Early Childhood Voices: Children, Families, Professionals (eBook)

This revolutionary book explores theoretical and practical issues of listening to children, families, and professionals who advocate for and work with young children to promote social justice and improve their lives, and to ensure no one is left behind. Listening to children is explored across multiple disciplines internationally and highlights the practical application of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The work explores innovations, theories, and partnerships, and draws on the voices of children, families, early childhood educators, speech-language pathologists, and multidisciplinary teams from across 17 countries to provide a shared vision for equity, peace and justice for all while integrating social environmental, economic, and dimensions of sustainability. Topics include giving children a voice; methods for listening to and documenting young children's perspectives; listening to and working in partnership with families, educators, and professionals; and wellness and wellbeing of young children and their families across multiple dimensions.

Linda Mahony, EdD, is a Senior Lecturer in Professional Experience at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. She has over 30 years' experience in early years education with 20 years as a classroom teacher of young children. This has given her insight into the lived experiences of teachers and their important work with young children and their families. Linda's research has a social justice and equity perspective and focuses on the nexus between early childhood or school, and family to explore teachers' pedagogical practices for promoting social and emotional well-being and learning for young children experiencing parental separation and divorce, and partnerships with family and community so that these young children can break through the barriers to their well-being and learning.

 Sharynne McLeod, PhD, is a speech-language pathologist and professor of speech and language acquisition at Charles Sturt University, Australia. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and the Royal Society of New South Wales, was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, and has received Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Life Membership of Speech Pathology Australia. Her research primarily focuses on listening to children and supporting children's communication, speech, and multilingualism. She has advocated for communication rights at the United Nations and the World Health Organization based on special issues of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. The Australian Newspaper named her Australia's Research Field Leader in Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022) and Best in the World based on the 'quality, volume and impact' of research in the field (2019, 2023).

 Andi Salamon, PhD, is an early childhood teacher and Senior Lecturer who taught education studies at Charles Sturt University during the making of this book. She has co-edited a book as part of the Routledge Thinking about Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education series focusing on multiple identities in early childhood. This understanding of the multiplicity of early childhood identities helps inform a deeper understanding of the multiplicity of early childhood voices, as do over 20 years' experience as a teacher, director, leader, and researcher in the field. Her doctoral study became the springboard to her 2019 Jean Denton Memorial Scholarship research project, where Andi continues to advocate for infants' rights and quality early years experiences. She brings her passion to uphold children's optimal learning into practice with pre-service teachers.

 Jenny Dwyer is an early childhood teacher with over 30 years' experience working in a wide range of early childhood contexts. She has worked as a lecturer in early childhood at Charles Sturt University for over 10 years and continues to work as a sessional academic while completing her PhD, investigating young children's mathematics play and learning. Her focus is recognising and valuing the importance of the rights of the child, who from birth is capable of learning and communicating through multiple languages. Jenny's interest extends to children's ability to use languages and mental imagery to develop abstract thinking and symbolic thought as expressed through imaginary play and their use of drawn symbols and signs as the foundation for understanding the abstract nature of mathematics. Jenny's research will examine the socio-cultural influences on children's mathematical signs and symbols within their play, known as mathematical graphicacy, which helps develop abstract thinking and symbolic thought viewed as being necessary for learning mathematic notation in later years.