1st Edition
Children’s Voice and Agency in Diverse Settings International Research and Perspectives
This book outlines the key findings from the ADVOST project and other international projects that examine how educational practitioners have utilised theoretical notions of voice and agency to enhance the social inclusion and wellbeing of children within their settings.
Bringing together findings from three project case studies that are each placed in a different national context, chapters explore theoretical principles of space, audience and influence to facilitate and enhance the voices of very young children. Focusing on diversity as an opportunity rather than a challenge, the book provides collaboratively written and regionally diverse chapters that ultimately contribute to a growing field on literature examining how young people might be included in culturally sensitive and responsive ways within education, recognising the diversity that young people, their families and communities bring to educational processes to provide an inclusive education for all.
Offering multiple perspectives and insights into our growing understanding of children’s voice and agency in diverse settings, this book will be of relevance to scholars, researchers and academics in the fields of primary education, multicultural education, early years and educational research, and child development studies.
Part 1: Key Theoretical Ideas
Chapter 1: Introduction – Mhairi C Beaton, Anne Burke, Pigga Keskitalo, Tuija Turunen
Chapter 2: Being well, being in the community, having voice and agency through practical philosophy – Claire Cassidy
Chapter 3: An exploration of practices for rights-based education through promoting voice in the early years: Building a spider’s web - Carol Robinson and Kate Wall with Jane Murray, Erica Evans, Deirdre Grogan and Charlotte Bowes
Chapter 4: The sociomateriality of voice and its implications for research with children: Voice-as-event in an intergenerational art program - Rachel Heydon and Roz Stooke
Part 2: ADVOST Case Studies
Chapter 5: Children’s Identity and Agency in an Art Gallery: Voices in the Making - Anne Burke, Diane R. Collier and Benjamin Boison
Chapter 6: Using Children’s Literature to Augment Children’s Multimodal Voices and Agency: Placelessness in the Classroom - Anne Burke & Zahra Golmohammadi
Chapter 7: Teachers’ perspectives on Sami culture-based pedagogical innovations promoting children’s agency in online Sami language classes - Pigga Keskitalo, Hanna Helander and Tuija Turunen
Chapter 8: Exploring Sámi language instruction for young learners: Comparative case studies in Finland and Norway - Pigga Keskitalo and Torjer Olsen
Chapter 9: Space and Time as Pedagogical Tools for Facilitating Voice and Agency – Mhairi C Beaton
Chapter 10: An approach to developing community that supports voice and agency in education settings: Circles of Trust - Paula Ayliffe, Mhairi C Beaton, Rachel Lofthouse
Chapter 11: Advancing Young Children’s Inclusion and Agency in Society Through Voice and Story: A Reflection – Tuija Turunen
Biography
Mhairi C. Beaton is Professor of Social and Educational Inclusion, Carnegie School of Education, Leeds Beckett University, UK.
Anne Burke is Professor of Literacy Education and Digital Learning, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Pigga Keskitalo is Professor in Education, University of Lapland, and Adjunct Professor in Education, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Tuija Turunen is Professor of Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Finland.
“This book brings together several theoretical underpinnings of listening to children with case studies of practice from across diverse contexts. The chapters capture the dynamic nature of listening to children and the importance of this for all children, but particularly for those in marginalised communities whose perspectives and voices tend not to be heard. The book is driven by commitments to valuing children, listening to children, and respecting their rights and agency.”
- Sue Dockett is Emeritus Professor, Early Childhood Education, School of Education, Charles Sturt University, Australia
