This book brings together the work of researchers from around the globe around the topic of children’s first transitions to early care and education. It discusses political and sociocultural contexts, theories, and ideologies around the theme. The book offers perspectives and findings on adult expectations around a child’s first transition, infant emotional experiences, the role of space, the part that key objects play in infant transitions, and the role of time. It also discusses age of first entry, routines and rhythms of the institutions, and the future expectations of those involved.The book takes a culturally responsive approach, revealing at times striking commonalities across countries, and at other points distinct differences in the people, environments, orienting pedagogies, and policies that inform an infant’s transition into care.
Author(s): E. Jayne White, Helen Marwick, Niina Rutanen, Katia Souza Amorim, Laura K. M. Herold
Series: Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three Year Olds: Cross-disciplinary Insights and Innovations, 5
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 305
City: Cham
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Contents
About the Editor and Contributors
About the Editors
Contributors
Chapter 1: Introducing ISSEET
Introduction
Part 1: Setting the Scene for a Study of Infant Transitions
Research Design
Data Collection Methods
Data Analysis
Participants
Ethical Considerations
Part 2: Orienting First Transitions in this Book
Introducing the Chapters
Terminologies that Portray Realities
References
Additional Resources from ISSEET to Date
Chapter 2: Policies Framing Infant Transitions Across Six Countries
Introduction
Geopolitical Similarities and Differences Across Countries
Equity for Mothers in Paid Employment?
Women’s Employment, Rights, and Maternity Leave
Home-Care Allowance
ECEC Arrangements
Availability of ECEC for Infants
Final Comments
References
Chapter 3: (In)visible Indigenous Perspectives on First Transition
Introduction
Recognition and (In)visibility
Indigenous Conceptions of the Infant
Becoming and Transition: Indigenous Perspectives and Colonization in ECEC
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Positionings: A Disconnect Between Becoming, Transition, and Colonization
Māori Ways of Knowing: A Disconnect Between Becoming and Colonization
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives: An ISSEET Encounter
Māori Perspectives: An Encounter
Contextualizing the (In)visibility
Indigenous Concepts of Children, Childhood, and Transition-as-Becoming
Building Recognition and (In)visibility Through Transition-as-Becoming in Indigenous Contexts
Concluding Comments
References
Chapter 4: Pedagogies of Infant Transition: A Trail of Breadcrumbs
Introduction
Specific Policies Shaping Infant Pedagogy for Transitions
Qualifications and Training
Structural Variables
Age of Entry
Curricula Shaping Infant Pedagogies for Transition
ISSEET ECEC Services Articulating Infant Transitions
Re-tracing Our Steps Toward Discovery
References
Chapter 5: Enacted Pedagogies in First Transitions
Introduction
Pedagogies before the First Day
Visits
Assigning a Key Educator
Pedagogies on the First Day
Arrivals and (Parental) Departures
After the Parent Leaves
Routines
Play
Concluding Speculations
References
Chapter 6: Adult Expectations and Emotions During First Transitions for Infants
Introduction
A Sociopolitical Approach to the Event of Earliest Transition
Introducing the Case Study Narratives
Case Study 1. Aotearoa New Zealand: “Keep the Home Fires Burning”
Case Study 2. United States: “I Don’t Need to Feel Bad Anymore”
Case Study 3. Finland: “It Feels Terrible ... But It Will Be Good for Her”
Case Study 4. Brazil: “A Living Wheel of Care”
Case Study 5. Scotland: “Becoming a Celebrity”
Case Study 6: Australia: “Degrees of Misery”
Case Study 7: Aotearoa (New Zealand): “He’s Been here Before”
Case 8: Finland: “The Smooth Transition”
Earliest transition Events: An Ethico-onto-Epistemological Response
References
Chapter 7: The Social Experience of First Transitions: Infants and their Peers
Introduction
Resistance to a Conceptualization of Infant–Peer Relationships
Organization of the Space
Observations of Infants’ Interactions with Peers
Final Comments
References
Chapter 8: Living the Space in First Transitions
Introduction
Social and Relational Space
Infants’ Embodied Experiences in Lived Spaces
Relationship Between Home and ECEC Spaces During Transition
Transformation of Space Through Time
Transformation of Space Through Action and Movement
Access to Diverse Spaces: Indoors and Outdoors
Concluding Remarks: What Can We Say about Spatiality in Transitions?
References
Chapter 9: First Transitions and Time
Introduction
Time of the Parents
Deciding to Share an Infant’s Care and Education
Selecting the ECEC Service
Transitioning to ECEC
Time of the Institution
Beginning to Attend Early Education and Care Services
Links Between Institutional Time in ECEC and Historical and Contextual Time
Institutional Time: Annual Cycles and the Year of the Institution
Weekly and Daily Institutional Cycles
Time of the Child
Vignette A: Sleep Routines and Rhythms
Vignette B: Age on Transition
Vignette C: From Moment to Moment—The Timing of Interactions
In the Fullness of Time
What these Temporalities Mean for Transition
Time-Related Negotiations
Intertwining Times
Conflicts of Time
Conclusion
References
Chapter 10: The “Things” of First Transitions
Introduction
Things in Early Childhood Settings: Reviewing the Literature
Worlding
Data-Analysis Methodology: Worlded Encounters with “Things”
Vignettes: Things in the Transition Process
Madeline (Australia)
Vignette 1: First Day with Rejected Objects
The Scene
Gathering Meaning
Vignette 2: Madeline’s Plushy Lion
The Scene
Gathering Meaning
Zane (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Vignette 3: First Transition with Velvety Rabbit
The Scene
Gathering Meaning
Vignette 4: Yellow Cube and Friends
The Scene
Gathering Meaning
Imogen (United States)
Vignette 5: First Transition and Bottle Rejection
The Scene
Gathering Meaning
Vignette 6: Imogen’s Vest
The Scene
Gathering Meaning
Vignette 7: Bottle in a Cozy Cubby
Gathering Meaning
Things Interanimating Transitions
Transitional Things
Meaning-Making, Scriptwriting, and House Building
Non-things
Concluding Thoughts
References
Chapter 11: Epilogue: Where Do We Look to Next?
References
Appendix: Observation Coding Sheet: Explanation of Variables
Index
