Tony Eaude has been working with Dr Brendan Hyde and Dr Liz Rouse to prepare a proposal for a co-edited book called ‘Nurturing young children as spiritual beings in a globalized world’. This has been accepted Bloomsbury Academic with a view to publication in 2024. The abstract is as follows:
Children’s spiritual wellbeing has become a focus of early childhood education policy in recent years globally (e.g. the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (DEECD, 2009) and The New Zealand Te whāriki Early Childhood Curriculum (New Zealand Ministry of Education 2017)). Researchers have moved from seeing spirituality as primarily related to religion in faith-based contexts to a more socio-cultural view where it is a key component of all children’s sense of self and wellbeing. This book draws on current research from international scholars in various disciplines to address the widespread concerns about many of the messages which young children receive about themselves, their relationship to other people and the planet; and about the narrowing and instrumentalization of education in early years settings and, especially, schools, as a result of globalization and performativity. The types of knowledge and capabilities needed by children and educators to address these challenges are considered. Seeing and nurturing young children as meaning-makers and spiritual beings (rather than what they will become) can provide valuable insights into how they should be cared for, supported and empowered to thrive in the current social, cultural and educational context, emphasizing holistic approaches and caring relationships. The focus is on young children (up to the age of 8), exploring themes such as children as spiritual beings, sustainability, nurturing and inclusive environments and the role of play and the arts. This volume will enrich thinking about young children and spirituality and suggest in thought-provoking ways how the current neo-liberal discourse can be challenged.
One article which almost ready to be submitted is provisionally called
- ‘Sustaining playfulness in a context of performativity’
Two articles on which he has been actively working are:
- ‘In search of signature pedagogies for primary and elementary teacher education’ which is nearing completion
- ‘Exploring emotion and the emotional development of young children- and those who once were children’ which requires some further work but is not far from completion.
