Reflections on mindfulness and its implications for social justice in the early years

This chapter explores how principles of social justice can be operationalised through the practice of mindfulness in Early Years settings. It describes how the practice of mindfulness is compatible with more recent conceptualisations in the UK of young children as active agents in their own learning and as having the human right to be encouraged to hold their own opinions and to express them freely. The text draws on the author’s 40 years’ experience as a practitioner and academic to examine how common, yet contested, themes of mindfulness and social justice can inform the creation of pedagogical and reflexive spaces that support Early Years practice in educational settings.