Risk literacy: concepts and pedagogical implications for Early Childhood Education

Nikiforidou, Zoi (2017) Risk literacy: concepts and pedagogical implications for Early Childhood Education. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 18 (3). pp. 322-332. ISSN 1463-9491

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Abstract

Taking risks and enjoying challenges are fundamental to the lives of young children from a developmental and evolutionary point of view. However, in modern societies, the increasing concern about the dangers and injuries has led to the escalation in regulation and provisions for the safety of young children. This intent to establish secure and risk-free environments for young children reaches in some cases the other end of the spectrum; that of overprotection, constraining children’s drive to explore, dare and experiment. This paper explores the relationship between children and risk, by focusing on the processes of thinking and acting, drawing on positive and negative discourses around risk. The paper proposes that more interest should be directed towards enabling children’s own knowledge and understanding of risk, through Early Childhood Education (ECE) and risk literacy. Namely, the use of graphical representations, children’s probabilistic and possibility thinking, the risk culture of the classroom and a cross-curricular approach are pedagogical implications that could inform policy and practice in ECE aiming at present and future agents who are risk literate.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	This is the author's post peer review version of an article, the final version of which is published in the Sage Publications journal Contemporary issues in early childhood.
Keywords:	Risk literacy, early childhood, pedagogy, processes of risk
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Education
Depositing User:	Zoi Nikiforidou
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2017 15:06
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2024 12:22
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2088

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