Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child: Time for Slow Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education (Contesting Early Childhood)

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You can also find out more about the Froebel Trust funded Falkirk project, led by Donna Green - supporting practitioners implementing slow pedagogy in their settings. One example of slow knowledge in practice is project-based learning, which allows children to investigate a topic in depth over an extended period of time. This approach encourages children to take ownership of their learning and develop a deep understanding of the subject matter. It also fosters creativity and critical thinking, which are important skills for success in today’s rapidly changing world. The Benefits of Slow Knowledge for Young Children

Students write a 2,000-word essay in which students will critically discuss: what would be your key points in developing different relationships with time in ELC in the future? Concept of ‘wisdom’ is important and would repay more attention. What is it and how can it be nurtured?

About the Series

My first thoughts echo Anne’s points about working in collaboration with practitioners. This really resonated with me as ethically I attempted to work as a co-researcher with my main participant in my doctoral study and this article helped me to make more sense of why that felt such as a big deal for me at the time. But… on reflection I can see that the research enquiry was mine and not based on the ‘real world problems’ that Orr urges us to consider. Perhaps this is somewhat inevitable in PhD work to some extent, in our rush to make institutional deadlines. This will help me reframe my next enquiry, to really attempt to tune in and be guided by my teacher participants in where and what the enquiry evolves into. I have deliberately chosen an article that has come from a different tradition than early childhood education. The article was first published in the mid 1990s so this adds an additional temporal dimension to thinking about where we are now and what may have changed.

Week beginning 27th April 2020 I plan to post a summary of the discussion so far followed by an introduction to the third article. Be able to identify the links between Froebelian principles and slow pedagogies and practices that include valuing childhood in its own right, the importance of play and opportunities for immersion in nature. Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child is divided in three parts. Part 1, Reasons to be slow, looks at the pressures in Early Childhood Education and Care to speed up and for children to be ‘readied’ for the next stage. The book then explores different relationships with time for young children and educators. Part2, Slow pedagogies and practices, explore some of the forms slow practices can take including outdoors, in the studio, in everyday routines, through stories, in pedagogical documentation and in ‘slow’ research. Part 3, Moving forward, shows what a ‘timefull’ approach to ECEC can look like, whilst debating the challenges and possibilities that exist. While many educators and parents may feel pressure to push children to learn at a faster pace, research shows that this approach can be detrimental to children’s overall well-being. For example, a study published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology found that children who experienced more pressure to achieve academically were more likely to experience anxiety and depression (3). Similarly, a report by the American Psychological Association found that children who experience high levels of stress and pressure are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as substance abuse (4). American Academy of Pediatrics. (2018). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds.

About the Speaker

I really welcomed Orr’s call to think more holistically and to value complexity. There seem to be connections with Froebel’s vision for education here, particularly his spiritual beliefs around all of life’s elements being connected and balanced in harmony. https://www.froebel.org.uk/research/slow-knowledge-and-the-unhurried-child-time-for-slow-pedagogies-in-early-childhood-education/ For early childhood educators, it is important to recognize the negative outcomes of a fast-paced, progress-focussed learning environment and to prioritize unhurried teaching practices. This may involve advocating for more unstructured playtime, incorporating project-based learning into the curriculum, and valuing children’s natural curiosity and desire to learn. By adopting an unhurried approach to teaching and parenting, we can help ensure that young children in New Zealand receive the education they deserve, one that fosters creativity, critical thinking, and overall well-being.

Professor Chris Pascal, Director of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC), Birmingham. The second session:

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Lynn began her career as a teacher of nursery and primary classes, working across three local authority areas in Scotland. She gained a M.Ed in Early Years Pedagogue whilst working in strategic support and development roles at regional and national levels. She is a part-time Ed.D student at the University of Strathclyde studying portraits of play pedagogy alongside working in her current role as a Senior Education Officer in the Curriculum Innovation team in Education Scotland. Lynn has co-authored and illustrated several publications - including the current national practice guidance for early years in Scotland, 'Realising the Ambition: Being Me'. mealtimes to be important features of the day where there is time for young children to participate fully and be involved in the preparation, sharing food together and tidying up

Thinking about play is central to reconsidering the relationship with time for young children. Drawing on the characteristics of Froebelian informed play, as described by Tina Bruce, I have chosen three of the twelve characteristics here to begin to make explicit some of the many strands in the relationship between play and time. Thank you so much for inviting me to this Alison, and I’ve had a first read of Orr (1996) but really need to read again to let it percolate. It has made me think about the volume of reading I feel compelled to do as an academic but the need to take time to really make sense of it too. Play is an active process without an end product. When the play fades, so does its tangibility. It can never again be replayed in exactly the same way. It is of the moment and vanishes when the play episode ends. This aids flexibility of thought and the adaptability central to the intellectual life of the child. https://www.froebel.org.uk/research-library/slow-knowledge-and-the-unhurried-child-time-for-slow-pedagogies-in-early-childhood-educationIn relation to education, there are many parallels to current pressures on children and teachers (particularly assessment agendas, and the point on p. 699: ‘Only that which can be measured is true knowledge; the more we have of it the better’). I found myself thinking about all the knowledges that are difficult to measure, or to even be aware of. What is sometimes called ‘tacit knowledge’ or ‘embodied knowledge’ for instance – knowledge that we may not know we have and that we only fully appreciate when something causes it to be brought to our attention. Research has shown that an unhurried, reflective approach to learning can have numerous benefits for young children. For example, a study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that children who engaged in more unstructured playtime had better emotional regulation and were less likely to experience anxiety and depression (1).