Children and young people are active agents with motives and intentions who can contribute to their social worlds. Taking children seriously involves both accessing their perspectives as they make sense of the world and working relationally with them to guide their motive orientations. In this book, Hedegaard and Edwards draw upon their own and others' research on children from birth to school leaving age to advocate for relational support for learners and to emphasise the caring aspects of this support. The authors provide a scholarly account of the cultural-historical underpinnings of their caring relational approach, while bringing these ideas to life through examples of practices in families and in more formal settings. Written for those who work with children and young people in varied capacities, this book reveals the knowledge and skills required for the subtle and reciprocal work of supporting the learning and development of children and young people.

‘This seminal book brings together the life work of two of the most respected cultural-historical scholars in education and child development. The theoretical problem tackled is the relations between learning and development. Their brilliant scholarship has produced a classic text, and much-needed new thinking on caring as relational pedagogy.'

Marilyn Fleer - Monash University, Australia

‘This book is a must to all teachers, parents, and adults interested in understanding and educating children in our perplexed world. It brings hope for the present and future by demonstrating the transformative power of caring, respectful, and agentic relations between children and adults.'

Kristiina Kumpulainen - University of Helsinki, Finland

‘A book that helps practitioners help children and their families, from infancy to adolescence. Combining theoretical knowledge and real-life examples, the authors succeed in demonstrating that care can nurture agency, making clear why taking children's emotions, intentions and sense-making seriously is a necessary attitude for supporting development.'

Juliana C. Pasqualini - State University of São Paulo, Brazil

‘This is a timely book. The authors break away from many outdated canons portraying children as passive recipients of socialization. Instead, attention is drawn to capturing children's own activities and experiences – and the supports that society needs to provide for these – as central to development. Practitioners, families, and other carers will certainly benefit from this novel approach to perennial questions about child development.​'

Anna Stetsenko - City University of New York, USA

‘The fruitful collaboration between two distinguished scholars has resulted in a unique book about how children develop and how adults can ‘work relationally' to support them. This theoretically sophisticated contribution offers concepts and inspiration for professional practice. The book, richly illustrated by empirical examples from children's everyday life, is highly relevant for students, practitioners, educators, and researchers.'

Oddbjørg Skjær Ulvik - Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway