ABSTRACT
The philosophy of early childhood and childhood is a contested notion. Epistemology and ontology in early childhood education are very strongly connected with the history of philosophy itself, as well as with the history of children and their childhoods. The major contributors to the philosophy and pedagogy of the early years are European philosophers. The notion of 'childhood' cannot be considered outside of the realm of the contemporary narrative. The concerns of what is childhood, and who is a child, have been part of the longstanding philosophical debates. Several philosophers have significantly crafted and devoted their work to the subject of children and childhoods through their philosophical writings. The philosophy of children and childhood, in contemporary times, often portrays children's childhoods as socially and culturally constructed, invented and produced within governing rationalities. Children have a very strong understanding of self and what constitutes their childhoods, and what should be understood as their very own experience.
