ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with three considerations for voice work in early childhood: methods/tools, space/place/time for voice, and creative approaches. The chapter reviews debates in the literature and conveys the following key messages. Specific methods for eliciting voice, such as child-led photography, are best seen as a starting point for dialogue, and as part of a wider ethos of listening to children. If such methods are being used, it is essential to identify barriers to participation in these methods, and to recognise children’s many ways of expressing themselves outside those methods (crucially, including non-verbally). A spacious and open listening approach can feed into an inclusive, creative community of voice and the ability to work collaboratively. Voice work with young children is much more than a tick-box exercise. It is everyday ethics work in which practitioners act from their hearts and minds, transforming hierarchies in their setting and embracing the creative uncertainty that may arise.
