Past Courses

Understanding the Young Child (MPEd Early Childhood Education, Western University)

This course has been developed to serve two functions: (1) to meet requirements towards the Masters of Professional Education - Early Childhood Education; and (2) to prepare you to work as a pedagogist in early education settings. The notion of childhood refers to both a stage of life and a perception of children as different in nature from adults. Age is one of the ways in which childhood has been defined by child development. Such demarcation has influenced children’s physical capacity to work, attend school, and take care of their siblings and themselves. How childhood is understood affects children’s daily lives by influencing child-rearing norms, schooling, a wide range of scientific “truths,” and children’s place in society. In the 21st century, childhood is an established social category primarily dominated by developmental psychological knowledges. However, the meaning of the concept of childhood constantly shifts based on time, space, beliefs, and social needs. Childhood is also experienced and thought of differently across categories of race, ethnicity, religion, social class, gender, and sexuality. What the stage of childhood encompasses is highly debated in practice and scholarly circles. Childhood might denote innocence, vulnerability, and purity, but it also might serve to highlight the notion that children are political subjects with agency who actively participate in making worlds. The variability of conceptions of childhood is vividly expressed through the myriad disciplines that study childhood. What is emphasized about childhood differs slightly across disciplines and theoretical frameworks. The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of how various disciplines and conceptual frameworks have contributed to the development of the notion of childhood. Since the early 1900s, childhood has been the focus of research and practice in psychology. Child development is the specific area of psychology that addresses childhood by studying children’s growth and well-being. It conceptualizes childhood as a stage of life that is predictable, progressive, and universal. This course challenges these apolitical conceptions of childhood and emphasizes that childhood is a governable stage of life. The course offers three important contributions. First, it argues against universal approaches and for a situated notion of childhood that takes race, class, and gender discourses seriously in the shaping of childhood. Second, it links the construction and normalization of childhood to nation-state building. Finally, it situates childhood as a governable category implicated in colonial and nationalist projects that, in turn, differentially affect children’s everyday lives.

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Other Courses Developed and Taught at Western University

  • 2018: Understanding Curriculum Leadership for Educational Practice

  • 2017–2018: Ph.D. Seminar in CSSAL

  • 2017: Understanding the Young Child

  • 2016–2017: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Learning in Early Childhood II

Courses Developed & Taught at University of Victoria

  • 2014: Qualitative Research Methods in Child and Youth Care (MA)

  • 2006, 2008, 2012: Generating Knowledge in Child and Youth Care (PhD)

  • 2007, 2009, 2012: Directed Studies in Child and Youth Care (PhD)

  • 2004–2012: Child and Adolescent Development in Context (MA)

  • 2009, 2011: Internship in Child and Youth Care Research (PhD)

  • 2005–2011: Directed Studies in Child and Youth Care (MA)

  • 2008: Leadership, Advocacy and Policy for the Early Years (BA)

  • 2008: Issues of Assessment and Evaluation with Young Children and Families (BA)

  • 2008: Practices for Young Children and Families: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (BA – Early Years Specialization)

  • 2005: Professional Leadership in Child and Youth Care (BA)

  • 2004: Professionalism and Ethical Practice in Child and Youth Care (BA)

  • 2003: Lifespan Development (BA)

  • 2003: Professionalism and ethical practice in child and youth care (BA)

  • 2003: Introduction to Professional Child and Youth Care Practice (BA)