Taking time back

Thinking about time is closely linked to how childhood and children are viewed and to questions about the purposes of education. The pandemic threw time into sharper relief, both slowing down and speeding up and brought these questions about time closer to the surface.

My research 'Slow knowledge and the unhurried child’ began as a two year study in January 2020 and was funded by the Froebel Trust. Many of the principles that underpin the teachings of the German educationalist, Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) point to a considered relationship with time that values childhood as a period in its own right and foregrounds first-hand experience, engagement with nature and the value of play (Tovey, 2020).

My study focuses on 20 in-depth interviews with early childhood teacher educators, teachers and researchers across 11 countries. We discussed the question of ‘hurry’ in early childhood education and reflected on what slow pedagogies and slow practices look like.

Questions about hurry and pressure in education are not new concerns. Maurice Holt writing in 2002 called for there to be a Slow School movement, taking principles from the Slow food movement and challenging the ‘hamburger approach towards education which emphasizes uniformity, predictability and measurability of processes and results’.

My intention has not been to suggest new ways of working in early childhood education but to encourage a reclaiming of the alternatives to always fast-forward, constantly measured practices. The phrase ‘taking time back’ expresses a desire that featured in many of my interviews and in the focus group with early childhood educators and students who discussed my initial findings. ‘Taking time back’ is part of this reclaiming, finding small ways in which this can be possible, starting with everyday routines.

This research looks at a range of slow practices, where there is time for both children and adults to be less hurried. This has included the following examples where there has been time for:

• mealtimes to be important features of the day where there is time for young children to participate fully and be involved in the preparation, sharing food together and tidying up
• outdoor exploring with time to tune into the pace and rhythm of children
• opportunities for children to revisit the same environment and to develop a connection and sense of belonging
• stories to be invented, extended and reimagined many times
• unhurried personal everyday routines such as nappy changing
• exploring materials such as clay and wood that ‘hold time’ in a particular way and open up many possibilities for play and creativity
• projects to be developed to respond to children’s interests and concern and developed over time

These brief examples can be understood as demonstrating ‘timefullness’ and provide a hint of some of the rich possibilities of being able to give full attention to the present rather than the present being overshadowed by the future.  

These ideas have been explored further by three Scottish early years settings. Their Practice Development Project, funded by the Froebel Trust, is led by Donna Green, early years pedagogue and Froebel lead in Falkirk.

Thinking about ‘slow’ is not intended to add new burdens to an already overstretched and pressured sector but to encourage a culture where slower practices are supported and celebrated for the differences they can make to the everyday lives of young children and those who work with young children. One of the educators involved in the Falkirk project (Tracey Sharples, senior early years officer, Falkirk) commented:

‘Don’t think of it as another task…Pick something small and it’s amazing the change that you will see. You can see that in mealtimes and …outdoors, you can take it into any area across the board. So I would say try it and you will see a massive change.’

• Alison Clark's book Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried child: time for slow pedagogies in early childhood education will be published by Routledge in December. A 20 per cent discount is available for Nursery World readers with the code FLA22.

References

Clark, A. (2001) Say your piece, Nursery World, July 4,

https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/say-your-piece

Clark, A. (2011) Interview: Alison Clark-pioneer of the Mosaic approach, 5 September,

https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/interview-alison-clark-pioneer-of-the-mosaic-approach

Holt, M. (2002) ‘It’s Time to Start the Slow School Movement’. Phi Delta Kappan, 84 (December, 2002), pp. 265-271.

Tovey, H. (2020) Froebel’s principles and practice today. London: Froebel Trust.

https://www.froebel.org.uk/training-and-resources/pamphlets