Drawing as Language: Celebrating the Work of Bob Steele is a Festschrift in honour of Bob Steele, Professor Emeritus, artist, educator and tireless advocate for bringing authentic aesthetic lived experiences to young children. Bob Steele’s prolific contribution to the field of visual arts education recognizes the importance of drawing for everyone, but especially with young children. As an artist-teacher-researcher Bob has devoted decades to developing understandings of drawing as language. He is a progressive thinker with commitment and passion, and through a lifetime of work has provoked serious engagement with children’s drawing processes: how children learn through drawing, through authentic experiences with their sensory world, and through their intense engagement with stories. In this unique collection we have invited educators and scholars whose work represents the ongoing influence of the ideas and teachings of Bob Steele: what he has brought to the field of art education, early childhood studies, and curriculum studies in general. It traces the history and development of his ideas. The reader is taken through his journey as a young educator in rural Saskatchewan, Canada to significant moments in his teaching and his work. The voices of the contributors offer an insightful alternative into how drawing need not be limited to a particular discipline but can be language of communication; a language that significantly matters in the daily lives and learning not just only for children, but for those who also work with them. We hope this Festschrift inspires you to think about the drawings of children differently and take your understanding to a new level.

Affirming the Rights of Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Children and Families explores how the philosophy, principles, and practices of the internationally acclaimed Municipal Preschools and Infant Toddler Centers of Reggio Emilia, Italy, advance the social justice and linguistic human rights of emergent bilingual and multilingual children and their families, particularly immigrants and refugees. The book is driven by the authors’ research-based discourse including an interview with Reggio Emilia educators and direct observations in the Preschools and Infant–toddler Centers in Italy. Chapters include survey and follow-up interviews, and classroom examples from U.S. early childhood educators inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach some of whom are in multilingual settings. Recommendations are included for practitioners who are intentional about advocating for the rights of emergent bi- and multilingual young children. Also included are the researchers’ interpretations and reflexive narratives on contextuality, intersectionality, and intertextuality, which interweave theories and practice. The insightful examinations of scholarly work and the critical review of the distinctive features of the Reggio Emilia philosophy contribute to an early childhood education transformative lens that challenges the status quo of inequities and foregrounds the linguistic and cultural rights of learners who speak different languages. The authors review research and theory that inform the latest developments in culturally and linguistically responsive practices in innovative early education (infant through pre-k), family participation, and teacher preparation and development. Of general interest to educators and researchers around the world who work to ensure the rights of emergent language learners, this is an essential text for upper-level and graduate students, early childhood educators, educational and community leaders, administrators, and researchers.

Reflecting contemporary theory and research in early art education, this volume offers a comprehensive introduction to new ways of thinking about the place of art, play, and aesthetics in the lives and education of young children. Enlivened by narratives and illustrations, 16 authors offer perspectives on the lived experience of being a child and discovering the excitement of making meaning and form in the process of art, play, and aesthetic inquiry.

This volume highlights lived experiences, personal inspirations and motivations, which have generated scholarship, and influenced the research and teaching of scholars in the field of curriculum studies. Offering contributions from new, established and experienced scholars, chapters foreground the ways in which the authors have been influenced by the mentorship and work of others, by personal challenges, and by the contexts in which they live and work. Chapters also illustrate how scholars have engaged in variety of methodological and autobiographical processes including narrative and poetic inquiry, autoethnography and visual arts research. Through a range of contributions, the book clarifies the origins and legacy of contemporary curriculum studies and in doing so, provides inspiration for beginning scholars and academics as they continue to find their voices in academic communities. Offering rich insight into the experiences and scholarship of a wide range of scholars, this volume will be of interest to students, scholars and researchers with an interest in curriculum studies, as well as educational research and methodologies more broadly.

In childhood research, children's art-making has typically been viewed and understood through a lens of developmental psychology and the notion that children's art-making progresses through a linear series of stages continues to dominate how we design and implement art-making experiences for young children. Postdevelopmental Approaches to Childhood Art brings together the work of theorists from around the world who have presented postdevelopmental approaches to childhood art, thereby playing a vital part in unsettling the dominance of the developmental paradigm and offering worked examples of alternative models. Drawing on sociocultural theory, Deleuzian philosophy, posthumanism and postmodernism each chapter offers a theoretical basis that challenges developmentalism, as well as an application of that theoretical basis. The contributors also consider what this shift in our perspective means for the design and implementation of art-making experiences for young children.

Laurie Kocher is a Faculty member in the Department of Early Childhood Care and Education, Capilano University, Canada. Catherine Patterson is Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Early Childhood, Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Australia.

The Handbook of Research on Critical Issues and Global Trends in International Education addresses the growing complexity and diversity of international schools by examining the critical issues and global trends faced by practitioners in this field. With a lack of research on the experiences and actions of school practitioners in these isolated workplaces, this book aims to provide practical and evidence-based solutions. The book covers a wide range of topics, including equity and access, diversity, teacher retention, legal frameworks, school typology, governance, cultural competence, third culture kids, leadership and practice, technology, and parent engagement. Written by educational professionals, researchers, and anthropologists, it offers a unique collection of voices from those with lived experiences in this field, making it an invaluable resource for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the international school sector. Whether you are an educator, researcher, policymaker, school leader, lecturer, or anthropologist, the Handbook of Research on Critical Issues and Global Trends in International Education is a must-read comprehensive guide to the complexities and challenges of international education, providing practical solutions for improving the quality of education in this rapidly evolving field. If you are looking to gain a nuanced understanding of the critical issues facing international schools and evidence-based approaches for addressing these challenges, this book is the perfect resource for you.

Providing a comprehensive overview of holistic education’s history, conceptions, practices, and research, this Handbook presents an up-to-date, global picture of the field. Organized in five sections, the Handbook lays out the field’s theoretical and historical foundations; offers examples of holistic education in practice with regard to schools, programs, and pedagogies at all levels; presents research methods used in holistic education; outlines the growing effort among holistic educators to connect holistic teaching and learning with research practice; and examines present trends and future areas of interest in program development, inquiry, and research. This volume is a must-have resource for researchers and practitioners and serves as an essential foundational text for courses in the field.

This book features interviews with 19 scholars who do research with children in a variety of contexts. It examines how these key scholars address research 'after the child’ by exploring the opportunities and challenges of drawing on posthumanist and materialist methodologies that unsettle humanist research practices. The book reflects on how posthumanist and materialist approaches have informed research in relation to de-centering the child, re-thinking methodological concepts of voice, agency, data, analysis and representation. It also explores what the future of research after the child might entail and offers suggestions to new and emerging scholars involved in research with children. Reviewing how posthumanist and materialist approaches have informed authors’ thinking about children, research and knowledge production, the book will appeal to graduate students and emerging scholars in the field of childhood studies who wish to experiment with posthumanist methodologies and materialist approaches.

The Banff School opened its doors in 1933 by offering a summer drama course. Since then, it has grown into a renowned cultural destination, today known as the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. As PearlAnn Reichwein and Karen Wall recount in this engaging history, over its first four decades the school produced and circulated ideals of culture and liberal democratic citizenship that were intrinsic to the development of modern Canada. Uplift traces the role of the school in shaping arts and cultural education, as reflected in its array of artistic, political, economic, and ideological interests. Situated within Banff National Park, the school and its surroundings combined stunning natural scenery and cultural capital in a symbolic national landscape. In an era of unstable cultural policy and funding, Uplift draws welcome attention to the place of fine arts, culture, and the humanities in public education and in Canada’s history.