This chapter explores the ‘interdependence’ and ‘intra-connectedness’ of wellbeing for infants and toddlers within their daily, mundane, and everyday experiences at an early childhood centre. It posits that the wellbeing of infants, toddlers, and adults, as well as their interactions with the learning environment, necessitates a relational pedagogy rooted in worldly sustainability, community connectedness, and forward-looking policies and practices in care and education. This approach must provide flexibility amidst uncertainty. Drawing on theoretical concepts from posthumanism and new materialism, the chapter reveals the agentic qualities of materials and their porous influence on wellbeing. It argues that the wellbeing of infants and toddlers extends beyond human-centric views, encompassing assemblages of diverse human and non-human actors and forces. Amidst the global challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and a polarizing political climate, educational policies in Aotearoa New Zealand are taking yet another change and shift. On an individual level, the wellbeing of infants and toddlers is intertwined with the broader global context in which they co-exist. Consequently, this chapter reconceptualizes routine activities such as mealtimes, diaper changes, and sleep times as part of the complex interplay between infants, toddlers, adults, places, objects, and the broader world. Using the posthuman lens, it views wellbeing as a dynamic interdependence among human, non-human, and more-than-human entities, fostering a collective process of being and becoming in the Anthropocene.

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Entangled Beginnings: Reimagining Early Childhood Wellbeing Through Posthumanism

  • Jen Boyd,
  • Marek Tesar

摘要

This chapter explores the ‘interdependence’ and ‘intra-connectedness’ of wellbeing for infants and toddlers within their daily, mundane, and everyday experiences at an early childhood centre. It posits that the wellbeing of infants, toddlers, and adults, as well as their interactions with the learning environment, necessitates a relational pedagogy rooted in worldly sustainability, community connectedness, and forward-looking policies and practices in care and education. This approach must provide flexibility amidst uncertainty. Drawing on theoretical concepts from posthumanism and new materialism, the chapter reveals the agentic qualities of materials and their porous influence on wellbeing. It argues that the wellbeing of infants and toddlers extends beyond human-centric views, encompassing assemblages of diverse human and non-human actors and forces. Amidst the global challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and a polarizing political climate, educational policies in Aotearoa New Zealand are taking yet another change and shift. On an individual level, the wellbeing of infants and toddlers is intertwined with the broader global context in which they co-exist. Consequently, this chapter reconceptualizes routine activities such as mealtimes, diaper changes, and sleep times as part of the complex interplay between infants, toddlers, adults, places, objects, and the broader world. Using the posthuman lens, it views wellbeing as a dynamic interdependence among human, non-human, and more-than-human entities, fostering a collective process of being and becoming in the Anthropocene.