Feminism(s) in Early Childhood: Using Feminist Theories in Research and Practice(4 Perspectives on Children and Young People)

About the Book

This unique book brings together international scholars from around the globe to examine how different feminist theories are being used in early childhood research, policy and pedagogy. The array of feminist discourses captured by the authors offer contextualised possibilities for disrupting dominant patriarchal beliefs and producing change. The authors address and challenge how early childhood experiences, institutions and practices produce gendered effects across and within diverse contexts and demonstrate how feminism(s) in action can be used to reconceptualise research methods, government policy, children’s learning, teaching practice and educational resources. In this way, the book contributes to creating new knowledge connections and community alliances in the global effort to end gender-based inequalities across local and global communities. 

Table of Contents:
Foreword.- Chapter 1 Introduction.- Section I: Feminism(s) reconceptualising histories.- Chapter 2 Feminism and the Development of Early Childhood Education in Australia.- Chapter 3 The Didgeridoo, and Instrument of Oppression or Decolonisation?.- Chapter 4 Celebrating Pioneering and Contemporary Feminist Approaches to the Study of Gender in Early Childhood.- Chapter 5 Black Feminist Thought in Early Childhood Studies: (Re)Centering Marginalized Feminist Perspectives.- Section II: Feminism(s) reconceptualising institutions.- Chapter 6 The Entangled Enlivening of Being: Feminist Research Strategies in the Early Years.- Chapter 7 Enhancing Feminism and Childhoods in Kenya through Stronger Education Policy, Access and Action.- Chapter 8 What's wrong with Equality? Developing a Critical Conceptual Understanding of Equality of condition in Early Childhood Education and Care.- Chapter 9 Love and the Nuclear Family in the Kindergarten: Critical Analyses of Heteronormativities.- SectionIII: Feminism(s) reconceptualising practice.- Chapter 10 Time and Relationship: Paternal and Maternal Tensions in Teacher Narratives.- Chapter 11 Engaging with Feminist Poststructuralism to inform Gender Equity Practice in Early Childhood Classrooms in Pakistan.- Chapter 12 Feminism and Early Childhood Education in Indonesia: Teachers' Reflections.- Chapter 13 Gender Identities in the Australian Early Years Learning Framework.- Chapter 14 Are we there yet? Gender Equity Journeys in Early Childhood Practice.

About the Author :
Kylie Smith is a Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Youth Research Centre and Associate Dean Research Training at the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education. Her research examines how theory and practice can challenge the implementation of equity in the early childhood classroom. She has worked with children, parents and teachers to build safe and respectful communities.
Kate Alexander is a Senior Administrator at the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education, where she provides support to staff located in the Youth Research Centre. Previously, she worked as a Research Fellow on a variety of research projects, grants and publications development exploring equity issues in early childhood. She has completed a Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies (Hons), a Master of Education (Research) that focused on gender and early childhood and is currently undertaking a PhD on the life histories of researchers that explore gender inearly childhood.
Sheralyn Campbell is an educator and fellow at the University of Melbourne. Most recently she has worked as manager of children's services for a small rural Australian local government organisation. She has worked for 40 years in a range of Australian children's services and completed her doctoral studies with the University of Melbourne's Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood. Her research and practice have focused on creating changes to how equity and diversity are experienced in early childhood education and care settings.