ABSTRACT
Adopting a philosophical approach towards involvement with babies and young children provides some understanding of what is being achieved and how. Through such an approach, consideration can be given to the purpose of the provision. Is it a business, a profit-making machine to produce economically viable returns? Is it a provider where children become acquiescent members of society? Is it part of an international, corporate facility, or a setting following a key theoretical stance? These are possible examples, but thought can be given to your involvement with young children: you can query the elements that make up what is involved in your provision. If there is an awareness of an underlying rationale then further thought can be given to how provision is delivered to promote that philosophy, whether it be formal or informal, adult-led or child-initiated. The amount of planning required concerning opportunities, space, time, resources and recording would depend on separate deliberations about how important each of these factors is. A setting may adopt a focus on the child: the individual progress and outcomes he or she makes may be a centre of focus for practice. Alternatively, in a socially constructed view of development, the concern may be for the child to be an active participant. According to Dahlberg et al. (2007: 55), ‘From a postmodern perspective, there is no absolute knowledge, no absolute reality waiting ‘out there’ to be discovered … the world and our knowledge of it are seen as socially constructed and all of us, as human beings, are active participants in this process.’ Those involved with babies and young children can build on their existing understandings, changing and reflecting on them as they deem appropriate. Practitioners’ wider knowledge and understanding of differing ways of working gained by considering international perspectives and new initiatives enable them to make professional decisions; teamwork allows them to share thoughts and ideas about what is happening and how this impacts upon the children.
