Bodies as Sites of Cultural Reflection in Early Childhood Education

Rachael S. Burke is Postdoctoral Fellow at Hiroshima University, Japan. She also conducts independent research in her role as Director of Small Earth Consulting Ltd., New Zealand.Judith Duncan is Professor of Education, School of Educational Studies and Leadership, at University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

• LIST OF FIGURES FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSNOTE ON AUTHORSGLOSSARY OF KEY TERMSSERIES EDITOR INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: Introduction Introduction Personal Connections Theoretical UnderpinningsMarcel Mauss and the emergence of the body in anthropological theory.The work of Mary Douglas.Michel Foucault and the body.The three bodies.Methodology Behind the ScenesThe FieldField site structure and daily routines.Fieldwork methods.The Development of Early Childhood Services in New Zealand and JapanNew Zealand.Japan.Bodily Practices.Outline of the BookChapter ReferencesChapter Endnotes　CHAPTER 2: Children’s Bodies as Contested Sites Introduction The Un(clothed) BodyThe naked child in Japanese educational settings.The Japanese Child’s Body as a Symbol of NostalgiaSkinship as cultural ideology.The collective unclothed body.The Protected Body in New Zealand Early Childhood EducationBodies under surveillance.Normalising the clothed body.Keeping the Japanese Child’s Body SafeFraming the Child’s BodyNotions of privacy.The Body as a Site of ExcretionThe body as teacher in Japanese early childhood education.Reflecting on Children’s Bodies as Culturally ContestedChapter ReferencesChapter Endnotes CHAPTER 3: Embodying the Curriculum Introduction Engaging the Body in Sensory Play Wrapping and unwrapping the body.Messy play.The Body as a Counterpoint to Modern LifestylesBody TechniquesThe cultural meanings of touch.The body as a medium of communication.The Physical SelfEmbodying gambaru in the Japanese context.Reflections on Embodying the CurriculumChapter ReferencesChapter Endnotes CHAPTER 4: Risk and the Body IntroductionTowards a Discourse of RiskThe Position of Children in the Risk SocietyPerilous Play: The Kindergarten Playground as Culturally Contested SpaceA Pedagogy of RiskCreating Real and Imagined Boundaries to Minimise RiskCultural Definitions of Safe SupervisionThe low profile of Japanese teachers.The use of real tools.Tools as iconic symbols.Assessing the risks and rewards of real tools.Defining objects in play as safe or risky.Perceptions of Risk and the BodyChapter ReferencesChapter Endnotes CHAPTER 5: The Body as a Site of Discipline IntroductionDeconstructing NoiseNoise as counterproductive.Noise as organic.Conflict and ConfrontationRights discourses in New Zealand.The lessons of conflict.Learning communicative competency.Developing empathy.The Use of Time and SpaceTime and space as disciplinary techniques in the Japanese kindergarten.Children’s Bodies as Objects of the Medical GazeReflecting on the Body as a Site of DisciplineChapter ReferencesChapter Endnotes CHAPTER 6: The Body as Natural Symbol IntroductionDirt and the BodyThe Physical Body as a Microcosm of SocietyThe Symbolism of Protective BarriersBodily Fluids as Metaphors of DisorderPurification of the BodyPolluted spaces.Food In and Out of PlaceRituals around food.The lunchbox as a reflection of cultural ideology.Reflecting on Constructions of Dirt, Pollution and PurityChapter ReferencesChapter Endnotes　CHAPTER 7: Bodies in Context IntroductionBodies from the BeginningConstructing the body.The body and its products.Internalising techniques of the body.Order and the body.Approaches to Dirt and PollutionComing Full CircleChapter References INDEX

"A fascinating read but one that could potentially be a little cognitively challenging in places, if you are more a fan of practical, rather than academic, books. This would be very helpful for students looking to do an interesting dissertation for their early years degree, MA or PHD." – Martine Horvath, EYE Magazine"Implicit cultural beliefs shape how children’s bodies are read, organized, responded to, and disciplined in early childhood education. This book makes some of these taken-for-granted beliefs and practices visible, thereby allowing for discussion about what it is that we believe about and want for young children in daycare." - Gail Boldt, Professor of Education, Pennsylvania State University, USA"This book is closely aligned with the changing, theoretically advancing field of early childhood education at large. The work is interesting, critically reflective, effectively engages critical theories, and addresses the changing nature of the fields of study. The authors effectively use popular critical theoretical perspectives to deconstruct popular notions about children and childhood and embed creative research lenses to assist in these focused endeavors." - Richard T. Johnson, Professor, Curriculum Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA