Reframing the Everyday in Early Childhood Pedagogy

Despite vast possible differences across geographic locations, cultural practices, community values, and curricular priorities, there are everyday events that are intimately familiar in the context of early childhood care and education centres. By attending to the daily events that are often overlooked and considerably under-theorized, this insightful text highlights the complexity of the everyday in early childhood settings. Contributions to this edited collection are organized to follow the chronology of a school day; each chapter draws upon post-foundational theories and empirical qualitative data in order to (re)examine a familiar routine within an early years centre, such as walking down the hallway, eating a snack, napping, or changing one’s clothing. The authors argue for a mundane early childhood praxis that attends to the pedagogical possibilities within the seemingly unremarkable and highlights its importance, especially during what are understood to be unprecedented times.

This book will be of interest to advanced practitioners, graduate students, and scholars, and for use in courses in early childhood education, childhood studies, and educational foundations.

Casey Y. Myers is Co-founder of Watershed Early Years. An award-winning scholar, her professional interests include posthumanism, new materialism, and post-qualitative inquiry in relation to children’s everyday lives in school, as well as children’s ethical participation in community-based research.

Kylie Smith is Professor of Early Childhood Studies at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on pedagogies for social justice in early childhood. Kylie draws on participatory research methods and feminist theories to research and learn with children, families, teachers, and communities

Rochelle L. Hostler is Co-founder of Watershed Early Years. Her professional interests include progressive social-constructivist early childhood education, critical interrogation of curriculum and pedagogy, and research involving children’s school life.

Marek Tesar is Head of School and Associate Dean International at the University of Auckland. He is also the director of the Centre for Global Childhoods. His scholarship focuses on early childhood education and childhood studies in both New Zealand and cross-country contexts.