How do early childhood education settings become places where everyone involved is able to say they feel they belong? What kinds of questions about inclusion, social justice and equity might it be pertinent and productive to ask of contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood teachers and their practice? When, how and why might teachers intervene to address issues of injustice and exclusion that arise in the context of early childhood work? These are the kinds of questions explored in this book. Addressing how teachers and policy makers can work for inclusion with diverse children and families, this book focuses on the development of positive attitudes to difference, diversity and inclusion. It suggests possible ways to reduce and eliminate barriers to learning and participation in early childhood communities. The authors interrogate notions of difference, inclusion and exclusion from the perspectives of M ori and cultural responsiveness, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and biculturalism, interculturalism, gender, sexualities, economic disadvantage, age, religion and disability.

This book focuses on the development of positive attitudes to difference, diversity, and inclusion in early years education.

Until researchers and theorists account for the complex relationship between resilience and culture, explanations of why some individuals prevail in the face of adversity will remain incomplete. This edited volume addresses this crucial issue by bringing together emerging discussions of the ways in which culture shapes resilience, the theory that informs these various studies, and important considerations for researchers as they continue to investigate resilience. Using research from majority and minority world contexts, ‘Youth Resilience and Culture: Commonalities and Complexities’ highlights that non-stereotypical, critical appreciation of the cultural systems in which youth are embedded, and/or affiliate with, is pivotal to understanding why particular resilience processes matter for particular youth in a particular life-world at a particular point in time. In doing so, this book sensitizes readers to the importance of accounting for the influence of cultural contexts on resilience processes, and to the danger of conceptualising and/or operationalising resilience, culture, and their interplay, simplistically or idealistically. In short, the progressive contents of ‘Youth Resilience and Culture: Commonalities and Complexities’ make it an essential read for resilience-focused scholars, students, academics, and researchers, as well as policy makers, practitioners, and humanitarian workers engaged with high-risk populations.

Emphasising the voices and rights of children, international expert Anne Smith examines the latest thinking on children’s learning and development. Contemporary theories and research about children and childhood are explained, using observations from children’s everyday experiences and debates about policy. A sociocultural perspective presents development as driven by a child’s learning, supported by opportunities for reciprocal social interaction across diverse cultural contexts.

In this insightful text, the editors reflect on contributions from scholars representing Bangladesh, Greece, India, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, UK and USA, by showing how the majority of educational and social institutions in both developed and developing countries have failed to overcome the many barriers to an effective integrated system of education, suggesting ways as to how these barriers might be challenged. By looking closely at the overt and covert injuries of educational and social exclusion, a variety of approaches to overcoming the consequences of those challenges is proposed, drawing together strands of social theory, research data and conceptualisations for social action.

Inclusive teacher preparation varies greatly in format and practice, yet programs grapple with the same underlying challenges: which practices work and where do they work. As children with disabilities are increasingly being included in schools, it is essential that guidance is put into place on how best to adapt inclusive practices into the classroom and create new practices based on the cultural context. Global Perspectives on Inclusive Teacher Education summarizes existing research on inclusive practices globally while presenting emerging research and opportunities for cementing change in inclusive teacher education locally, including examples of how inclusive practices are integrated in and adapted to diverse cultural contexts. Covering topics that include critical pedagogy, religious schooling, and teacher education, this publication is designed for curriculum developers, instructional designers, administrators, higher education faculty, educators, policymakers, and students.