to explore the ways in which early childhood education is - and can be - engaging with social justice and democratic practices.

About the Author

Shirley A. Kessler is a retired Professor of Early Childhood Education at National-Louis University, USA.

Beth Blue Swadener is Professor of Justice Studies and Social and Cultural Pedagogy at Arizona State University, USA.

Reviews

"This is a very well-timed book in an age when democracy and institutions that are supposed to respect civil rights and social justice are undermined. With valuable knowledge and a critique of how neo-liberal policies have, in a subtle way, influenced young children and their families' lives, the authors also offer significant examples of how early childhood educators may be able to work in a more just and ethical way for all."

Gunilla Dahlberg, Professor Emerita, Department of Child and Youth Studies, Stockholm University

"A most critical time for social justice in a person's life is during their early childhood years. Today, young children or their parental representative are denied recognition, economic fairness, and unhampered representation. Shirley Kessler and Beth Blue Swadener have assembled a distinguished international team of authors to illuminate a range of social, political, economic, and environmental justice issues and show how early childhood educators, researchers, and children themselves can play a role in confronting injustice. Besides being an eye-opening and engaging personal read, this book is one you'll want your colleagues and students to read, too."

Carl A. Grant, Hoefs Bascom Professor, University Wisconsin-Madison

Book Information
ISBN 9780367246990
Author Shirley A. Kessler
Format Paperback
Page Count 188
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 410g