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Beyond ‘developmentalism’: A relational and embodied approach to young children's development
Author(s) -
Gabriel Norman
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/chso.12381
Subject(s) - developmentalism , embodied cognition , relation (database) , epistemology , sociology , foundation (evidence) , psychology , philosophy , political science , computer science , law , politics , database
This article begins by discussing ‘developmentalism’, one of the key debates that has characterised the current theoretical impasse in the development of childhood studies. I use Norbert Elias's concept of the relation between love and learning as a foundation to develop the way in which young children's development is a non‐linear, temporal and embodied process. I argue that we need to develop a relational approach that moves beyond some of the binary divisions between ‘nature’ and ‘biology’, drawing on concepts from particular theoretical traditions that have been under‐utilised, particularly the relational school of psychoanalysis and the work of Maurice Merleau‐Ponty.