Intersections: Feminisms/Early Childhoods(3 Rethinking Childhood)

Intersections: Feminisms/Early Childhoods presents a continuing dialogue among early childhood educators who name themselves as feminists. Essays by individual contributors are woven together by the coeditors as they interrogate the relationship of feminist theory to early childhood practice. In considering the identity of feminist early childhood educators, the first section of this book reconsiders historical events in early childhood education from a feminist perspective, in many cases renaming the issues and reclaiming the history. The second section of the book reflects on early childhood practice and feminist pedagogy through the narratives of practicing early childhood professionals working in day care, public school, and university settings. The final section of the book examines significant issues facing early childhood from a feminist perspective, including the roles and representations of women and children, the analysis of economic and cross-cultural realities of child care and the consideration of public policy.

About the Author :
The Contributors: Chelsea Bailey, Lisa Goldstein, Mary Hauser, Janice Jipson, Miha Kim, Tina Lozano, Nancy Meltzoff, Petra Munro, Peggy Trumble, Elba Marrero, Shirley Kessler, Debbie LaCroix, Carolyn Ames, Shu Ling Chen, Alden Schmid, Karen Anijar, Marianne Bloch, Beth Blue Swadener, Linda Jagielo. The Editors: Mary E. Hauser is Associate Professor of Education at Carroll College in Waukesha, WI. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology/Early Childhood from the University of California-Santa Barbara. She has contributed to several educational journals and published severalbook chapters on research in early childhood education. Janice A. Jipson is Professor of Education at National-Louis University. She received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the coauthor of Daredevil Reserch: Re-creating Analytic Practice (Peter Lang, 1997) and Repositioning Feminism and Education: Perspectives on Educating for Social Change and has published widely in professional journals and books.

Review :
Mary Hauser and Janice Jipson have created a conversation between what they call 'the intersections' of feminisms and early childhoods. In a theoretically sophisticated and unique form, the editors use personal narratives to discuss both the esoteric and the essentials of childhood. In the spirit of Jane Roland Martin, the contributors to this book have 'reclaimed a conversation,' and, in doing so, have brought a fresh and important dialogue to the areas of early childhood education, feminist study, and qualitative research. (From the 'Preface' by Joe L. Kincheloe) At a time when the rhetoric of family values is increasing and real supports for children and families are decreasing, Mary Hauser and Jan Jipson have fashioned a volume that replaces cynicism and despair with hope and possibility. (Jonathan Silin, Bank Street College) The collection gives voice to feminists standing in a variety of places, all within the scope of early childhood education. Stories are sometimes narratives, sometimes academic discourses, sometimes letters, sometimes theater. Together they illuminate intersections to which educators must attend - intersections among cultures, genders, classes, races, research paradigms, to name a few - if they want to understand and advance our broad-ranging field. (Celia Genishi, Teachers College, Columbia University) A text addressing the intersections of feminism and early childhood education is very much needed... While some scholars in early childhood education have long claimed a feminist stance, they have been forced to draw from scattered resources. The text edited by Hauser and Jipson pulls together some of the current work addressing these intersections. (Robin Leavitt, Illinois Wesleyan University)