Importance of Aesthetic Development in Early Childhood

Georgina Barton is Professor at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Her research primarily focuses on literacy, the arts, aesthetics and well-being. She has over 180 publications and has led several projects in Australia and internationally. Georgina conducts her research alongside students and teachers in schools or learners in the community.Vicki Christopher is Lecturer of Early Childhood Education at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Her research focuses on early childhood learning environments, play, social justice, nature immersion and child voice. She strongly advocates for young children to be valued and respected and to have their voices represented in decision-making for – and discussion of – issues relating to them.Susanne Garvis is Professor of Early Childhood Education in the Griffith Institute for Educational Research, Griffith University, Australia. Her research focuses on quality improvement, learning and pedagogical approaches within early childhood education. She has led many national and international projects and worked in both Australia and Sweden.

• List of Contributors1. The importance of aesthetic development in early childhood: Exploring multiple theories2. Aesthetic development in early childhood education: A scoping literature review3. Listening with children in nature: Witnessing aesthetic encounters and the relational building of meaning4. Scaffolding creativity: Learning and social orientation in aesthetic learning environment in Finnish ECE toddlers’ groups5. Putting to work contrasting theories to further understand childhood ‘aesthetic becoming’ through the arts as enactments in home settings6. How I learn: Teaching aesthetics through sustainability7. Using the 4C model for aesthetic development in early years learning: A case study in a rural school8. Aesthetic encounters in nature: Cognitive & non-cognitive dimensions of environmental aesthetics in early childhood9. Same degree, different pedagogies? Framing the pedagogical elements and reflecting the aesthetic dimensions of Finnish UAS10. Final reflection: Cultivating aesthetic flourishing in the early yearsIndex