Often used in the plural, "tantrum" denotes an uncontrolled outburst of anger and frustration, typically in a young child. In this paper we attempt to enact a feminist project of reclamation and reconfiguration of 'the toddler tantrum'. Drawing on a range of theoretical traditions, this paper investigates the complex yet generative…

Research framed by evolving sociocultural theories have been fundamental in advancing the study of early childhood literacies. More recently the field has been enriched by posthumanist theories that have shifted the analytic gaze from children's participation in literacy practices and events, to the fluid relationality of literacies. Concurrently,…

Emotions remain something of a mystery for most of us even when we accept their centrality to development in general and to infancy in particular. I make 2 arguments in this paper. One: that the most crucial thing about emotions is that they allow mutuality of engagement with other emotional beings--not only evoking responses, but also provoking…

The author argues for a functionalist understanding of autism. Instead of explaining autism as an inborn or otherwise neurological deficit, autism may be understood as a functional disturbance: the impairment of the abstract attitude. The abstract attitude is a concept developed by German neuropsychiatrist Kurt Goldstein (1987-1965) to describe…

Caring occupies a contested space in early childhood teaching. Caring is valued as crucial to children's physical and emotional wellbeing but, at the same time, it is undervalued as separate from education and more difficult to measure. This article argues for reconceptualising care as complex, dynamic, problematic, political, and assembled in…

Technocratic accountability, which is impacting ECEC practices in England, is where the government favors evidence-based knowledge to work with children. As a result, the emotional aspect of ECEC work and emotional labor have become increasingly complex and are sometimes unrecognized. In this paper we highlight the importance of more relational,…

In this article, developmental psychologists Ariel Kalil and Rebecca Ryan examine the relation between parenting practices and socioeconomic gaps in child outcomes. They document substantial differences between richer and poorer families, including growing gaps in parental engagement and time use. These gaps matter: the fact that children born to…

The global community is recognizing how "nurturing care" is critical for the developing child. The term encompasses health and nutrition, safety and security, responsive caregiving, and opportunities for inclusive early learning, all of which are afforded by loving parents and families and supportive communities. Public policies and…

Young learners (defined as children ages 5-12) of English as a foreign language are growing in number worldwide. At the policy level, foreign language (FL) programs for young learners are increasingly emphasizing the use of task-based language teaching (TBLT). In practice, however, designing and implementing tasks for young learners poses numerous…

This article examines attachment; viewing attachment as a continuum from secure attachment relationships through to attachment disorders. The article outlines theoretical bases in attachment, the implications of healthy secure attachment and that of insecure attachment in educational settings, suitable interventions and the importance of…

When we join with another who shares our sensibilities, we have potential for doing good. This article explores how the self-initiated art making of children that happens outside the classroom challenges the child emotionally and intellectually more than teacher-directed school art. Furthermore, authentic collaborative art making creates a site…

The Peterson Proactive Developmental Attention (PPDA) model offers a framework for affective curriculum for gifted children and adolescents and for both formal or informal interaction with individuals. The model was developed in authentic clinical and educational settings in response to perceived needs but was also informed by considerable…

Symbolic play is a powerful vehicle for supporting emotional development and communication. It embraces all developmental capacities. This article describes how symbols are formed and how emotional themes are symbolized whereby children reveal their understanding of the world, their feelings and relationships, and how they see themselves in the…

Most scholars consider gratitude as a moral emotion, with only few seeing it as a character trait. As a result, no systematic mechanism has ever been attempted to develop gratitude in children. Given the social issue of widespread lack of gratitude in the one-child generations of China, this article attempts to outline a mechanism of parental…

This article offers a conceptual framework for assessing PJ Library programming grounded in the relevant scholarly literature and illustrated by way of conversations with PJ Library parents. It is built around three themes concerning how parents view their role as facilitators in their child's religious and cultural identity formation through the…