In early years settings in many countries, young children’s screams have been misunderstood at best and at worst subjected to discipline within a culture of ‘schoolification’ where children are prepared for compulsory education (Woodhead and Moss, 2007). However, this presentation will suggest that not only are children’s screams part of the ‘soundscape’ (Schafer, 1977) of educational settings, but they are an important – if misunderstood – form of communication. However, recent multi-modal theorizing suggests that voice quality – including the production of sounds such as screams – is semiotic and meaning-laden; in other words, the meaning(s) of humanly-produced sound are not merely ones deriving from the linguistic components of verbalization, but from the acoustic aspects of voice itself (Schlichter, 2011). Attention to children’s multi-modal communication is particularly important given the emphasis on children’s right to be listened to and considered seriously within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Therefore, this presentation will consider:

• What are the various meanings of children’s screams in early years settings?
•  What are the pedagogical considerations and implications of attending to children’s use of ‘the scream’?
• Why has ‘the scream’ received so little attention in early childhood literature and practice – beyond behaviour management – given that it is a voice quality which resonates through early childhood contexts?
• How can attention to the multiple meanings of ‘the scream’ enhance children’s participation rights?

 In responding to these questions, the presentation will draw upon theories of multi-modality, particularly the work of anthropologist Ruth Finnegan (2002). She argues that scholars have neglected sound as a mode of communication and often disparagingly relegate its use to babies or non-Western people, implying derogatorily that both they and sound itself are ‘embryonic’ in relation to more rational and advanced modes of communication. Secondly, the presentation will draw on literature about the increasing management and control of all aspects of young children’s lives. Specifically it will build upon Leavitt and Power’s (1997) argument that while socialisation is important in all societies, in early years settings educators tend to ‘overcivilize’ young children. Finally, Bakhtin’s (1984) notion of the carnivalesque – an escape from control, order, and hierarchy through playfulness and ‘sensuousness’ – will be employed.

Alldred, P. (1998). 'Ethnography and Discourse Analysis: Dilemmas in Representing the Voices of Children'. In J. Ribbens and R. Edwards (Eds), Feminist Dilemmas in Qualitative Research: Public Knowledge and Private Lives (pp. 147-170). London Sage. Bakhtin, M. M. (1984). Rabelais and his world. (1st Midland book ed. Ed.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Corsaro, W. (1985). Friendship and peer culture in the early years. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Ablex. Edmiston, B. (2008). Forming ethical identities in early childhood play. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Finnegan, R. (2002). Communicating: The multiple modes of human interconnection. London and New York: Routledge. Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (2007). Ethnography: principles in practice. (3rd Ed.). Milton Park, Oxon: Routledge. Leavitt, R. and Power, M. B. (1997). 'Civilizing Bodies: Children in Day Care'. In J. Tobin (Ed.), Making a Place for Pleasure in Early Childhood Education (pp. 39-75). New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Phelan, A. M. (1997). 'Classroom Management and the Erasure of Teacher Desire'. In J. Tobin (Ed.), Making a Place for Pleasure in Early Childhood Education (pp. 76-100). New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Robson, C. (2002). Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitioner-Researchers. (2nd Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishin. Schafer, R. M. (1977). The Tuning of the World. Toronto McClelland and Stewart. Schlichter, A. (2011). 'Do Voices Matter? Vocality, Materiality, Gender Performativity'. Body & Society, 17 (1), 31-52. Woodhead, M. and Moss, P. (Eds) (2007), Early Childhood and Primary Education: Transitions in the Lives of Young Children. Milton Keynes: Open University. Wyver, S., Little, H., Tranter, P., Bundy, A., Naughton, G. and Sandseter, E. B. H. (2010). 'Ten Ways to Restrict Children’s Freedom to Play: the problem of surplus safety'. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 11 (3), 263-277.