Postdevelopmental Approaches to Pedagogical Observation in Childhood

This book offers a way of progressing children’s learning by tuning in to children, identifying their broader interests through ‘noticing’, rather than looking for a particular developmental milestone. It deliberately shies away from the mundane and limiting focus on literacy, foregrounding the power of creativity in developing the whole child. The language used is accessible yet professional, recognizing the potential of early childhood professionals to push beyond the boundaries of policy, restrictive practices and deterministic developmentalism. The pedagogy of ‘sparks, pulses and flows’ is empowering, and is explained and explored with good examples to support practitioners in challenging their pedagogy. * Helen Perkins, Open University, UK *
This book will be an invaluable resource. It pursues, challenges and deconstructs predominant and traditional ideas surrounding ‘observations.’ Such ideas are predicated and supported by developmental psychology and can as a consequence lead to the toxic consequences of ‘normalising’ some children whilst others are seen as deficit. An engagement with this book will alter what is means to observe and in so doing will be a step closer to more equitable ways of observing. * Liz Jones, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK *