About

About: Early Futures is a source of research, projects and notes regarding ideas for alternatives in studying and engaging with young children. We believe that children provide deep insight into our understanding of human development and that integrated research with children shifts many common presumptions across multiple disciplines.

Early Futures approaches research from an integral, future studies perspective. We strongly advocate futures oriented approaches for children which include engaging with: alternative institutions, forms of play, new psychologies, edge sciences, alternative education and pursuit of creative philosophies.

What is Future Studies for Children? Future studies for children focuses also on major questions concerning our futures: Why and how are we citizens of the Earth/Universe? What will the citizens of Earth need to know/be/prepare for the year 2050, 2100, etc? What are the most important skills for sustaining Earth and its citizens, sentient and non-sentient, in the near and far future (and should we)? Not only is this a question of/for education, it is also deeply a psychological and philosophical issue for our species. Future studies education for children looks to create a framework within which children can develop ideas, vision and agency towards the future and their place in it as co-creators. Future studies with children also presupposes that the development of sustainable worlds relies on a healthy and balanced understanding of children’s relationship with our futures.

As Jennifer Gidley and Sohail Inayatullah, two leading future studies thinkers, believe quite simply, “youth futures can be defined initially as how young people think about and envision the future (probable, possible and preferred).” Future studies framework can take on many manifestations, but from an educational standpoint, usually takes on these four major efforts:

+ Building imagination, creativity, and critical reflection.

+ Creating literacy in future terminology (history of time, understanding of plural futures, perception, social constructions).

+ Producing images, spaces, institutions, inventions and projects that recognize, deconstruct and create alternative futures.

+ Being comfortable with chaos, rapid change, large integrated systems and diverse relationships.

Learn more about future studies: The best online resource is: metafuture.org. Read Jane M. Page’s book on the subject “Reframing Early Childhood Curriculum.” You can also view the 10 Early Childhood + Future Studies Books post to view some reading which relates to future studies education. The World Future Studies Federation also has many articles and places to start learning more about the global community of future studies thinkers.