Beyond Listening: Children's perspectives on early childhood services Edited by Alison Clark, Anne Trine Kjorholt and Peter Moss (Policy Press, 1 86134 612 3, 17.99, 0117 331 4054) Reviewed by Marian Whitehead, language and early years consultant
This book certainly does what it says on the label, with the added power of an international perspective. The research and the practices discussed come from six countries, offering Nordic, western European and New Zealand perspectives on working with and listening to children.
This compilation moves beyond the familiar rhetoric of listening to children's voices to tackling the dilemmas and controversial issues inherent in the approach. Two core questions emerge at the start and weave through the chapters: what do we mean by listening, and can it be dangerous? In answering the first, many expressive modes, not just the verbal, are cited and reflect the 100 languages of children and the Reggio Emilia tradition. The second question is about power relations between children and adults, including the hidden ways in which apparently liberal curricula define and control children.
An early chapter on the Reggio pedagogy of listening and relationships sets the scene for three chapters on research methods for listening to children and three chapters on practices in early years settings in Scotland, England and New Zealand.
This is a text that fizzes with challenging ideas, complexity and dilemmas.
It will certainly make you think about your own practice and relationships with children.
