Valuing the Learning: An Annotated Bibliography on Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity – A New Publication from the Bernard Van Leer Foundation

The Bernard van Leer Foundation recently published Valuing Learning: An Annotated Bibliography on Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity with the goal of bringing together, in one place, a documentary resource that captures the rich diversity of activity in the area of social inclusion and respect for diversity that has been documented by partner organizations as a result of Bernard van Leer Foundation investment.  The bibliography serves a number of functions. At its most fundamental level it is about sharing and communicating, in an overview format, the multitude of experiences, innovative practices and new knowledge in everyday work with children, their families, communities and all those who work with them.
 
The annotated bibliography will also open up of lines of communication and collaboration between partners who may be pursuing similar aims, whether at practice, research or policy levels and who can benefit from sharing common challenges and potential solutions. The dissemination of this bibliography also gives recognition and increases the visibility of partners, many of whom do not have the opportunity to share their work beyond the immediate context within which they operate. Finally, it is hoped that the bibliography may contribute to fostering an explicit concern with the importance of social inclusion and respect for diversity in addressing the essential needs and rights of children.
 
Scope and contents
 The bibliography contains resources and outputs that have been published or made available as a result of direct or indirect funding from Bernard van Leer Foundation. The timeframe addressed is approximately six years, i.e., outputs dated from 2002 to March 2008. As noted in the Introduction, there is huge diversity in the format and style of outputs since they serve different purposes and are intended for different audiences.
 
Thus, the bibliography contains annotations for products as diverse as information brochures, children’s games and educational materials, training manuals, conference proceedings, academic journal articles and project research reports, as well as audio-visual materials and URL sites. The bibliography also contains annotations for the Foundation’s own ‘logo’ publications, for example: Early Childhood Matters, the themed journal published twice per year by the Foundation and Working Papers in Early Childhood Development, the series that presents relevant findings and reflection ‘think pieces’ authored by prominent authors in the field.
 
Organization and framework
 The thematic organization of the bibliography builds on a recent historical analysis of the Foundation’s programming in the area of Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity and earlier Bernard van Leer Foundation Initiatives in ‘Respect for Diversity’. In this analysis underpinning key concepts, approaches and ways of working exemplified in the everyday work of partner organizations over a number of decades were ‘grouped’ in three interconnected levels, each containing sub-groups or sub-themes. These represented the multiple ways of promoting social inclusion and respect for diversity in work with children. Building on this analysis, the framework for the annotated bibliography is organized as follows:
 
Part A. Theories, concepts and ways of viewing concerns theoretical conceptions and understandings and includes resources which primarily, although not exclusively, focus on exploring and explaining theory and key concepts.
 
Part B. Approaches and ways of working with children, parents, early childhood professionals and trainers focuses primarily, although not exclusively, on everyday practice, relationships and training.
 
Part C. Exchanging and disseminating information and new knowledge focuses on the processes and strategies for communicating knowledge and information on social inclusion and respect for diversity.
 
Download your pdf copy here.