Understanding the place of religion in Early Childhood Education and Care is of critical importance for the development of cultural literacy and plays a key role in societal coherence and inclusion. This international handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the place of religion in the societal educational arenas of the very youngest children across the globe. Drawing together contributions from leading international experts across disciplinary backgrounds, it offers a critical view of how to approach the complexities around the place of religion in Early Childhood Education and Care. Through its four parts, the book examines the theoretical, methodological, policy and practice perspectives and explores the complex intersections of transmission of "cultural heritage" and "national values" with the diverse, changing societal contexts. Each chapter contributes to an increased understanding of how the place of religion in Early Childhood Education and Care can be understood across continents, countries and educational systems. The Routledge International Handbook of the Place of Religion in Early Childhood Education and Care is an essential resource for academics, researchers, students and practitioners working in Early Childhood Education, Sociology of Childhood, Religious Education and other related fields

The Decommodification of Early Childhood Education and Care: Resisting Neoliberalism explores how processes of marketisation and privatisation of ECEC have impacted understandings of children, childcare, parents, and the workforce, providing concrete examples of resistance to commodification from diverse contexts. Through processes of marketisation and privatisation, neoliberal discourses have turned ECEC into a commodity whereby economic principles of competition and choice have replaced the purpose of education. The Decommodification of Early Childhood Education and Care: Resisting Neoliberalism offers new and alternative understandings of policy and practice. Written with co-authors from diverse countries, case studies vividly portray resistance to children as human capital, to the "consumentality" of parents, and to the alienation of the early childhood workforce. Ending with messages of hope, the authors discuss the demise of neoliberalism and offer new ways forward. As an international book with global messages contributing to theory, policy, and practice regarding alternatives to a neoliberal and commodified vision of ECEC, this book offers inspiration for policy makers and practitioners to develop local resistance solutions. It will also be of interest to post-graduate students, researchers, educators, and pre-service educators with an interest in critical pedagogy, ECEC policy, and ECEC practice.

This timely book offers a critically important contribution to debates around the meeting place of religious and secular worldviews in education. Edited by five leading figures in the field, and drawing on expert international scholarship and research, the book provides cutting-edge analysis that bridges the religious and secular in global educational contexts. Considering the role of the United Nations, UNESCO, OECD and PISA in varied international contexts, the book draws on critical analysis of primary empirical research and secondary critique to offer a coherent blend of theoretically complex yet practical analysis of policy implementation. Throughout this accessible and logically structured volume, the authors assert that the meeting place of religious and secular worldviews is one of the most important and pressing issues for religion in education. As a field-defining work of research into education, religion and worldviews, the book will be essential reading for scholars, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of religious education, religious studies, philosophy of education and international education.

In this volume, questions are addressed revolving around religious literacy and education. The term religious literacy is explored as the ability to discern and analyze intersections of religion with social, political, and cultural life in pluralistic societies. Questions about what types of religious literacies are possible in a non-confessional, and even secular, educational context are in focus. It delves into the intricate relationship between religious literacy, religious education in the Nordic countries, and the development of subject knowledge and generic abilities. The Nordic countries, as modern secular welfare states with shared characteristics, provide an intriguing framework for comparison. The exploration of variations in the organization, content, and goals of religious education in Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden sheds light on the process of shaping educational content within specific historical and societal contexts and the anthology broadens its scope by incorporating global perspectives from the Indian, Italian, and Indonesian contexts. The volume features contributions from 18 researchers who explore empirical, methodological, and theoretical aspects of religious literacy and education. The concept of religious literacy, encompassing both knowledge and generic skills, proves to be indispensable for navigating the diverse religious and non-religious worldviews present in pluralistic societies. Tailored for students, educators, education researchers, and policymakers, this anthology contributes to the ongoing discourse on religious literacy. It not only provides valuable insights into the Nordic educational landscape but also fosters a global dialogue on the crucial role of education in understanding diverse worldviews.

Adriany explores gender discourses in early childhood education in Indonesia, as well as how teachers and children are engaged in the process of constructing, negotiating, and resisting dominant gender discourses in kindergartens. Using an ethnographic approach, Adriany explores how both the teachers and children are doing and undoing their gender. She adopts feminist poststructuralist and postcolonial theories through her research and, in that context, views gender as something fluid and unfixed. The book also investigates the methodological aspect where the authors have both an inside and outside perspective. Each chapter aims to present and complicate the taken-for-granted practices in kindergartens that relate to how gender and power are constructed. The findings of this book show the extent to which early childhood education becomes a space for the teachers and children to construct, negotiate, as well as resist dominant gender discourses in kindergartens. Offering insights into local and global contexts that shape gender values in early years, this book will be a valuable reference for researchers, scholars, and students in early childhood education, gender studies, and comparative education.

What does mothering mean in different cultures and societies? This book extensively applies biographical and narrative research methods to mothering from international perspectives. This edited collection engages with changing attitudes and approaches to mothering from women’s individual biographical experiences, illuminating how socially anticipated tasks of mothering shaped through interlinking state, media, religious beliefs and broader society are reflected in their identities and individual life choices. Considering trust, rapport, reflexivity and self-care, this collection advances methodological practice in the study of mothers, carers and childless women’s lives.

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophies and Theories of Early Childhood Education and Care brings together leading writers in the field to provide a much-needed, authoritative guide to the major philosophies and theories which have shaped approaches to Early Childhood Education and Care. Providing a detailed overview of key concepts, debates and practical challenges, the handbook combines theoretical acumen with specific examples to show how philosophies and theories have evolved over the centuries and their impact on policy and society. It examines the ways in which societies define and make sense of childhood and the factors that influence the development of philosophies about young children and their learning. The collection offers an insight into the key theorists and considers how the economics and politics of their time and personal ideology influenced their ideas about childhood. It looks at curricula and provision which have proved inspirational and how these have impacted on policy and practice in different parts of the world. The handbook also explores alternative and perhaps less familiar philosophies and ideas about babies and young children, their place in society and the ways in which it might be appropriate to educate them Bringing together specially commissioned pieces by a range of international authors, this handbook will enable academics, research students, practitioners and policy-makers to reflect on their own understandings and approaches, as well as the assumptions made in their own and other societies.