I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Social Justice Education at OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) at the University of Toronto. My main area of research are political discourses of childhood - how children and childhood are understood, by children and adults, to be part of decision making, the fabric of their social worlds, and the political lives of societies.
I am also an instructor at Ryerson University in the School of Early Childhood Studies - CLD 448 Childhood in a Global Context both online and lecture formats. Supervisors: Diane Farmer
Medical errors are common within paediatrics; however, little research has examined the process o... more Medical errors are common within paediatrics; however, little research has examined the process of disclosing medical errors in paediatric settings. The present systematic review of current research and policy initiatives examined evidence regarding the disclosure of medical errors involving paediatric patients. Peer-reviewed research from a range of scientific journals from the past 10 years is presented, and an overview of Canadian and international policies regarding disclosure in paediatric settings are provided. The purpose of the present review was to scope the existing literature and policy, and to synthesize findings into an integrated and accessible report. Future research priorities and policy implications are then identified.
What early childhood educators say to children on playgrounds shapes children’s behaviour. ‘Be ca... more What early childhood educators say to children on playgrounds shapes children’s behaviour. ‘Be careful!’ may be the most common phrase uttered on playgrounds across Ontario, as early childhood educators manage children’s play and work to maintain their safety. These utterances, and the disciplinary practices that accompany them, shape what is acceptable and unacceptable for children to do and, ultimately, what kind of children they can be. Making use of analytic strategies derived from Foucault, I take some first steps to show that injunctions to ‘be careful’ and other similar utterances regulate children’s behaviour to produce a particular child-subject, while in the same moment revealing much about some of the discourses at work in the playgrounds of many early learning settings. I propose that these discourses – the discourses of safety, socialization and purposeful play, all embedded within an overarching developmental discursive framework – connect early childhood educators’ utterances and practices on playgrounds to concepts of discipline and governmentality. I also explore in this article how a Foucauldian perspective may provide educators a space to question established ideas regarding children and their play and explore new approaches for ensuring children’s safety without controlling them.
The authors conduct a document analysis of the Early Learning for Every Child Today: A Framework ... more The authors conduct a document analysis of the Early Learning for Every Child Today: A Framework for Ontario Early Childhood Settings (2007) to identify children’s rights
as reflected in a widely used early childhood curriculum framework in Ontario, Canada. They argue about the significance of looking at curriculum through the lens
of children’s rights in order to create a global community and strive toward a “rights-integrative approach to early learning.” The findings from the analysis indicate how
curriculum documents used for guiding early learning practices may serve as ideal vehicles for introducing discourses on children’s rights.
Contemporary children’s rights frameworks are primarily based on the United Nations Convention on... more Contemporary children’s rights frameworks are primarily based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). It outlines children’s rights as entitlements and the obligations of governments to uphold those rights by enshrining them in law and policy. At this distance, what do children’s rights have to do with children’s lives? How might children’s rights be translated into transformative tools that shape everyday interactions?
I examine how Wall and Alderson re-envision children’s rights as social processes. Rather than understanding children’s rights as “haveable” objects that can be granted or taken away, or as inalienable entitlements, I reframe children’s rights according to a relational sociological perspective, as ways of relating. Alderson (2008) has investigated approaches to integrating children into decision-making processes, from everyday interactions to large policy development. Wall (2008, 2013) reinterprets children’s rights as relational tools used to expand our responsiveness to others. In my paper, I build on these ideas to explore how the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child could be re-imagined as social practices that shape relationships between adults and children, and among children themselves – less as a question of being, but more as a matter of doing.
How might our ideas about children shape our interactions with students? Can we imagine alternati... more How might our ideas about children shape our interactions with students? Can we imagine alternative ways of understanding children, and what might they be? Much of our educational culture is geared towards preparing children to be the citizens and workers of the future. How does this future-focused understanding of children influence our interactions with them as educators? This paper explores these questions in an effort to shed light on the ways that unquestioned assumptions about childhood in general may confine our understandings of, and interactions with, the children in our classrooms.
My exploration is based on a theoretical model that is at the foundation of the sociology of childhood (James and James, 2004; James, Jenks and Prout, 1998). In this paper, I first investigate the predominant conceptualizations of childhood that underlie educational policy and practice. Next, I explore ways that the four different sociological lenses proposed in the model– the social structural child, the minority group child, the tribal child and the socially constructed child – have the potential to provide us with different perspectives and reframe our educational relationships and teaching practices.
Promoted by theorists of child development including Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget, and organi... more Promoted by theorists of child development including Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget, and organizations such as the Bernard van Leer Foundation and UNICEF, play is seen as the primary activity of childhood – as children’s “work” in the world. Early childhood educators working to support children’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical growth emphasize the developmental value of play – as children’s primary activity, it is commonly seen as a site of learning, problem-solving and adaptation. However, the reframing of play as a tool used to educate children, or to fulfill particular curriculum goals, also has the effect of extending the regulatory reach of adults into the social spaces of childhood and the creative and imaginative lives of children.
In this paper I trace the history of the development of this approach to play, by looking at the historical contexts and predominant ways of understanding childhood and play. I go on to explore the effects of adults imposing purposiveness onto children’s activity, using the lenses of postcolonialism (Canella and Viruru, 2004) and the cultural politics of childhood (James and James, 2004). Finally, I will investigate alternative ways of framing both play and childhood that honour children’s agency and children’s rights, proposing alternative perspectives and potentially decolonizing practices for early childhood educators in their interactions with young children.
Medical errors are common within paediatrics; however, little research has examined the process o... more Medical errors are common within paediatrics; however, little research has examined the process of disclosing medical errors in paediatric settings. The present systematic review of current research and policy initiatives examined evidence regarding the disclosure of medical errors involving paediatric patients. Peer-reviewed research from a range of scientific journals from the past 10 years is presented, and an overview of Canadian and international policies regarding disclosure in paediatric settings are provided. The purpose of the present review was to scope the existing literature and policy, and to synthesize findings into an integrated and accessible report. Future research priorities and policy implications are then identified.
What early childhood educators say to children on playgrounds shapes children’s behaviour. ‘Be ca... more What early childhood educators say to children on playgrounds shapes children’s behaviour. ‘Be careful!’ may be the most common phrase uttered on playgrounds across Ontario, as early childhood educators manage children’s play and work to maintain their safety. These utterances, and the disciplinary practices that accompany them, shape what is acceptable and unacceptable for children to do and, ultimately, what kind of children they can be. Making use of analytic strategies derived from Foucault, I take some first steps to show that injunctions to ‘be careful’ and other similar utterances regulate children’s behaviour to produce a particular child-subject, while in the same moment revealing much about some of the discourses at work in the playgrounds of many early learning settings. I propose that these discourses – the discourses of safety, socialization and purposeful play, all embedded within an overarching developmental discursive framework – connect early childhood educators’ utterances and practices on playgrounds to concepts of discipline and governmentality. I also explore in this article how a Foucauldian perspective may provide educators a space to question established ideas regarding children and their play and explore new approaches for ensuring children’s safety without controlling them.
The authors conduct a document analysis of the Early Learning for Every Child Today: A Framework ... more The authors conduct a document analysis of the Early Learning for Every Child Today: A Framework for Ontario Early Childhood Settings (2007) to identify children’s rights
as reflected in a widely used early childhood curriculum framework in Ontario, Canada. They argue about the significance of looking at curriculum through the lens
of children’s rights in order to create a global community and strive toward a “rights-integrative approach to early learning.” The findings from the analysis indicate how
curriculum documents used for guiding early learning practices may serve as ideal vehicles for introducing discourses on children’s rights.
Contemporary children’s rights frameworks are primarily based on the United Nations Convention on... more Contemporary children’s rights frameworks are primarily based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). It outlines children’s rights as entitlements and the obligations of governments to uphold those rights by enshrining them in law and policy. At this distance, what do children’s rights have to do with children’s lives? How might children’s rights be translated into transformative tools that shape everyday interactions?
I examine how Wall and Alderson re-envision children’s rights as social processes. Rather than understanding children’s rights as “haveable” objects that can be granted or taken away, or as inalienable entitlements, I reframe children’s rights according to a relational sociological perspective, as ways of relating. Alderson (2008) has investigated approaches to integrating children into decision-making processes, from everyday interactions to large policy development. Wall (2008, 2013) reinterprets children’s rights as relational tools used to expand our responsiveness to others. In my paper, I build on these ideas to explore how the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child could be re-imagined as social practices that shape relationships between adults and children, and among children themselves – less as a question of being, but more as a matter of doing.
How might our ideas about children shape our interactions with students? Can we imagine alternati... more How might our ideas about children shape our interactions with students? Can we imagine alternative ways of understanding children, and what might they be? Much of our educational culture is geared towards preparing children to be the citizens and workers of the future. How does this future-focused understanding of children influence our interactions with them as educators? This paper explores these questions in an effort to shed light on the ways that unquestioned assumptions about childhood in general may confine our understandings of, and interactions with, the children in our classrooms.
My exploration is based on a theoretical model that is at the foundation of the sociology of childhood (James and James, 2004; James, Jenks and Prout, 1998). In this paper, I first investigate the predominant conceptualizations of childhood that underlie educational policy and practice. Next, I explore ways that the four different sociological lenses proposed in the model– the social structural child, the minority group child, the tribal child and the socially constructed child – have the potential to provide us with different perspectives and reframe our educational relationships and teaching practices.
Promoted by theorists of child development including Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget, and organi... more Promoted by theorists of child development including Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget, and organizations such as the Bernard van Leer Foundation and UNICEF, play is seen as the primary activity of childhood – as children’s “work” in the world. Early childhood educators working to support children’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical growth emphasize the developmental value of play – as children’s primary activity, it is commonly seen as a site of learning, problem-solving and adaptation. However, the reframing of play as a tool used to educate children, or to fulfill particular curriculum goals, also has the effect of extending the regulatory reach of adults into the social spaces of childhood and the creative and imaginative lives of children.
In this paper I trace the history of the development of this approach to play, by looking at the historical contexts and predominant ways of understanding childhood and play. I go on to explore the effects of adults imposing purposiveness onto children’s activity, using the lenses of postcolonialism (Canella and Viruru, 2004) and the cultural politics of childhood (James and James, 2004). Finally, I will investigate alternative ways of framing both play and childhood that honour children’s agency and children’s rights, proposing alternative perspectives and potentially decolonizing practices for early childhood educators in their interactions with young children.
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Papers by Noah Kenneally
as reflected in a widely used early childhood curriculum framework in Ontario, Canada. They argue about the significance of looking at curriculum through the lens
of children’s rights in order to create a global community and strive toward a “rights-integrative approach to early learning.” The findings from the analysis indicate how
curriculum documents used for guiding early learning practices may serve as ideal vehicles for introducing discourses on children’s rights.
Conference Presentations by Noah Kenneally
I examine how Wall and Alderson re-envision children’s rights as social processes. Rather than understanding children’s rights as “haveable” objects that can be granted or taken away, or as inalienable entitlements, I reframe children’s rights according to a relational sociological perspective, as ways of relating. Alderson (2008) has investigated approaches to integrating children into decision-making processes, from everyday interactions to large policy development. Wall (2008, 2013) reinterprets children’s rights as relational tools used to expand our responsiveness to others. In my paper, I build on these ideas to explore how the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child could be re-imagined as social practices that shape relationships between adults and children, and among children themselves – less as a question of being, but more as a matter of doing.
My exploration is based on a theoretical model that is at the foundation of the sociology of childhood (James and James, 2004; James, Jenks and Prout, 1998). In this paper, I first investigate the predominant conceptualizations of childhood that underlie educational policy and practice. Next, I explore ways that the four different sociological lenses proposed in the model– the social structural child, the minority group child, the tribal child and the socially constructed child – have the potential to provide us with different perspectives and reframe our educational relationships and teaching practices.
In this paper I trace the history of the development of this approach to play, by looking at the historical contexts and predominant ways of understanding childhood and play. I go on to explore the effects of adults imposing purposiveness onto children’s activity, using the lenses of postcolonialism (Canella and Viruru, 2004) and the cultural politics of childhood (James and James, 2004). Finally, I will investigate alternative ways of framing both play and childhood that honour children’s agency and children’s rights, proposing alternative perspectives and potentially decolonizing practices for early childhood educators in their interactions with young children.
as reflected in a widely used early childhood curriculum framework in Ontario, Canada. They argue about the significance of looking at curriculum through the lens
of children’s rights in order to create a global community and strive toward a “rights-integrative approach to early learning.” The findings from the analysis indicate how
curriculum documents used for guiding early learning practices may serve as ideal vehicles for introducing discourses on children’s rights.
I examine how Wall and Alderson re-envision children’s rights as social processes. Rather than understanding children’s rights as “haveable” objects that can be granted or taken away, or as inalienable entitlements, I reframe children’s rights according to a relational sociological perspective, as ways of relating. Alderson (2008) has investigated approaches to integrating children into decision-making processes, from everyday interactions to large policy development. Wall (2008, 2013) reinterprets children’s rights as relational tools used to expand our responsiveness to others. In my paper, I build on these ideas to explore how the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child could be re-imagined as social practices that shape relationships between adults and children, and among children themselves – less as a question of being, but more as a matter of doing.
My exploration is based on a theoretical model that is at the foundation of the sociology of childhood (James and James, 2004; James, Jenks and Prout, 1998). In this paper, I first investigate the predominant conceptualizations of childhood that underlie educational policy and practice. Next, I explore ways that the four different sociological lenses proposed in the model– the social structural child, the minority group child, the tribal child and the socially constructed child – have the potential to provide us with different perspectives and reframe our educational relationships and teaching practices.
In this paper I trace the history of the development of this approach to play, by looking at the historical contexts and predominant ways of understanding childhood and play. I go on to explore the effects of adults imposing purposiveness onto children’s activity, using the lenses of postcolonialism (Canella and Viruru, 2004) and the cultural politics of childhood (James and James, 2004). Finally, I will investigate alternative ways of framing both play and childhood that honour children’s agency and children’s rights, proposing alternative perspectives and potentially decolonizing practices for early childhood educators in their interactions with young children.