Questioning community in early childhood education

In current early childhood literature, it appears that anything called 'a caring community of learners' is considered excellent practice. In this article, however, we look critically at the idea of community. We examine the shifts in the field that led to community's transformation fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Early child development and care 2004-08, Vol.174 (6), p.515-526
Main Authors: Wisneski, Debora B., Goldstein, Lisa S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altruism
Child care
Child development
Childhood
Children
Community
Conceptualization
Democracy
Discourse
Early Childhood Education
Education
Educational Practices
Inclusive Schools
Learning
Learning environment
Sense of community
Young Children
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Summary:In current early childhood literature, it appears that anything called 'a caring community of learners' is considered excellent practice. In this article, however, we look critically at the idea of community. We examine the shifts in the field that led to community's transformation from an implicit assumption to a recognized and explicit requirement in high-quality early childhood educational environments, identify some of the more troubling and problematic aspects of community that are currently missing from the scholarly literature, and make suggestions about ways to continue this important conversation. Our goal is not to discount the value of community in early childhood educational practices, but to enrich and complicate our understandings of this important aspect of our work with young children.
ISSN:0300-4430
1476-8275
DOI:10.1080/0300443042000187031