First Transitions to Early Childhood Education and Care: Intercultural Dialogues across the Globe (Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three Year Olds: Cross-disciplinary Insights and Innovations Book 5)

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. 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