staff to develop a deeper level of understanding of children’s needs- particularly those children who adults around them had identified as ‘challenging’. Understanding how people make sense of children’s behaviour and the particular significance of language has become even more significant during my EP training as challenging narratives and encouraging the production of emancipatory discourses filters into every part of the EP role. I have developed an increasing interest in consultation and supervisory approaches as opportunities for challenging negative constructs and for supporting change. The language surrounding Reception aged children who are understood as displaying ‘challenging’ behaviours became a focus for this research. I believe that making sense of a child’s behaviour and the resulting actions and language used around the child at an early stage is imperative for the child’s developing sense of self and understanding of the social world. These early experiences in which the child begins their school-based educational journey are key for laying the foundations of their understanding of their place within the school system and, at a wider level, within society as a whole. The impact of language, which places constructed meaning on a child’s behaviour, and thus may influence the actions surrounding the child, may be particularly significant at such an early stage of childhood. Understanding how key adults around the child are beginning to make sense of behaviour and develop discourses to construct the child seems a particularly significant starting place for exploring the socially constructed complexities of ‘challenging’ behaviour in the Reception class.
staff to develop a deeper level of understanding of children’s needs- particularly those children who adults around them had identified as ‘challenging’. Understanding how people make sense of children’s behaviour and the particular significance of language has become even more significant during my EP training as challenging narratives and encouraging the production of emancipatory discourses filters into every part of the EP role. I have developed an increasing interest in consultation and supervisory approaches as opportunities for challenging negative constructs and for supporting change. The language surrounding Reception aged children who are understood as displaying ‘challenging’ behaviours became a focus for this research. I believe that making sense of a child’s behaviour and the resulting actions and language used around the child at an early stage is imperative for the child’s developing sense of self and understanding of the social world. These early experiences in which the child begins their school-based educational journey are key for laying the foundations of their understanding of their place within the school system and, at a wider level, within society as a whole. The impact of language, which places constructed meaning on a child’s behaviour, and thus may influence the actions surrounding the child, may be particularly significant at such an early stage of childhood. Understanding how key adults around the child are beginning to make sense of behaviour and develop discourses to construct the child seems a particularly significant starting place for exploring the socially constructed complexities of ‘challenging’ behaviour in the Reception class.
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