Challenging the Politics of Early Intervention: Who’s ’saving’ Children and Why

A vital interrogation of the internationally accepted policy and practice consensus that intervention to shape parenting in the early years is the way to prevent disadvantage. Given the divisive assumptions and essentialist ideas behind early years intervention, in whose interests does it really serve? This book critically assesses assertions that the ’wrong type of parenting’ has biological and cultural effects, stunting babies’ brain development and leading to a life of poverty and under-achievement. It shows how early intervention policies underpinned by interpretations of brain science perpetuate gendered, classed and raced inequalities. The exploration of future directions will be welcomed by those looking for a positive, collectivist vision of the future that addresses the real underlying issues in the creation of disadvantage.

Val Gillies is professor of social policy and criminology at the University of Westminster. Rosalind Edwards is professor of sociology, social sciences director of research, and a codirector of the Economic and Social Research Council’s National Centre for Research Methods, all at the University of Southampton. Nicola Horsley is a research associate in the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, where she studies social inclusion and participation.