Postgraduate - UnitEDF5901 - Contemporary perspectives in early childhood education

This unit examines concepts of childhood in diverse cultural, socio-political and historical contexts to critically investigate the intersection of childhood, educational practices, policies and theories, and professional conduct. The analytical framework draws on the sociology of childhood and critical childhood studies to engage with the challenges, tensions and potential of conceptualising childhood in the twenty-first century. Specifically, this unit addresses how concepts of childhood govern children's participation in diverse contexts; how issues of environmental and social justice affect children and their communities at global, regional and local levels; and how gender, ethnicity and race relations embedded in concepts of childhood have historically governed children's everyday lives.