Response Paper: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is a response paper (and what is it not)?

A response paper requires you to synthesise the intellectual work of others – that is, bring it
together into an integrated whole. Include your own voice by weighing arguments, evaluating
evidence, and raising critical questions. The authors (of the case study, the book, and any
additional literature you draw upon) are in figurative, if not literal, “conversation” with you,
and you must be able to recognise and explain what is going on in that conversation, consider
yourself as in dialogue with the authors. For example:

“…The ongoing conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina has exposed children and their
families to the threat of death and injury (Rangelov-Jusovic, in Connolly and Hayden,
2007). The reality of young children living in fear of death should be of great concern
to any, and all, early years educators, and I have been personally moved by this
particular case. We know that children who witness the killing or rape of family
members during violent conflict can experience psychologically damaging stress and
psychosomatic disorders, such as sleeplessness and clinginess, and in some cases PostTraumatic
Stress Disorder (Pynoos and Eths, 1985). No child should have to endure
such experiences. According to… …this leads me to consider, in light of my earlier
discussion on the strengths, rights and capabilities of the children and families, that…”

Or,

“…By establishing Father’s Boards, early years educators have demonstrated that by
encouraging men, particularly given the patriarchal nature of Albanian society, to be
more involved in the care of their children it has been possible to begin engaging men
in conflict resolution and peace building in communities that are otherwise extremely
hostile and deeply divided (Jones, in Connolly and Hayden, 2007). The work of the
Garden of Mothers and Children’s Centres in Albania further demonstrates, in addition
to my previous points made, the important role that early years educators have in
drawing divided communities together in recognition that children need protection
and to actualise their individual and collective strengths, rights and capabilities as a
community. However, in doing so… …in posing this critical question here I have
attempted to recognise… emphasise…”

Do not write an autobiographical essay. A response paper is not about how you feel – even
how you feel about the case study. They are not simply a venue for you to say whether you
like or dislike the texts you are reading, avoid commendation or condemnation for its own
sake. Do not just summarise the texts. You are supposed to be responding to them, not simply
repeating what they say. If there is no analysis involved, then you have not responded, only
regurgitated.

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2) What is meant by children’s strengths, rights and capabilities? What should I be
looking out for exactly when reading the case study?

Strengths, rights and capabilities refer to the ways in which the children, families,
communities and/or governments show they value children and/or childhood. It refers not
only to having access to material resources (buildings, medicine) and human resources
(volunteers, advocates, network of teachers, etc), but also the motivation to fight for access
to (and mobilisation of) resources, knowledge, training, support, services, structures and/or
other provisions which support (or will support) the wellbeing, participation and inclusion of
children in the community.

When you’re looking at the case study for strengths, rights and capabilities, think about not
only tangible resources (e.g. funding, textbooks), knowledge (e.g. trained teachers), access
(e.g. healthcare available) and skills (e.g. knowing who to go to in an emergency or knowing
how to swim) but also about intangible resources (e.g. children’s imagination), knowledge
potential (e.g. fathers’ willingness to learn how to interact with babies) and attitudes (e.g.
willingness of community members to better the world for children, emotional resilience or
the willingness to return to the community after war).

3) What is meant by the actualising of strengths, rights and capabilities of children,
their families and communities?

Think here about how, and by what means, do the early years educators/professionals in the
community realise, in other words ‘make real’, the strengths, rights and capabilities you have
identified the children and families as having, and furthermore, how by doing so the early
years educators/professionals build a sense of agency and self-determination in children,
their families and communities, and advocate and facilitate peace, social justice and inclusion.

4) What is a ‘strengths-based approach’ to early childhood education, care and
development?

A strengths-based approach is a way of looking for factors that support wellbeing, belonging
and development for children, families and communities. Taking a strengths-based approach
(that is, looking for assets that already exist which can be capitalised on) rather than a
weakness-based approach (that is, looking for factors that cause problems) is important
because: a) it enables us to see what knowledge, skills, resources and foundations for growth
already exist in a community (and can thus help us work to minimise repetition and develop
cohesion) – and also, b) enables us to work with communities in genuine partnerships to build
organically (from the ground up) in a sustainable, contextually-relevant manner whilst
respecting and valuing the positive aspects of life for children and families in that community.

5) What is meant by ‘ethical and political’ early years practice?
Political Practice
Political practice for the purposes of this assessment is about recognising that knowledge and
social systems have been socio-culturally and historically produced. Political practice is
therefore about recognising that there is no such thing as a “neutral” education because what
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we understand to be “commonsense” or “natural” has been shaped by socio-historical,
cultural, economic and political powers that have emerged to privilege some ways of thinking,
being and doing, whilst silencing or othering “other” ways of thinking, being and doing. As
Mac Naughton (2005, p. 4) highlights:

“Individuals may tell several – possibly competing stories about themselves
(identities) and about societies. The politics of our time and place influence which
stories (of individuals or societies) are told, when and by whom, which is why some
stories are heard more often and given greater status than others. Consequently,
identifying the stories (of individuals or societies) that are silenced or marginalised and
then sharing them is a political act.”

As such, political practice (like ethical practice) is about recognising and resisting inequitable
relations of power that oppress, dehumanise, discriminate, marginalise, exclude and “other.”

Ethical Practice
The meaning of ethical practice for the purpose of this assignment is – active reflection and
informed action which recognises the importance of children, families and communities
embracing a “shared humanity” (Cologon, 2013, p. 151). Ethical practice is therefore about
valuing and respecting human diversity (e.g. race, class, caste, age, ability, gender, etc) to
facilitate: a) inclusion, b) equity and c) the meaningful and critically-informed participation of
all citizens for the purpose of achieving social justice. Simply speaking, ethical practice is about
un-“othering” those that have been “othered” – it is ways of thinking, being and doing which
redress (or equalise) the inequitable relations of power that exist in school, society, politics,
the economy, the world, etc.

6) What is meant by ‘agency’ and ‘self-determination’?

Agency is having the capacity to act. Children who have agency are able to influence and make
decisions about what and how something is learned in order to expand their capabilities.

Self-determination is the right and freedom of children, families and communities to
determine their own future. Children, families and communities who have self-determination
have the abilities, skills, and knowledge needed to determine their own life in ways they
choose for themselves.

7) How should I format, and present within my response paper, my ‘three’ critical
questions?

Avoid just ‘dumping’ your three questions in at the end of your response paper as a last
minute add-on. Instead, try and pose your questions strategically, which should be critical
rather than factual, within the context (in other words throughout) your response paper. Take
the time to explain and justify the questions you pose, by explaining why a particular point
you are discussing lends itself to such a question/s. You are not required to answer the
questions you pose.

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8) Can, and how do, I use both first-person and third-person?

Use of, and integrating, both first-person and third-person in writing is a skill. Many students
fear they will be marked down if they put their own views in their work. In fact, in a response
paper, the opposite is true: provided these views are carefully considered and link closely with
careful consideration of the evidence and arguments in the relevant literature. You need to
be selective and also sparing in how you use words and phrases such as ‘I’ and ‘In my opinion’.
This is because a proliferation of ‘I’s’, and the use of clumsy phrases such as ‘I think’, can
render the appearance of work as ‘unacademic’.

9) Where do I look to find academic literature, and how should I be using it?

You do need to read, draw upon, and cite academic literature to support the arguments and
analysis you make in your response paper, and for you to also demonstrate your wide-ranging
theoretical and practical understanding of the early years in global context. You can find
academic literature (books and journal articles) using the UEL library search facility, via the
UEL library website and through UEL direct, and also using other online search facilities.
Please ask the library for technical/practical support if you are struggling to access resources.
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