Early Childhood Voices in the news

Early Childhood Voices. Our new book highlights the diversity and cultures of young children and ways we can listen to and learn from children. 

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-56484-0

Thanks to all of the excellent international authors and to Charles Sturt University media for your news story today

https://news.csu.edu.au/in-brief/amplifying-young-voices-new-book-highlights-diversity-and-cultures-of-young-children

 

Early Childhood Voices: Children, Families, Professionals (2e)

Our CSU editorial team met again today - and submitted our book proposal for a second edition/volume of Early Childhood Voices: Children, Families, Professionals (2e). We have already received an initial positive response from the commissioning editor. 

Editorial team: Shukla Sikder, Sharynne McLeod, Sarah Verdon, Lysa Dealtry, Sheena Elwick

Early Childhood Voices has arrived

Our new book - Early Childhood Voices has just arrived. It is always great to hold a new book. I am so proud of this book - a collaboration between members of the Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Research Group. It was a privilege to mentor the book editors (Linda, Andi and Jenny) to edit their first book - and to support the chapter authors - most of whom had never written a book chapter. The Preface also features my friend, Elsie Hey-Cunningham's excellent drawing of talking over Zoom.

Sharynne and Jane McCormack with the chapter they co-authored with Kate Crowe

JUST PUBLISHED - Early Childhood Voices: Children, Families, Professionals

Early Childhood Voices: Children, Families, Professionals 

Editors: Linda Mahony, Sharynne McLeod, Andi Salamon, Jenny Dwyer 

Publisher: Springer 

Publication date: 2024 

URL: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-56484-0

Springer's description of the book:

"Offers real life evidence-based examples and application to professional practice Brings together professionals across multiple disciplines from 17 countries Enacts the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

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."

This book was the result of collaboration and mentoring with members of the Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Research Group (ECIR) after the Early Childhood Voices Conference 2020 (ECV2020). It has been an absolute pleasure working with my co-editors, the chapter authors who presented papers at ECV2020 and our reviewers.

Patient and public involvement (PPI)

I am pleased to note that "patient and public involvement (PPI)" is mentioned frequently in the UK. It seems to be the acronym that has grown from the phrase that I heard frequently during my last visit to the UK: "nothing about us without us". 

Here is an example of PPI from the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) in the NHS: https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/what-we-do/patient-and-public-involvement/

"Patient and public involvement is important to the work of the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC). We work with people and communities to ensure that the research priorities and innovations we support are developed in collaboration with people with lived experience of a particular service or health condition. We work with patients, people who access services, carers, charities, community groups and others to bring diverse perspectives into our work."

Here is the NHS PPI strategy: https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/publication/accelerated-access-collaborative-patient-and-public-involvement-strategy/

"Working with our patient partners and stakeholders, we have developed The patient and public involvement strategy 2021-2026. This strategy sets out six aims:

1. Ensure that a diverse range of patients and the public, especially people with lived experience, are involved in influencing the direction and delivery of our work programmes.

2. Proactively address equality and inclusion in our work.

3. Work collaboratively across the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) partnership and wider system partners to embed a culture of patient involvement across AAC programmes.

4. Support patients and public partners to have a meaningful and positive experience while working with us.

5. Understand our impact and outcomes.

6. Communicate our impact."

   I have learned from Prof Yvonne Wren about how they have PPI groups (e.g., YPAG - Young People's Advisory Group) who are consulted at various times during their research. For example, their team included a range of stakeholders to co-design in their research, then the PPI groups were consulted to provide feedback before being tested.  

   PPI groups can be established outside of the data collection process. PPI discussions are not included as research data unless ethics approval has been gained and signed consent has been received.
   

    Here are some associated terms: "co-design", "co-create", "collaboration", "listening to children's voices".

Our Springer book cover has arrived

 Our book cover has arrived!

Reviews of Early childhood voices: Children, families, professionals

We have just received the very positive reviews from Springer about our new edited book that is in the final stages of publication:

Mahony, L., McLeod, S., Salamon, A., Dwyer, J. (Eds.) (2023, in press). Early childhood voices: Children, families, professionals. Springer. 

Some of the comments included: 

• "Voice has been explored in early childhood before, but the focus of this book from a social justice perspective contextualizes voice work in a powerful way." 
•  "The interdisciplinary nature of the book is to be commended! This not only means the book is of interest to a larger audience but also allows readers to understand the nuanced perspectives on a common topic across the disciplines." 
•  "The definition of voice is broad and encompassing" 
• "The writing is well grounded in key research works. Throughout the chapters, the authors draw on world renowned studies and leading papers in the field. It presents rigor and confidence in the work." 
• "The images of children and drawings by children bring the book to life and are a wonderful addition." "The UNCRC is threaded throughout the book which is valuable because it reduces the tendency to focus only Article 12 and 13 when considering voice work.". 
• "The book also tackles head on the diversity of experience and culture. It moves away from a privileged perspective on voice work and includes many chapters on complexity and challenges in life" 

We are excited about finalising the book, so that it can be published and read throughout the world. 

Book editors meeting via Zoom

Editors' meeting for our Early Childhood Voices chapter to be published by Springer

We had a great meeting as editors for our Early Childhood Voices chapter to be published by Springer. The book is due for submission 30th June, 2023

We have 19 chapters in the book. Ten chapters are currently being copyedited. The remainder are close to finalisation. It is looking great.

Andi Salamon, Sharynne McLeod, Linda Mahony, Jenny Dwyer

Participatory approaches to ethical (infant) research and pedagogy

Today I attended a fascinating presentation in the School of Education Research Seminar titled "Intentional research: Participatory approaches to ethical (infant) research and pedagogy" by Dr Andi Salamon. 

Abstract: Participatory research approaches aim to break down distinctions between researchers and those being ‘researched’. Such approaches have been critiqued in relation to very young children with the suggestion that the participation of children under three in research (and often pedagogical practice) is an illusion (Palaiologou, 2014). It is argued, however, that possibilities exist to consider infant research participants in ethically symmetrical ways to adult participants, and by not doing so we can ‘other’ very young children (Salamon, 2015). Such seemingly conflicting perspectives highlight the inherent challenges of including people with the least power as research participants. This week’s SoE Research Seminar presents the innovative methodological shifts of a research project that documented and deconstructed infants’ evocative emotional communication. Framed through a theory of practice architectures lens the project afforded babies opportunities to participate, enabled by methodological choices, critical reflection on the ‘happening-ness’ of practices and considered as ‘intentional research’. The presentation aligns this approach with intentional teaching pedagogy in Australian early childhood education contexts, and discusses implications for high quality practices in pedagogy with infants, in qualitative research and in any educational system more broadly.

 

Springer book contract - "Early Childhood Voices: Children, Families, Professionals"

I have just signed a new book contract with Springer to edit "Early Childhood Voices: Children, Families, Professionals" with my colleagues Linda Mahony, Andi Salamon and Jenny Dwyer. The book arose from our Early Childhood Voices 2020 conference and presenters from across the world have agreed to write chapters expanding on their presentations. It is going to be a great book.

New book contract with Springer “Early childhood voices in the lives of children, families, and practitioners”

Today we received news that our Springer book proposal titled “Early childhood voices in the lives of children, families, and practitioners” has been accepted for inclusions in the International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development series and a contract will be coming soon. Congratulations to my fellow editors Linda Mahony, Andi Salamon and Jenny Dwyer.

Book meeting

We received great feedback from Springer about our book proposal for "Early childhood voices in the lives of children, families, and practitioners". Today was our last book meeting for the year. We have been working hard as an editorial team.

Linda Mahony, Sharynne McLeod, Andi Salamon, Jenny Dwyer

Early Childhood Research Group - new website

 Today we launched Charles Sturt University Early Childhood Research Group website: https://earlychildhoodresearch.csu.domains

We also have a new Twitter account: @CSU_ECRG

We will be advertising the Early Childhood Voices 2020 Conference very soon!

Here is our overview:

The Early Childhood Research Group (ECRG) promotes social justice for children, families and practitioners working with the early childhood sector (generally birth-8 years). We do this by using innovative methods, theories and partnerships with children, families, practitioners and the early childhood sector to co-produce, translate and implement research, and to generate evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence. Our research emphasises sustainability, children’s rights, enhancing children’s access to, participation in and outcomes from equitable, quality early childhood programs and services, workforce sustainability, and transformation of the social, policy and organisational conditions that enable social justice. We seek opportunities to bridge gaps and promote holistic approaches between settings (early childhood education and care, schools, homes, health and disability services), and bodies (government departments, international and national organisations). We build capacity for engaging in transformative research within our group and with other researchers. 

We are guided by Charles Sturt University’s ethos: Yindyamarra winhanganha "The wisdom of respectfully knowing how to live well in a world worth living in" and Charles Sturt University’s motto: "For the public good". We also align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals  3, 4, 8, 10

 More information 

Website (CSU-FOAE) https://arts-ed.csu.edu.au/research/research-groups/early-childhood-research-group 

Our research (CRO) https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/organisations/early-childhood-research-group 

Our impact (PlumX) https://plu.mx/csu-au/g/early-childhood-research-group 

Please contact us if you would like to join our research group, partner with us, or participate in our research.We welcome comments and inquiries from professionals, researchers, research partners, and aspiring PhD students. Dr Tamara Cumming tcumming@csu.edu.au and Professor Sharynne McLeod smcleod@csu.edu.au 

We have purchased some fantastic new iStock images to use on the website.

 Photo credit: iStock.com/monkeybusinessimages

Early Childhood Research Group meeting - exciting innovations

Today our Early Childhood Research Group met and discussed a number of innovations stemming from the focus on research by our new Dean, Professor John McDonald.

https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/organisations/early-childhood-research-group

Planning Early Childhood Voices - A virtual flipped pop-up conference

The Early Childhood Research Group are planning a virtual flipped pop-up conference titled "Early Childhood Voices". Many great ideas were discussed today.

Planning team - Tamara Cumming, Sharynne McLeod and Nicola Ivory