Critical issues for pre-school education: seminar 2
The second seminar in this ESRC-funded series took place at the School of Education, University of East London, on 25 January 2008. This seminar focused on meeting the diverse ethnic and cultural needs and expectations of young children and their parents.
The reports here are summaries of the presentations and the discussion prompted by each talk. The reports have been prepared by the seminar team to be a record of the second seminar in this series and to allow people who were not able to attend the event to get a flavour of the debate and have an opportunity to respond by adding their comments after the presentation reports.
Keynote presentations
The 'Children crossing Borders' project and the 'Opening Windows' programme
Dr Tony Bertram reported on a five-country study set up to examine the practices, values and expectations of pre-school practitioners working in multicultural contexts.
Meeting diverse needs: the view from a local authority
Joy Barter looked at the childcare needs of culturally diverse families in Barking and Dagenham.
Critical perspectives on cultural diversity in early childhood
Dr Lynn Ang presented a critique of early years curriculum initiatives in England.
Meeting the cultural needs of young children in deeply divided societies
Paul Connoll looked at the impact of the Media Initiative for Children programme on the attitudes and behaviour of young children in Northern Ireland.
Taking children seriously: reflections on research and practice
Dr Liz Brooker spoke on the difficulties involved in listening seriously to children and understanding children's meanings.
Please add your comments
The organisers of this event are keen to receive comments on the issues raised in these reports and on the research implications.
Let us know what you think, using the comments form at the end of each presentation report.
Whose needs? Respect for diversity in a changing world
Martin Woodhead challenged the notion of early years provision based on 'needs', offering in its place the possibility of provision based on rights.