Kim Atkinson | None - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Kim Atkinson

Journal of Childhood Studies

and Development. She also cocoordinates, with Danielle Davis, the Images of Learning Project-an e... more and Development. She also cocoordinates, with Danielle Davis, the Images of Learning Project-an exhibit, blog, and series of presentations that highlights the work of ECEs and the competencies of children (www.imagesoflearningproject.com).

The Early Childhood Educator: Early Childhood Educators of BC Journal, 2020

Education is a powerful tool that has promoted Eurocentric dominance by controlling who has acces... more Education is a powerful tool that has promoted Eurocentric
dominance by controlling who has access to education,
what knowledge is deemed necessary and “right,” and
what knowledge is erased. The 2019 BC Early Learning
Framework is intended to contribute to thought and
actions to disrupt colonizing pedagogies and practices.

The Early Childhood Educator: Early Childhood Educators of BC Journal, 2020

Why is it that early years settings are configured in the same ways? Why do they all have the sam... more Why is it that early years settings are configured in the same
ways? Why do they all have the same materials? What values,
assumptions, and histories underlie this conformity? What
knowledge is privileged, and what knowledge is silenced
when early years settings all look alike? Why does it matter?

The Early Childhood Educator: Early Childhood Educators of BC Journal, 2020

Developmentally appropriate practice is based on developmental psychology, setting forth expectat... more Developmentally appropriate practice is based on
developmental psychology, setting forth expectations for
children’s “normal” behaviour and skill proficiency, as well as
detailing activities, materials, schedules, and practices that
ensure children will develop correctly. Over time, these ways
of thinking about children and early learning have become
so ingrained that they seem natural, normal, and logical.

The Early Childhood Educator: Early Childhood Educators of BC Journal, 2012

What is pedagogical narration? Why is it important? How do you use it? How do you fit it into an ... more What is pedagogical narration? Why is it important? How do you use it? How do you fit it into an already busy day? This article addresses these questions with the hope that educators will come to a better understanding of pedagogical narration and how to incorporate it into practice.

JOURNAL OF CHILDHOOD STUDIES IDEAS FROM PRACTICE, 2017

This article draws on the experiences of two educators to reimagine traditional framings of pedag... more This article draws on the experiences of two
educators to reimagine traditional framings
of pedagogical leadership. In the field of early
childhood education, pedagogical leadership
carries conflicting conceptualizations and is
often associated with an “expert” who will
dictate indicators of quality, suggesting certainty
and fixed ways of practicing. Educators are often
reluctant to take on leadership roles that seem
antithetical to their collaborative caring practices.
In our work together in the Investigating Quality
Project and in using pedagogical narration as a
tool for generating critical dialogue, we explore
alternative images of pedagogical leadership.
Through sharing our stories, we offer a mode
of thinking about pedagogical leadership that
embraces relationality and uncertainty and
invites a culture of dialogue.

Contemporary early childhood contexts are rife with unspoken rules, boundaries, and expectations ... more Contemporary early childhood contexts are rife with unspoken rules, boundaries, and expectations that are understood to be best practice within discourses of quality in early years settings. These habitual practices are not apolitical: They flow from powerful discourses purporting to be scientific and reliable, with systematically defined ways of thinking,seeing, and speaking about children. Drawing on a body/paint/brush/forest encounter, the author looks to disrupt these discourses and transgress unspoken boundaries. By engaging with an ethic of resistance, acknowledging the relationally of early childhood practice and the entanglements of human
and nonhuman forces, the author seeks to transgress fixed
identities and be open to otherness in an ongoing process of becoming.

Research Partnerships in Early Childhood Education, 2013

This article considers thinking with a common worlds framework in relation to reimagining our ped... more This article considers thinking with a common worlds framework in relation to reimagining our pedagogies to move beyond the nature/culture binary. Drawing on the work of scholars who engage with common worlds ethnographic projects, the author grapples with what it means to shift from
human centric perspectives of teaching children about nature toward attending to the interdependencies, mutual vulnerabilities, and responsibilities between humans and nonhumans. The article describes encounters between children, wasps, bees, and mushrooms as a means of illustrating how we might move toward different ways relating to the nature/culture divide, away from learning about toward thinking with.

Toys are ubiquitous in early years settings. Providing particular toys and grouping them in parti... more Toys are ubiquitous in early years settings. Providing particular
toys and grouping them in particular ‘activity areas’ has come to
be regarded as an indicator of a quality program. How did this
homogeneity of toys in childhood spaces emerge? This article
explores some of the assumptions we carry about toys, and
considers how social, commercial, and scientific discourses have
shaped how we see childhood and toys and embedded particular
“truths” in our educational thought. The author suggests that
critically reflecting on the role of toys in early years settings can
open possibilities for teachers and children to think differently
about the image of the child, the image of the educator, and the
construction of knowledge

Drawing on the experience of the author and her colleagues, this article explores moving from a t... more Drawing on the experience of the author and her colleagues, this
article explores moving from a theme-based curriculum in early
years settings to an inquiry-based approach. New possibilities
for doing curriculum are described as educators challenge
themselves to engage in processes of critical reflection, enact
democratic principles, and adopt an inquiry as a focal point for
discussion among children, colleagues, and families. The article
shares examples of educators reimagining curriculum as they
embrace both the flow and uncertainty of an inquiry.

This paper explores art practices in early childhood education and care. Drawing on the author’s ... more This paper explores art practices in early childhood education
and care. Drawing on the author’s work as an early childhood
educator and as a pedagogical facilitator working with educators
and children, this paper challenges developmental perspectives
of art as leading to particular learning outcomes. By presenting
concepts of modern art and artists and using these as a lens
through which to view children’s art, the author suggests
new approaches in thinking about children, materials, and art
processes.

Journal of Childhood Studies

and Development. She also cocoordinates, with Danielle Davis, the Images of Learning Project-an e... more and Development. She also cocoordinates, with Danielle Davis, the Images of Learning Project-an exhibit, blog, and series of presentations that highlights the work of ECEs and the competencies of children (www.imagesoflearningproject.com).

The Early Childhood Educator: Early Childhood Educators of BC Journal, 2020

Education is a powerful tool that has promoted Eurocentric dominance by controlling who has acces... more Education is a powerful tool that has promoted Eurocentric
dominance by controlling who has access to education,
what knowledge is deemed necessary and “right,” and
what knowledge is erased. The 2019 BC Early Learning
Framework is intended to contribute to thought and
actions to disrupt colonizing pedagogies and practices.

The Early Childhood Educator: Early Childhood Educators of BC Journal, 2020

Why is it that early years settings are configured in the same ways? Why do they all have the sam... more Why is it that early years settings are configured in the same
ways? Why do they all have the same materials? What values,
assumptions, and histories underlie this conformity? What
knowledge is privileged, and what knowledge is silenced
when early years settings all look alike? Why does it matter?

The Early Childhood Educator: Early Childhood Educators of BC Journal, 2020

Developmentally appropriate practice is based on developmental psychology, setting forth expectat... more Developmentally appropriate practice is based on
developmental psychology, setting forth expectations for
children’s “normal” behaviour and skill proficiency, as well as
detailing activities, materials, schedules, and practices that
ensure children will develop correctly. Over time, these ways
of thinking about children and early learning have become
so ingrained that they seem natural, normal, and logical.

The Early Childhood Educator: Early Childhood Educators of BC Journal, 2012

What is pedagogical narration? Why is it important? How do you use it? How do you fit it into an ... more What is pedagogical narration? Why is it important? How do you use it? How do you fit it into an already busy day? This article addresses these questions with the hope that educators will come to a better understanding of pedagogical narration and how to incorporate it into practice.

JOURNAL OF CHILDHOOD STUDIES IDEAS FROM PRACTICE, 2017

This article draws on the experiences of two educators to reimagine traditional framings of pedag... more This article draws on the experiences of two
educators to reimagine traditional framings
of pedagogical leadership. In the field of early
childhood education, pedagogical leadership
carries conflicting conceptualizations and is
often associated with an “expert” who will
dictate indicators of quality, suggesting certainty
and fixed ways of practicing. Educators are often
reluctant to take on leadership roles that seem
antithetical to their collaborative caring practices.
In our work together in the Investigating Quality
Project and in using pedagogical narration as a
tool for generating critical dialogue, we explore
alternative images of pedagogical leadership.
Through sharing our stories, we offer a mode
of thinking about pedagogical leadership that
embraces relationality and uncertainty and
invites a culture of dialogue.

Contemporary early childhood contexts are rife with unspoken rules, boundaries, and expectations ... more Contemporary early childhood contexts are rife with unspoken rules, boundaries, and expectations that are understood to be best practice within discourses of quality in early years settings. These habitual practices are not apolitical: They flow from powerful discourses purporting to be scientific and reliable, with systematically defined ways of thinking,seeing, and speaking about children. Drawing on a body/paint/brush/forest encounter, the author looks to disrupt these discourses and transgress unspoken boundaries. By engaging with an ethic of resistance, acknowledging the relationally of early childhood practice and the entanglements of human
and nonhuman forces, the author seeks to transgress fixed
identities and be open to otherness in an ongoing process of becoming.

Research Partnerships in Early Childhood Education, 2013

This article considers thinking with a common worlds framework in relation to reimagining our ped... more This article considers thinking with a common worlds framework in relation to reimagining our pedagogies to move beyond the nature/culture binary. Drawing on the work of scholars who engage with common worlds ethnographic projects, the author grapples with what it means to shift from
human centric perspectives of teaching children about nature toward attending to the interdependencies, mutual vulnerabilities, and responsibilities between humans and nonhumans. The article describes encounters between children, wasps, bees, and mushrooms as a means of illustrating how we might move toward different ways relating to the nature/culture divide, away from learning about toward thinking with.

Toys are ubiquitous in early years settings. Providing particular toys and grouping them in parti... more Toys are ubiquitous in early years settings. Providing particular
toys and grouping them in particular ‘activity areas’ has come to
be regarded as an indicator of a quality program. How did this
homogeneity of toys in childhood spaces emerge? This article
explores some of the assumptions we carry about toys, and
considers how social, commercial, and scientific discourses have
shaped how we see childhood and toys and embedded particular
“truths” in our educational thought. The author suggests that
critically reflecting on the role of toys in early years settings can
open possibilities for teachers and children to think differently
about the image of the child, the image of the educator, and the
construction of knowledge

Drawing on the experience of the author and her colleagues, this article explores moving from a t... more Drawing on the experience of the author and her colleagues, this
article explores moving from a theme-based curriculum in early
years settings to an inquiry-based approach. New possibilities
for doing curriculum are described as educators challenge
themselves to engage in processes of critical reflection, enact
democratic principles, and adopt an inquiry as a focal point for
discussion among children, colleagues, and families. The article
shares examples of educators reimagining curriculum as they
embrace both the flow and uncertainty of an inquiry.

This paper explores art practices in early childhood education and care. Drawing on the author’s ... more This paper explores art practices in early childhood education
and care. Drawing on the author’s work as an early childhood
educator and as a pedagogical facilitator working with educators
and children, this paper challenges developmental perspectives
of art as leading to particular learning outcomes. By presenting
concepts of modern art and artists and using these as a lens
through which to view children’s art, the author suggests
new approaches in thinking about children, materials, and art
processes.