Bodies as Sites of Cultural Reflection in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

LIST OF FIGURES FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NOTE ON AUTHORS GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS SERIES EDITOR INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: Introduction Introduction Personal Connections Theoretical Underpinnings Marcel 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 Scenes The Field Field site structure and daily routines. Fieldwork methods. The Development of Early Childhood Services in New Zealand and Japan New Zealand. Japan. Bodily Practices. Outline of the Book Chapter References Chapter Endnotes CHAPTER 2: Children's Bodies as Contested Sites Introduction The Un(clothed) Body The naked child in Japanese educational settings. The Japanese Child's Body as a Symbol of Nostalgia Skinship as cultural ideology. The collective unclothed body. The Protected Body in New Zealand Early Childhood Education Bodies under surveillance. Normalising the clothed body. Keeping the Japanese Child's Body Safe Framing the Child's Body Notions of privacy. The Body as a Site of Excretion The body as teacher in Japanese early childhood education. Reflecting on Children's Bodies as Culturally Contested Chapter References Chapter 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 Lifestyles Body Techniques The cultural meanings of touch. The body as a medium of communication. The Physical Self Embodying gambaru in the Japanese context. Reflections on Embodying the Curriculum Chapter References Chapter Endnotes CHAPTER 4: Risk and the Body Introduction Towards a Discourse of Risk The Position of Children in the Risk Society Perilous Play: The Kindergarten Playground as Culturally Contested Space A Pedagogy of Risk Creating Real and Imagined Boundaries to Minimise Risk Cultural Definitions of Safe Supervision The 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 Body Chapter References Chapter Endnotes CHAPTER 5: The Body as a Site of Discipline Introduction Deconstructing Noise Noise as counterproductive. Noise as organic. Conflict and Confrontation Rights discourses in New Zealand. The lessons of conflict. Learning communicative competency. Developing empathy. The Use of Time and Space Time and space as disciplinary techniques in the Japanese kindergarten. Children's Bodies as Objects of the Medical Gaze Reflecting on the Body as a Site of Discipline Chapter References Chapter Endnotes CHAPTER 6: The Body as Natural Symbol Introduction Dirt and the Body The Physical Body as a Microcosm of Society The Symbolism of Protective Barriers Bodily Fluids as Metaphors of Disorder Purification of the Body Polluted spaces. Food In and Out of Place Rituals around food. The lunchbox as a reflection of cultural ideology. Reflecting on Constructions of Dirt, Pollution and Purity Chapter References Chapter Endnotes CHAPTER 7: Bodies in Context Introduction Bodies from the Beginning Constructing the body. The body and its products. Internalising techniques of the body. Order and the body. Approaches to Dirt and Pollution Coming Full Circle Chapter References INDEX